SERVING OTHERS IS A WAY OF LIFE. April 2017 Update

News Washington Service Corps In this update, we will look at the Environmental

Stewardship focus area, upcoming dates and events and

important reminders.

I am now past the halfway point of my AmeriCorps Washington Service Corps service term with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Lacey, Washington. So far I have supported numerous field projects and I have educated and assessed over 800 students on fishery conservation and stewardship for my educational outreach requirements. However, nothing has been quite like night snorkeling in Lake Washington. As a competitive swimmer for 14 years of my life, I have always felt most comfortable in water. With night snorkeling, I am immersed into an underwater world that reminds me of my second home, only just slightly colder than my usual 75-degree swimming pool. Night snorkeling is the ideal setting to not only return to my swimming roots, but also observe juvenile Chinook salmon. The young Chinook are less active at night and hide within the shallows near the shore to hide from larger predators, thus making it easier to estimate their population more accurately than in the daylight. Why exactly are we observing these fish in the first place? Chinook salmon are designated as a threatened species within the Puget Sound and are of great cultural, economic, and ecological importance. Within the Lake Washington watershed, the Cedar River acts as a main spawning ground for these Chinook. As the fry emerge from their nest (or redd) they seek refuge in the shorelines of Lake Washington before they venture further into its depths. Because Lake Washington is closely tied with

the urban environment, there are often areas along the shoreline that are not suitable for these young salmon. Through habitat restoration projects, previously degraded areas can be improved to provide a more ideal area for the juvenile salmon to grow. One habitat restoration project is located where the Shuffleton Power Plant Flume system used to stand. This site did not provide adequate habitat for juvenile salmon due to the lack of gravel shore and increased habitat for their predators. In 2014, most of this flume system was removed and replaced including a gradual sloping sand/gravel beach with engineered log jams to provide the Chinook woody debris to evade predators, creating a safe haven for the young fish. During our night surveys, we count the number of young salmon we observe along our sample sites. Because we have observation data from before the flume was removed, we are able to assess the success of the habitat restoration project by comparing Chinook abundance before and after the habitat was restored. With the results of the study, we can determine how effective that particular type of habitat restoration project is to improve juvenile Chinook habitat so we can implement this type of restoration in other creeks within the Lake Washington watershed and beyond. We can also learn what facets of the project can be enhanced and modified for future sites. Habitat restoration is vital for the recovery of threatened and endangered species, especially within the urban environment. By taking part in this night snorkel study, I am learning how urban habitat restoration is conducted as well as how to examine the success of these projects for further implementation. Plus, it is pretty nice to get this “fish out of water” back into an environment she thrives in. -Jennifer Fields

How about those Salmon? With salmon serving such an important role in the Pacific Northwest, it is important that steps are taken to

ensure their survival. Take a look at a fellow member’s story of searching for Chinook in the night.

Top left: Jennifer suited up

for snorkeling.

Left: Chinook Fry.

Right: Jennifer snorkeling at

night in Lake Washington.

WSC Member of the Month

Rikki Medack

Rikki is currently serving at WorkSource in

Vancouver. She serves in the resource room

assisting customers with computer needs as well as

teaching a basic computer class. She goes above and

beyond when helping others and always does it with

a smile. She is known for her positivity, dedication,

and general uplifting attitude she brings to her site.

Thank you Rikki for all you do in your service!

“Sometimes people just need others to stand

with them and build them up so that they can stand strong on their feet and reach for their

dreams.” ~ Rikki Medack

CRITICAL REMINDERS

Calculate to Calibrate!

At this point in your service term,

it is critical that you know whether you’re on track to complete at least 1,700 hours by

the end of your term (or 900 hours, if you started in January/

February). Compare your hours in America Learns to our tracking sheet to

calculate how many hours you

may need to make up.

If you’re significantly behind in hours, it is YOUR responsibility

to create a plan with your supervisor to accumulate enough

hours in the coming months.

Contact your WSC Program

Coordinator if you have any

questions.

Serving from Home

Per the WSC Member Service

Agreement (Section VII), serving from home should not be

occurring.

For the remainder of the program

year, if a situation requires

service hours at home, you must:

submit a written request in advance to your supervisor

(email is okay),

receive approval from your

supervisor, and

submit verification of activities

completed, and time involved,

to your supervisor.

This information will be included in your WSC member file.

Weekend Hours

We are noticing a significant

number of service hours b e i n g c o n d u c t e d o n weekends. We know that our

members have a variety of reasons for this, such as one-

time service projects and pre-

approved alternate service.

These hours should be documented; please make sure your supervisor is aware

of any service taking place on

a weekend.

If hours appear to be excessive, repetitive or out of

the norm for your position, y o u r W S C P r o g r a m

Coordinator may inquire with your supervisor.

Submitting Your Timesheet

It is extremely important to our

program that you submit a timesheet each pay period, AND please submit it after the last

service day of each period.

If you are contacted to certify and submit your timesheet, please do

so promptly.

Unsure how

many hours you

have? Add your

pending hours

to your approved

hours in

America Learns

(screen shot

from America

Learns).

Environmental Stewardship

Washington Service Corps has over 500 members across this beautiful state.

