How many ways can you love shellfish?  Well, the 6th annual Bivalve Bash is coming Saturday July 19 and they’ll all be available to try.  The Bash is held from 10 to 6 at Taylor Shellfish Farms on Chuckanut Drive.  You must park either at the Edison school or Blanchard and ride free shuttle busses.  Advance $5 entry tickets at Haggen stores, and at the door.  It’s a BIG party to celebrate shellfish and the benefits of good, clean waters!  http://www.bivalvebash.com for all of the details.  Oh .. and the MudRun!!!! More good clean(?) fun!

Be sure to check out Edison too, the locals are featuring Bivalve specials all day long, and the Samish Bay Invitational Professional Oyster Shucking Competition will be held at The Longhorn Saloon at 8:00pm.

Some of the proceeds from the Bivalve Bash, including a silent auction and raffle, support the Skagit Conservation Education Alliance (SCEA), which brings you this weekly NaturalSkagit blog and is a co-sponsor of the Bash.

Speaking of Taylor Shellfish and SCEA and good clean waters, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently recognized eleven national Environmental Heroes for 2008 and one is Taylor’s own Bill Dewey, also a co-founder and board member of SCEA (and Bash M. C!) A great article at http://www.noaa.gov/earthday Thanks, Bill. 

Two of the other 2008 Environmental Heroes are from Coupeville!  Part of the WSU Beachwatchers group there.  And so …….

The Local-Organization-You-Might-Want-To-Be-Involved-With this week is the WSU Beachwatchers.  http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/skagit/

To be a Beachwatcher, you first apply, and then attend some rigorous 100 hours of training about our beaches and near shore habitat.  That, and the network of resources you connect with, equips you to provide many happy hours of volunteer work … organizing educational lectures for the public, collecting marine data, talking with the community, and other hands-on work.

Sounds like a lot of effort?  Members love it … you’ll see them at many locations and events, including those shown on their website, and they will have a display at the Bivalve Bash.  These guys give a big amount of their time and energy to keeping the NaturalSkagit great.  Give a big thanks when you see one!

2008 training recently ended … mark your calendar for March 2009 when the next session starts.  Enrollment is limited, so pay attention early next year when the announcement comes!!!!!

Here are some near-term activities to consider:

Wed. July 9 Public Hearing on Wetland Mitigation Bank – County Hearing Examiner 9:00 am 1800 Continental Place, Mt. Vernon. 

Sat. July 12 Barr Creek Property Celebration 1:00pm – 3:00pm 54787 Conrad Rd, Rockport, Wa.  RSVP or (360) 428 7878 http://www.skagitlandtrust.org for directions. 

Sats. July 12 & 19 Free day trips – canoeing or guided hikes North Cascades Institute Learning Center on Diablo Lake Signup at 8:30 am First Come – First Served http://www.ncascades.org/daytrips for directions/info. 

Sat. July 19 Beach naturalists at Washington Park 11:00am – 1:00pm Beach education with the WSU Beachwatchers. 

Sun. July 20 Beach naturalists at Bayview State Park 12:00noon – 2:00pm Beach education with the WSU Beachwatchers.

Many similar events and activities and opportunities are posted on the GoSkagit Event Calendar.  Check it often! 

(This blog is a service of the Skagit Conservation Education Alliance http://www.skagitwater.org Your comments will be helpful.  New ideas to consider, and changes we should make are especially welcome.  Corrections and further enlightenment will help as well.  You can email to .  Thank you.)


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