We Are Puget Sound Book and teacher "Miss K"

Dear Salish Sea Partners:

While researching, interviewing and writing for the book that became We Are Puget Sound, I was inspired by the strong bond that children have for this magnificent ecosystem that has been home to millions of humans over millennia.

In the years since publication, I have been inspired by the responses of kids and families and teachers to the book. For example, my granddaughter (“Miss K” to her students) loves the book as a resource for engaging the children in their learning. She is a primary teacher in Vancouver WA, thoroughly devoted to her primary-age kids with special needs. I asked her for some specific ways it helps the kids, and she told me …

“I have used the book to teach the kids about how to read and understand maps, and we have used that knowledge to be able to read native land maps.

My kids love looking through all the pictures of the wildlife, and they have used the book to learn about what plants and animals are indigenous to Washington State, and to be able to recognize and identify different types of plants and animals with sign language and with AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication, namely iPads with communication programs loaded on them so that students can click buttons to say words). 

The kids have studied the book and completed independent research projects about the impact of the Puget Sound on Native Peoples’ health and nutrition, and our current unit is specifically about the “10 Things You Can Do (to protect the Sound)” section. They are each choosing and implementing one of the 10, and we are also starting a class garden and a a class compost. Some paraeducators report to me that because of the book, they have learned more about the history of the Sound and how important it is to life in the PNW, and that they have learned more about how to protect and preserve the Sound. 

What I love about the book is that it’s a primary resource, and so it allows me to open up a conversation about Washington State and its Native Peoples, the geography of its land, and the plants and animals to which it is home. It does so in a way that centers Indigenous voices and stories. 

The book is beautiful, both in the stories it tells and the people and places it depicts, and my students all can tell how special it is. My principal has complimented the eloquence of the book, and I have even had other teachers join with my class so we can experience the book and learn from it together.”

- From David Workman, co-author of We Are Puget Sound

We Are Puget Sound- Impacts Report for 2025

After six full years, We Are Puget Sound impact campaign is alive and strong and still relevant today as it was in 2020 when we launched the book and campaign.

In 2025, the exhibit took a short break as several photo exhibit assets needed to be refreshed after five years of being on the road. We were fortunate and excited that Foss Waterway Seaport in Tacoma hosted the traveling exhibit for half the year. Foss Waterway Seaport is a maritime heritage museum that features hands-on displays, a wooden boat shop, educational programs, a functional dock, and is a wonderful events venue. The museum offers free admission to the public!

During this time at Foss Waterway Seaport, WCA and Braided River:

• Presented We Are Puget Sound campaign and book to the Seaport Board of Directors

• Hosted an exhibit opening community event that drew dozens of people

• Participated in two of their signature events with an outreach booth and generated dozens of post cards to Tacoma City Council to support clean water in Commencement Bay.

• Nearly 4,600 guests walked through the museum and the exhibit space, even though the museum was closed for 7weeks in October and November for renovations.

• The interactive ACT NOW interactive element of the exhibit from The Burke Museum days generated 75 personal pledges to act.

• Foss Waterway Seaport social media channels reached 6,415 folks with 327 likes, 1243 interactions, 2078 views, 19 comments, 32 shares, and 33 link clicks.

• Produced another We Are Puget Sound collaboration beer, this time with Odd Otter Brewery in Tacoma thanks to Foss Seaport Waterway connection.

STORYTELLING

• On Facebook we reached 6415 users and engaged 361 users with reactions and comments.

• We have nearly 1,300 followers on Instagram and our best-performing post was Mindy's interview with CBS News with 3,417 unique plays, 2,204 accounts reached, 143 likes, 35 shares.

• The We Are Puget Sound website attracted 1,900 unique visitors and over 2,100 visits over the last year.

• Brian Walsh, contributing photographer to We Are Puget Sound book, continues to cruise the Salish Sea during the summer on weeklong excursions on American Cruise Lines. Brian was a docent on six cruises. Each day on the ship, he gave a Salish Sea presentation that incoporated We Are Puget Sound campaign elements: History of the Pacific Northwest; Fire & Ice: the forces that created Puget Sound; and Watersheds, Salmon, and Orcas.  He reached an audience of  500 cruise guests. Thank you Brian for being an exceptional ambassador for We Are Puget Sound.

IN 2026… The exhibit will move across the Tacoma Narrows and north to the Kitsap History Museum in Bremerton for a six-month stint.  Stay tuned for more details as we develop additional programming and social media assets to accompany the exhibit.

Puget Sound Day on the Hill, Washington, D.C.

Puget Sound Day on the Hill is happening right now, this week! From April 25 to May 2, a large group from Washington State is once again gathering in Washington, D.C. to meet with key decision-makers in Congress to talk about the benefits of a healthy Puget Sound brings to the entire nation.

“I'm grateful to represent Washington Conservation Action, and join dozens of people from our region to speak up for Puget Sound recovery. We'll meet with Members of Congress from across the country, because we all care about CleanWater and HealthyHabitat - bipartisan issues that unite people . Thank you to Puget Sound Partnership and Northwest Treaty Tribes for your leadership in a rapidly evolving federal landscape.” reports Mindy Roberts, Puget Sound Program Director at Washington Conservation Action.

To learn more about Puget Sound Day on the Hill, visit our website. 

Watch: All Our Relations: Tribute to the Orca

Tribute to the Orca is out now! Earlier this year during Orca Action Month, Se’Si’Le, an Indigenous-led nonprofit organization based in the Bellingham area collaborated with Salish Sea and Northern Straits Native Nations and NGOs to host an Indigenous-centered event in June at the Seattle Aquarium. We’re excited to share this moving short film highlighting this event and additional interviews. Tribute to the Orca shares Indigenous communities' ancient kinship with orcas and salmon, and the importance of reciprocity in our relationship with our caretaker: Mother Nature. You’ll hear powerful Indigenous voices delivering somber and urgent narratives and learn about the Southern Resident orcas whose survival, like the survival of Indigenous lifeways here in the Pacific Northwest, depends on scha’enexw (the Salmon People).

We invite you to watch this 7-minute film, All Our Relations: Tribute to the Orca.