The NSEA strives to recover salmon by engaging our community in restoration, education and stewardship. In each of these focus areas the work for salmon recovery is far larger than our small staff and volunteer board could accomplish alone.

NSEA’s Future Leaders of Whatcom Waters (FLOW) Program provides internship opportunities to young professionals, while increasing NSEA’s organizational capacity to facilitate community programs. FLOW participants [interns] are provided a formative program to increase job skills for future careers in environmental conservation, building their resume and creating valuable connections with the local professional community.

In return, staff support through FLOW participants [interns] provides NSEA the ability to increase our immediate impacts working towards our long term goal of salmon recovery in WA State. With nearly 50 interns annually, NSEA is able to increase the miles of habitat restored, # of trees planted, quality of monitoring, # students served, and # of outreach events hosted/attended.

The partnership provided through the FLOW Program strengthens our community, by creating informed citizens and shaping future conservation leaders, while improving environmental conditions and sustaining healthy watersheds in Whatcom County.

A river walk intern helps teach folks about the fish and critters in the water