25 things you can do to protect salmon
Salmon need cold, clean and clear water to thrive – and so do humans. Find out what you can do at home, at work, at school and in your community to protect wild salmon habitat.
Protecting wild salmon habitat…
Clean water comes from a healthy watershed. Any place in your neighborhood or community where water and snowmelt move downstream and converge into other bodies of water – from the smallest creek to the largest lake – creates a watershed. Everything you do in your yard, neighborhood or community affects watershed health, water quality and the condition of salmon habitats.
There are simple things you and your family can do to help protect and create healthy watersheds and salmon habitats. Together we can help ensure that future generations will enjoy the clean water that is so critical to the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest.
…at home
- Turn off the tap and keep a pitcher of cool water in the fridge.
- Shop local and include more plant-based foods in your diet to minimize the environmental impact of
food production.
- Make your yard a pesticide-free zone to prevent the runoff of toxic chemicals into streams, lakes and waterways.
- Dispose of toxic chemicals such as aerosol cans, paints, furniture polish and ammonia-based cleaners responsibly.
- Choose recycled paints for home decorating projects to minimize the amount of paint that ends up in landfills every year.
- Disconnect your downspout from the sewer system and redirect it to a rain garden.
…at work
- Get a reusable coffee cup and spork (spoon, knife, fork all-in-one utensil) and commit to using them.
- Reuse your printer ink and toner cartridges up to four times to save money and keep plastic cartridges out of landfills.
- Support or start a recycling program in your office breakroom with clearly marked bins.
- Reduce paper use in the office by selecting duplex printing (printing on both sides) as the default setting on the copier.
- Turn off the lights – and your computer – when leaving the office at the end of the day to reduce carbon emissions and energy bills.
- Swap out workplace lighting with low-energy equivalents and encourage the use of natural light when working during the daylight hours.
…at school
- Place reminders over light switches in every classroom to turn lights out when you leave.
- Support or start student-organized recycling programs in the classroom and the school.
- Request that your school district purchase and use environmentally friendly cleaning products for their schools.
- Recruit parent and student helpers to create a native garden to provide shade, wildlife habitat and opportunities for learning about plants that help the environment.
- Minimize single family car transport to and from school by having children ride the bus or walk or bike with friends.
- Teach your children how to care for the environment and encourage them to lead by example with their classmates.
- Collaborate with other families to buy back-to-school supplies in bulk to reduce packaging, unused supplies and costs.
…in the community
- Ask supermarkets and restaurants to stock only sustainably-caught salmon.
- Get out of your car and walk or bicycle to your destination at least one day a week.
- Clean up animal waste as you walk your dog to prevent it from washing into streams and contaminating drinking water and salmon habitat.
- Organize a tree planting party in your neighborhood to increase their effectiveness in filtering water, cleaning air, preventing erosion and providing habitat for fish and wildlife.
- Refuse plastic bags at the supermarket to reduce the more than 100 billion that end up clogging sewers, gutters and waterways, entangling birds and being swallowed by whales, turtles and other marine life.
- Get to know your watershed council and volunteer with stream restoration and education projects.
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