Past Events

Webinar: An Update on Orca Recovery in the Salish Sea

Recorded Thursday, October 13, 2022

Watch the Webinar https://vimeo.com/760093383

Hear from managers in Washington state and British Columbia who are working on orca recovery actions. This one hour webinar will focus on actions being taken on both sides of the border to support the Southern Resident Killer Whales and provide an overview of their current health. The webinar will be moderated by Ginny Broadhurst, Director of the Salish Sea Institute.

Orca whale with calf breaching the surface of the water. The Salish Sea Institute and Western Washington University logos are superimposed over the bottom of the image.

State of the Salish Sea Series: Please, Tell Me Something Good about Climate and the Salish Sea

Recorded September 23, 2021

Brought to you by the Salish Sea Institute in partnership with the WWU Alumni Association

Join us to hear about two significant and ambitious construction projects that are going above and beyond “normal” practices. The Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, set to open October 2021, claims to be “the most progressive, responsible and sustainable arena in the world.” Sen̓áḵw is a vision for a development in downtown Vancouver BC. It will be Canada’s first large-scale net zero carbon housing development — and one of only a few in the world.

State of the Salish Sea Series: Celebration of the Salish Sea from Artists & Authors

Recorded June 10, 2021

Brought to you by the Salish Sea Institute in partnership with the WWU Alumni Association

Have you ever fallen in love with a place? How do you care for our homewaters? How do you sustain hope in trying times? Join us to open your hearts to the Salish Sea through poetry and story. Together we’ll celebrate this special place and commit to collective action for the future.

State of the Salish Sea Series: Symposium #1

Recorded May 26, 2021

Brought to you by the Salish Sea Institute in partnership with the WWU Alumni Association

The first event in our State of the Salish Sea series will provide an overview of the report from lead writer Kathryn Sobocinski, as well as feature contributors Tara Martin and Aquila Flower who will share about the Fraser River delta and new Salish Sea digital atlas maps. Ginny Broadhurst, Director of the Salish Sea Institute, will host the conversation and there will be time for audience questions and discussion.

Preview of the State of the Salish Sea Report

Recorded February 25, 2021

The Salish Sea Institute will be releasing a State of the Salish Sea report by early May.

The report takes a detailed look at legacy, continuing, and emerging threats and describes opportunities to build understanding, resilience, and improvement within the ecosystem.

It will provide an overall assessment of the health of the international Salish Sea ecosystem by looking at the two most pervasive threats: a growing human footprint and climate change. These impacts are not isolated—the intersection of the two yields cumulative effects across a variety of ecosystem components that are not easily measured and that are variable in space and time.

Dr. Kathryn Sobocinski (WWU Marine and Coastal Sciences) is the lead author for the report. Guest contributors from around the Salish Sea provide additional scientific expertise and perspectives.

Salish Sea Science Symposium: Implications of Noise from Navy Aircraft for the Salish Sea and Olympic Region

Recorded March 16, 2021

The San Juan County Marine Resources Committee (MRC) and the Salish Sea Institute at Western Washington University invite you to learn about navy jet noise and impacts to humans and wildlife in the region. Lauren Kuehne and Rob Williams will present from recently published scientific research and a moderated panel discussion will follow. There will be opportunities for questions from the audience.