As members of the Tulalip Tribes and surrounding community gathered on the tribes’ reservation in celebration of Earth Day in April, they learned about native plants, pollinators, wetland ecosystems and more. Many lent a hand to trash pickup, garden maintenance and other activities, as well.
“I want Earth Day to be every day and for all of our departments, agencies and community members to work together all year,” said Melissa Gobin, environmental and education outreach coordinator for the Tulalip Natural Resources Department and organizer of the event.
Veronica Leahy, Tulalip’s diabetes program coordinator, guided volunteers in weeding, potting seedlings for distribution to tribal members, and other tasks at a medicinal plant garden behind the Tulalip Health Clinic.
Volunteers including Tulalip Natural Resources Department interns Rae Ike-Sedano and Lulu Moses, both high school juniors, helped at the garden, learning about the medicinal uses for calendula flowers, a type of marigold.
Meanwhile, other groups of volunteers gathered trash from nearby Mission Beach and from areas around the Tulalip ballfield, helping to keep plastics and other pollutants out of a stream before it flows into Tulalip Bay.
All the activities during the second-annual Tulalip Earth Day event were meant to inspire environmental stewardship and underscore the value in protecting nature.
“Salmon as an indicator species shows us how healthy our world is, and we need help more than ever to protect our way of life,” Gobin said.
Above: Rae Ike-Sedano and Lulu Moses move calendula seedlings from a garden bed into pots for distribution. Photos and story by Kimberly Cauvel.
