Celebrating another summer with Camp Keystone

By Nathan Zabel, NSEA Education Program Manager

This summer, NSEA welcomed back 4-6 year old campers, and our campus was once again filled with laughter, singing, dancing, and excitement. Camp Keystone celebrated its third year, and first year as a state licensed, outdoor nature-based program. For both returning campers and those we met for the first time this summer, we enjoyed another summer of learning about salmon, a keystone species so important to our region.

Camp Keystone ran for 10 weeks from June through August and featured 10 different ecological themes, all rooted in salmon education and place-based outdoor learning. New themes such as “Salish Sea” connected campers to the marine world salmon swim in while familiar themes such as “Whatcom Watersheds” brought campers from the top of Mt. Baker to the depths of Bellingham Bay. We started each day with a salmon circle, which included a land acknowledgment, salmon yoga, and salmon songs! Campers learned through movement and music the stages of the lifecycle and the habitats salmon rely on for survival, while thanking our Indigenous neighbors for caring for the land since time immemorial. They left each week showcasing their ability to name all 5 species of Pacific salmon using their hands.

Each week featured a field trip where campers visited a property located in the forest along Tenmile Creek. There, they got to look for salmon fry in the moving water of the creek, stand next to a beaver dam, and play hide and seek among the tall trees.

We are thrilled that almost every week of camp was full. This year was our first year as a licensed program, which opened up access to subsidies for families and allowed us to take one more step to increase accessibility to our Whatcom County community. We are happy to hear how meaningful Camp Keystone was for these campers and their families. One parent said, “Everyday my child came home and shared what they learned. I was amazed with how much he absorbed and could articulate to me. The topics were both fun and engaging but cultural and place based. Thank you for such awareness in your program!” Camp Keystone provided an avenue for youth to play, grow, and explore in the outdoors, while sparking a lifelong learning and compassion for the environment and salmon.

Registration for next summer will open on February 1st – look for more information at n-sea.org/camp-keystone or contact Nathan Zabel at nzabel@n-sea.org.

An Inspiring Spring Season

Aidan Hersh - AmeriCorps Environmental Stewardship Coordinator

Restoring salmon habitat in Whatcom County is an ongoing effort, and while NSEA facilitates this effort by organizing community work parties, we would not be able to reach our restoration goals without the generosity and dedication of community volunteers. Throughout the spring of 2023, NSEA’s Stream Stewards program held 24 community work parties, both public and private, and partnered with a variety of local organizations, like the Whatcom Land Trust, Whatcom Conservation District, and Washington Native Plant Society. The result of these events was a whopping 2,925 volunteer hours dedicated to habitat restoration that put over 7,300 plants in the ground. Volunteers removed an additional 72 cubic yards of invasive vegetation that will give the newly planted native trees and shrubs some room to grow freely along the 1.8 miles of improved riparian habitat.

Planting native trees and shrubs at a work party is one of the first steps to restoring habitat, the reality is restoration sites require monitoring and maintenance to ensure success. NSEA’s project team monitors and maintains sites annually for three to five years until Mother Nature takes over. This spring featured some first-time events and new additions to the stewardship programming in another step in the restoration process. NSEA piloted a weekday volunteer opportunity called Stream Team, where volunteers went to restoration sites that are 10-20+ years old. They removed cages from trees that have outgrown them, collected stray blue tubes, and removed Himalayan blackberry growing around these trees. Since March, volunteers have participated in seven work parties along a quarter mile stretch of Fishtrap Creek that NSEA has been working on for 20 years.

Another first this spring was a private work party/birthday party that was held in May along Terrell Creek. While private work parties are nothing new to NSEA, this was the first time someone had requested one for a birthday celebration. Jesse, who gathered friends and family to celebrate his birthday, explained that for him it was “a great way to give back to the Earth”. His sentiment was inspiring, and it was beautiful to see someone decide, on their own accord, to participate in such a selfless activity on a day that is generally accepted as the one day it is okay to be selfish. We hope that Jesse’s attitude may inspire others looking to make a positive impact on their community and environment.

Join us this summer for our River Stewards summer work parties on the North and South Fork Nooksack. The schedule and registration can be found at