Washington Conservation Districts along with over 100 partners across the Pacific Northwest continue to inspire action to recover endangered Orcas through Orca Recovery Day. Now in it’s third year, Orca Recovery Day adapted this year to add an EcoChallenge digital platform, helping broaden and diversify engagement in the face of limitations on the number of people that can participate in-person. The EcoChallenge encouraged action in the safety of ones own home and neighborhood and highlighted the impact that everyone can have on this issue through changing our daily habits.

Right: Volunteers with the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition participate in a kayak trash cleanup, removing some of the over 53,000lbs of trash cleaned from local waterways.

Combined, the day of restoration events and the EcoChallenge united nearly 1,700 people across 17-states and four countries to help restore ecosystems that support Orca recovery. The collective impact of this partnership resulted in nearly 6,000 trees planted, over 22-acres of habitat restored, 53,000 pounds of trash cleaned up, and dozens of other actions leading to less waste, cleaner air, and climate change mitigation.

“I loved being a part of Orca Recovery Day to help my children make the connection between the parks we trek through and the impact plants and people have on water quality,” said Marguerite, a participant in Thurston Conservation District’s event. “It was a great day of learning, adventure, hard work, and a lot of fun!”

The EcoChallenge resulted in 60-teams competing in a friendly point system to see whose collective actions could have the greatest impact. A team from South Whidbey Elementary School, LaVassar Science Period, lead the way, with 78-team members collecting litter, leading advocacy efforts, and planting over 500 trees!

"I joined this challenge to check my awareness of environmental issues in our Pacific Northwest region, and to expand my understanding,” said Sophia, an EcoChallenge participant. “Each of us contributes individual action, but community coordination is important too. I wanted to learn how to harmonize my personal efforts with those of the community."

Right: Volunteers help plant trees as part of the Clear Creek Task Forces' riparian restoration event. Nearly 6,000 trees were planted on Orca Recovery Day this year.

Special thanks is due to funding partners for Orca Recovery Day, including: the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, Washington State Conservation Commission, Milgard Foundation, One Tree Planted, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, The Russell Family Foundation, Boeing, Puget Sound Energy, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and The Nature Conservancy.

For More Information: Visit www.BetterGround.org/ORD to find more detailed information on Orca Recovery Day, a detailed interactive story map of the issues facing Southern Resident Orcas, and examples of things everyone can do to support recovery efforts.

 a bachelor’s degree in marine sciences. Since then, I have been working seasonally in natural resources throughout eastern Oregon and Washington. As a fan of too many outdoor activities, you can find me exploring some of the amazing Puget Sound scuba dive sites or trying to adapt to the west side mountain bike trails (roots?! mud?!). I hope to contribute in many ways and am greatly looking forward to my time with PCD!

Welcome Mike Malpasuto!
Harvest Pierce County is excited to welcome their new AmeriCorps place, Mike Malpasuto, who will be supporting the gleaning program. Mike received his BA in Classics from the University of Rochester. He then moved to Seattle to receive his Master’s in Teaching from SPU while teaching Latin at Roosevelt High School. Mike developed a passion for food justice while in college learning about low accessibility to healthy produce as he was beginning gardening. Mike worked on a 1 acre no-till farm in Everett, WA where he learned how to farm, which in turn led him to want to use his teaching degree for sustainable agriculture and food justice. Mike is also an avid rock climber and spent some time working at Vertical World in Seattle. 

Welcome Amy Pearl!
Hello everyone, my name is Amy Pearl. Before finding my love within the environmental world, my first passion was being a competitive dancer. I transitioned that love of being a dancer over to being a dance instructor and I am currently still involved within that world and love every

 second of teaching the youth of today. I graduated from the University of Washington Bothell,Go Dawgs, with my bachelor’s in environmental studies with a focus in sustainability and water quality. After graduating, I was lucky to get to work two seasons as an Invasive Plant Technician for Snohomish County last year and within Pierce Conservation District this year. I am beyond excited to get to serve and collaborate within my new community!

Welcome Back Allie Campbell!
I am really excited to be returning this year for another term as the Water Quality Outreach Specialist with AmeriCorps. Prior to starting at PCD, I had no idea how much I did not know about the environmental world. While serving my first term, I learned so much fascinating information about our ecosystem and gained a long list of crucial skills that I can take with me wherever I go. I also got to plan and coordinate events, lead restoration and volunteer crews, teach children about storm water, and interact with many diverse groups of people throughout Pierce County.

This year, I get to do all those things and more. Now that I have a year of service under my belt, I am able to self-manage much of my work. With that being said, I was able to take more of a lead role with the Urban Tree Sale and Rain Barrel workshop series— and for the first time for PCD ever, I launched these programs virtually. In addition to project management, I am learning new skills like web design and strategic planning, and I plan on becoming more involved with cross-program needs as well.

I look forward to another year of service and professional growth.