Each member falls under one of six focus areas; Disaster Services,

Education, Healthy Futures, Economic Opportunity, Veterans and Families,

and Environmental Stewardship. In this update, we will focus on the impact

Environmental Stewardship members are having on the communities and

the land they serve. With just under 100 members, the impact they are

making on the environment is tremendous. So far, they have improved over

1,000 acres of land and trained over 20,000 individuals about the

environment! Let’s take a look at some of the members who have helped

make that impact. #ServeTheEarth

“My name is Katie and

I’m an AmeriCorps

Volunteer Coordinator

serving at the

Nisqually Land Trust

through the

Washington Service

Corps. I recruit and

manage volunteers and

help with habitat

restoration activities at

the Land Trust.”

-Katie Kirdahy

“My name is Emma Keese

and I serve with the

Washington Service Corps at

my site, the City of Tacoma’s

Office of Environmental

Policy and Sustainability

(OEPS). As a Sustainability

Specialist at OEPS, I educate

the public on environmental

sustainability issues and

work with them to have

positive impacts on the

environment.”

- Emma Keese

“My name is Morgan Beggs. I

am a member of the

Washington Service Corps

serving with the StreamTeam

at Clark Public Utilities. [We]

plant trees to improve water

quality for salmon, and my

role within this greater goal is

to coordinate our native plant

nursery with our restoration

effort.”

- Morgan Beggs

“My name is Vashti, and I serve

with Washington Service Corps

as an Education Coordinator

for Grays Harbor National

Wildlife Refuge (GHNWR).

Through my program, I provide

monthly lessons to 3rd and 4th

graders about the nearby

wildlife refuge and the

shorebirds that visit during

their long migration.”

- Vashti Engebretson

“My name is Sam Hain. I am the AmeriCorps prairie

restoration technician serving with the Center for

Natural Lands Management in Olympia. For my

service, I help with conservation projects in the

South Puget Sound region, either preserving and

improving existing prairies, or converting land which

was once prairie back into prairie.” -Sam Hain

Earth Day

April 22, 2017

Did you know that Earth Day is celebrated globally? It was

started in the United States in 1970 and has since become a worldwide celebration of this

gorgeous planet. So on April 22, get outside and join 196

countries and millions of people celebrating the Earth!

Celebrating the Earth! Spring is in the Air!

The days are getting longer, the weather is getting nicer, and Washington State is perfect for outdoor activities. Whether you like to bike, hike, boat, camp, backpack, go to the beach, or even fly in a hot air balloon, Washington has it all! Here are some resources to help find your next adventure: Pedal your way across the

state. Find a hiking trail near you. Kayak around the state. A camp site to stay the night. Backpacking basics and

planning. Find a public beach. Take a ride on a hot air

balloon. Other outdoor activities! #ServeTheEarth

It’s Okay, the Little Bird Survived! My name is Katy and I am serving with Washington Service Corps at Highline College’s Marine Science and Technology Center (MaST) in Des Moines, WA. At the MaST Center, we promote marine education and environmental stewardship of Puget Sound by allowing volunteers and locals to get up close and personal with marine life. As the Citizen Science and Volunteer Coordinator, I am responsible for managing over 100 volunteers involved with our [aquarium and] citizen science teams. As the leader of our Marine Mammal Stranding Team, I communicate with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife about issues or current events in our area. Usually communication is about marine mammals; however, this quarter I was alerted to different animal news: a mysterious illness plaguing sea gulls in Tacoma. WDFW mentioned that there was a mass die-off of sea gulls in the Port of Tacoma over the last few days and to be on the lookout for gulls acting sick or injured. If I came across any gulls with these symptoms, I was to call PAWS Wildlife Center to see if they had room to rehab it. Sure enough, that day, the business next to my site [told] us about a gull that had not moved all day and seemed to be injured. After assessing the situation and determining the gull did in fact look sick (it was lethargic, could not tuck its wings in completely, did not seem to be able to move much, and made no noise) we determined it probably had this mysterious illness, and PAWS was willing to accept it. Never in my life did I ever think I would be responding to calls about sea gulls, but here we are! Thankfully, we were able to capture the bird with no trouble and it spent the night in our aquarium before I was able to drive it up to PAWS the next day. Just so the whole world knows, driving with a gull in the back of your car on I-5 is TERRIFYING! With what little strength that bird had left, it kept trying to fly and get out of the cage; thankfully, it didn’t a make a sound, but I kept waiting for the LOUD sound that is a gull cry. The gull and I made it to our destination in one piece and still alive. Ours was one of 24 received by PAWS during this mass mortality event, and one of 16 to recover and survive. In total, about 50-100 birds died (possibly more) [due to] this unknown cause. What we do know is that birds were dying from inflamed intestines, which caused a build-up of toxins in the system. WDFW took many samples and sent them off for testing to see what caused this mysterious illness. Still no word on a cause, however, all common diseases and bacterial infections have been ruled out, meaning the cause is either toxin- or virus-driven. As the Marine Mammal Stranding Team Coordinator, I deal with mostly dead things, so it was nice to be able to save a living animal for once! This type of save was a first for our site, so it was nice to be able to show WDFW and others that we can adapt to new situations and are capable of growing to better meet the needs of Washington’s wildlife. -- Katy Kachmarik