Forterra is proud to announce that it is awarding a Community Restoration Grant to Whale Scout. Whale Scout leads land-based whale watching experiences, and channels people’s intrigue and passion about whales into on the ground salmon habitat restoration projects protecting the primary food source of struggling orcas. 

With the funding, Whale Scout will pilot Seeds to Sky: Exploring Careers in Ecological Restoration, a new after school program for high school students in the City of Bothell and surrounding Northshore School District. In this 10-week program, 25 students will engage in hands-on salmon habitat restoration along the Sammamish River at the Wayne Golf Course, a Bothell City Park that was formerly a golf course. We are especially excited to support this project given Forterra’s history helping preserve this special place.  
 
Students will learn about orcas, salmon, watersheds, tribal rights and local treaties, native plant identification, and noxious weed management just to name a few subjects.  Through this program, students won’t just be learning —they’ll be building a legacy of restoration that will ripple through their community and help ensure the survival of the orca’s main food source, the salmon. 

Whale Scout is also excited to provide more equitable access to career training opportunities in environmental conservation, reversing historical trends in the environmental restoration field.  

The project is part of a broader initiative by Whale Scout to engage college students and the community in restoring critical riparian habitat at the new park. This involves removing invasive plants, such as Himalayan blackberries and English ivy, and replacing them with native trees. The long-term goal is to enhance water quality by increasing tree canopy cover, shading the water, and improving ecological function. 

Congratulations to Whale Scout! We are so grateful for the work you do.