About 175 people attended the annual local environmental educators conference on Friday.
This story originally was published on Jan. 24, 2025, in the Skagit Valley Herald.
The Storming the Sound conference is an annual conference that draws environmental educators from throughout the Puget Sound region.
The conference includes a keynote speech, panel sessions and an endnote speech.
This year’s keynote speaker was ethnobotanist Abe Lloyd, who spoke about traditional ecological knowledge and Indigenous management of food systems.
The conference was moved this year from Maple Hall in La Conner to Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon. The move allows the conference to be able to grow.
Past conferences had become crowded, said former conference organizer Susan Wood.
The new space also has better accessibility and better technology for presentations, said conference organizer Annie England.
The new location also drew in more students. England said she hopes the move will bring the next generation to the conference and inspire them to work in environmental fields.
About 30 members of Skagit Valley College’s Environmental Conservation, Greenhouse and Garden, First Nations and Outdoor clubs volunteered and attended the conference.
The conference allowed students to learn about potential jobs and community groups, said Skagit Valley College instructor and Environmental Conservation Club adviser Sean Howard.
Sponsors of the conference, including Skagit Land Trust, North Cascades Institute, Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group, Lautenbach Recycling and the Orca Network, set up booths filled with educational information and resources.
Carolyn Moulton of Lautenbach Recycling said the event served as a way for the company to network and find additional ways to be better stewards of the environment.
This year was Moulton’s third year attending the event.
“It’s always energizing and inspiring,” she said.
Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group Outreach Manager Lucy DeGrace has attended every conference since its conception.
“It’s a wonderful way to connect with other educators … and generate ideas,” said Degrace.
England said she hoped that the conference would allow participants the change to talk about topics they care deeply about.
“I hope people leave feeling inspired and hopeful,” she said.
A broad array of panels included topics such as the transition to clean energy, teaching climate science and engaging youth in environmental leadership.
Participants argued, collaborated and crowd-sourced answers to questions posed by those in attendance.
A panel presented by National Wildlife Federation staff focused on how to garden for wildlife. The federation has a program that allows residents to certify their backyards and other areas as wildlife habitat. Residents must have sources of food, water, cover and habitat for young animals.
Federal Habitat Steward Program Coordinator Guinevere Unterbrink said natural features such as fallen leaves and dead trees are often considered “messy” to gardeners, but that they are often critical habitat for animals.
“It’s all about changing (your) perspective,” Unterbrink said.
— By Emma Fletcher-Frazer, Skagit Valley Herald
Also read in Salish Current:
• “Power of community resonates at Storming the Sound,” Jan 26, 2024
• “Storming the Sound for 25 years: what’s next for the grassroots event?” Jan. 18, 2024