Stewardship Foundation supports Salmon in Schools at four local elementary schools

Three cheers for salmon in the schools!

It’s that wonderful time of year again, when local streams and ponds come alive with the excitement of annual salmon releases. Families, students, and community members gather to celebrate the journey of young coho salmon as they begin life in our local waters.

The Stewardship Foundation supports Salmon in Schools at four local elementary schools: Lake Forest Park, Brookside, Briarcrest, and Ridgecrest. 

In January, coho salmon eggs are placed in tanks at each school. Over the next few months, students carefully monitor the water quality and temperature as the eggs hatch into alevin and then grow into fry. 

Through related curriculum, students learn about the challenges salmon face and how to be good stewards of our waterways to help the salmon survive. By spring, the sturdy young salmon are ready to be released into the wild.

Stewardship Foundation volunteers help Lake Forest Park, Briarcrest, and Ridgecrest students release their salmon at the Grace Cole Nature Park ponds, the headwaters of Brookside Creek. 

Brookside Elementary releases its salmon directly into a stream at the edge of the schoolyard (Hillside Creek), which flows into Brookside Creek. 

From there, the salmon continue through McAleer Creek to Lake Washington, where their journey to the sea begins. If you have an elementary school student, join them this month in wishing the fish a safe journey to sea (and back)!