Be Whale Wise at the Seattle Boat Show

San Juan MRC joined other partners in promoting Be Whale Wise in February at the Seattle Boat Show, reaching over 1,300 boaters and distributing 450 whale warning flag packs. Frances Robertson, Marine Project Manager and head of the County's Southern Resident killer whale recovery efforts, joined NOAA, WA Dept of Fish and Wildlife, and Soundwatch South for the first weekend.

Most boaters were eager to learn about the new regulations and how to comply, and many already had their whale flags. It’s encouraging to see so many wanting to help with the recovery effort. Washington now has the strictest distance rules to protect whales from boat impacts, Frances said.

The Marine Program and MRC will continue supporting Be Whale Wise at dock talks this summer.

Learn more about San Juan MRC’s outreach efforts.

Transforming data into art

Jefferson MRC members Katie Kowal (MRC Coordinator), Betsy Carlson, and Frank Handler (MRC members) attend-ed the Art and Science Workshop at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center. Presentations discussed how to make science communication more approachable, and an activity on how to turn data (in graphs or chart form) into art that communicates results in picture form.

It was neat to see how the artist incorporated data and graphs into a visual art piece. This approach sparked new ideas about how the Jefferson MRC can share data with the public in creative ways, such as visually representing our Olympia oyster population surveys or bull kelp monitoring surveys. The workshop activities and conversations with other attendees left me feeling deeply inspired—not only to continue creating marine science-themed art but also to explore new opportunities for community partnerships in the future, said Katie Kowal, Jefferson MRC Coordinator, and workshop participant.

Tide pooling at night

Over 100 people attended the annual Starlight Beach Walk at Olympic Beach on February 8th, exploring tide pools at low tide with trained volunteers.

Hosted by WSU Beach Watchers, in partnership with Snohomish MRC and the city of Edmonds, the free, family-friendly event has been a community favorite for over a decade. Attendees explored the shoreline at night, discovering marine critters and learning about our coastal ecosystem.

In the news:

A different kind of winter fun: tidepooling at night on Puget Sound
February 27 | KUOW (event co-hosted by Snohomish MRC)