King County Summer Youth Program
Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership Field Days

The Lake Sammamish Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership (LSUWRP) collaborated with King County’s Water Land and Resources Division to provide three field days in their annual 6-week Summer Youth Program. The Summer Youth program provides approximately 15 students the opportunity to learn about watershed management, water quality, local conservation and stewardship activities and careers in environmental fields.

The LSUWRP field days were hosted by environmental professionals from the partnership.   Students participated in activities focused on native plant and wildlife identification, habitat restoration efforts, and conservation minded urban planning and sustainable building practices.

Each field day was held at a different location, the first day was spent at Lake Sammamish State Park where native plant restoration efforts and wildlife habitat improvements are underway. Students also had the opportunity to explore career opportunities in the environmental field; they participated in a series of individual interviews with professionals from the partnership. The interviews allowed students to practice networking and spend time getting more in depth with the participating partner’s career paths and background.

The second day was spent at the Issaquah State Fish Hatchery to better understand the role of hatcheries in salmon recovery and the last day was spent with local government urban planners and environmental outreach staff.  These folks demonstrated how green building practices and conservation strategies are being implemented on a local level.

Thanks to the many partners that made these field days a success: USFWS, King County, Mountains to Sound Greenway, Washington State Parks, City of Bellevue, City of Sammamish, Friends of Issaquah State Hatchery, Trout Unlimited, Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park and Washington Native Plant Society.

To learn more about the students experience with the LSUWRP watch the following video:

Lake Sammamish Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership Field Days from King County DNRP on Vimeo.