Shellfish Protection Districts (SPD) Topic Library

Education and Outreach

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Programs (Including Community Demonstrations and School Programs)

Burley Lagoon, Filucy Bay, Rocky Bay Shellfish Protection Districts (SPDs) / Pierce County Pollution Identification and Correction (PIC)

Harbor Wildwatch is contracted for a number of outreach tasks: 1) present shoreline etiquette programs on local beaches; 2) provide environmental stewardship curriculum in Key Peninsula schools; and 3) facilitate outreach with Washington State University (WSU) Extension and their Shoreline Stewards program. Key Peninsula Parks purchased land in sensitive areas, such as a heavily-used fishing spot in Minter Bay. Funding is also directed to Citizens for a Healthy Bay for boater education and outreach, as well as sewage pump out for boats in areas of high use.

Henderson and Nisqually SPDs

There are numerous education and outreach programs ongoing in the SPDs to inform residents about all types of nonpoint pollution. The county septic demonstration park was built as a training tool to teach owners how to inspect their systems, and thousand of owners have attended the training to learn how their system works and how to inspect it. The county and city stormwater utilities, Conservation District, Puget Sound Restoration Fund's Henderson Inlet Community Shellfish Farm, Puget Sound Shellfish Institute and many others educate and actively engage citizens in water quality issues.

Jefferson County Clean Water District (CWD)

A portion of each Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) centennial grant goes to education and outreach, public meetings, newsletters, and on-site sewage system (OSS) classes. Some educational projects are contracted through the WSU extension office or local non-profits.
Water Quality staff go door to door conducting septic inspections for new homeowners, discuss maintenance of OSS, answer property owner questions, and provide as-built site plans to help encourage compliance.

Oakland Bay CWD

Mason County Public Health (MCPH) co-presents at OSS with WSU Extension Mason County. The Oakland Bay Clean Water District Advisory Committee (CWDAC) partners held informational meetings that have evolved into an annual Earth Day event. MCPH attends public events, like Oysterfest to talk to OSS owners and hand out educational information.

Sequim Bay Dungeness Watershed CWD

An online septics class and reporting form is available through the county website and has greatly improved the ability of homeowners to meet the requirements of the Marine Recovery Area (MRA). The county conducts Septic 101 classes and homeowner do-it-yourself OSS inspection classes (now online) and provides various educational brochures in cooperation with partners such as the Clallam Conservation District (CCD). At the Dungeness River Fesival, Environmental Health staff provide information at a booth and have an OSS walk-through model (popular with young visitors). CCD conducts workshops and farm tours throughout the year to promote agricultural best management practices (BMPs) and distributes educational materials at various community events.

Skagit County Clean Water Program (CWP) / The Clean Samish Initiative (CSI) / PIC Program

Recently the focus has been on deliverables in the Outreach & Education (O&E) program. This program is funded by CWP dollars and O&E is included in most contacts created by these dollars. Education and outreach includes OSS education, Skagit Conservation District programs (peer to peer program, workshops, neighborhood groups), pet waste stations and sani-cans, and junior stream stewards program.

South Holmes Harbor SPD

Community programs include: a dog mascot in parades to hand out poop bags and encourage best practices for managing pet waste; including the community as part of rain garden construction and planting work; and producing a large educational display that describes the watershed and tells the story of Holmes Harbor and how people eat, play and live there.

Stillaguamish River CWD

Three or four Snohomish Water Management staff are dedicated to education and outreach. They offer streamside landowner workshops. They operate under a conceptual pyramid model (print materials at the bottom, site visits in the middle). Pet waste education and outreach is funded by a grant from Ecology to investigate a number of pet businesses.

Mailings and General Outreach (Including O&M Manuals, Guides, etc.)

Burley Lagoon, Filucy Bay, Rocky Bay SPDs / Pierce County PIC

There are a number of brochures and fact sheets that provide OSS information to property owners in the SPDs, as well as the other shellfish areas of Pierce County. A packet of information is provided during sanitary survey visits and a similar, but somewhat different packet, is provided to new property owners when a residence changes ownership. Much of this information is available online.

Henderson and Nisqually SPDs

Mailings, editorials and radio shows were performed when Henderson Inlet was downgraded.

Jefferson County CWD

Occasional newsletters are sent.

Kitsap Public Health District

Nonpoint pollution resulting from landowner practices can be best addressed through community engagement, outreach and education. Kitsap Health developed a Homeowner's Guide to Onsite Sewage Systems (PDF) that is available at the office and distributed with the Craft3 loan program brochures during parcel surveys. Other brochures are available and distributed when applicable including: pet waste, and livestock waste.

Oakland Bay CWD

Commissioners wrote a letter to the citizens of Oakland Bay in the very beginning of the process, which was well received. WSU Extension is contracted to do reporting in the form of an Annual Report to the citizens and Oakland Bay CWDAC Board of Directors. An effective tool for education in Oakland Bay is mailings to shoreline homeowners regarding OSS and other clean water activities. MCPH continues to use mailings including Every Door Direct Mailing through the United States Postal Service.

Sending mailed invitations to workshops was important to ensuring good attendance. Mason County also sends direct mailings (Every Door Direct Mailing based on mail routes) to remind people to think about their OSS. Mailings ask "Have you had your system serviced?", provide helpful hints, include Craft3 loan information, and provide information about upcoming workshops. After mailings are distributed, pumpers and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) specialist report an uptick in calls regarding OSS O&M, as well as an increase in rates of O&M compliance six months later.

A septic system owner's manual booklet was created and given out to all homeowners and available free on the Mason County website. It is also provided to homeowners at the time of sale and upon installation of a new OSS.

Sequim Bay Dungeness Watershed CWD

The county sends out quarterly newsletters known as the “Clean Water Herald” with articles about O&M and how to complete it, plus other pertinent information. CCD publishes a quarterly newsletter and posts information on BMPs on its website.

Skagit County CWP / The CSI / PIC Program

The CWP and CSI produce quarterly newsletters. Press releases and notifications of public meetings are also mailed to property owners.

South Holmes Harbor SPD

The SPD mailed general information materials to property owners to educate about the importance of compliance.

Stillaguamish River CWD

Brochures are used to help landowners identify if they live within the CWD.

Social Marketing and Behavior Change

Henderson and Nisqually SPDs

During the initial outreach and education activities for the SPD, there was an increase in OSS repair applications and an immediate improvement in water quality, even before the O&M program went into effect. This was the result of the County's extensive, multi-year community involvement process that included a committee, community workshops, direct mailings, newsletters, surveys, ediotrial board comments, and TV programming, to support the formation of the SPD.

Kitsap Public Health District

Social marketing studies in Kitsap County have been an important tool for determining communications messages. Many studies suggest that best results can be achieved by making three points, three times.

Oakland Bay CWD

Social marketing is a big part of the education and outreach activities in Oakland Bay. The County hired a social marketing contractor who prepared a market research report at a cost of approximately $10,000. This work was completed under a grant secured by the Squaxin Island Tribe and was presented at a national conference.

Sequim Bay Dungeness Watershed CWD

In Clallam County, commissioners like to hear from their constituents when they feel strongly about funding a program. In that case, any social marketing program would have to address encouraging constituents to talk to their commissioners.

Skagit County CWP / The CSI / PIC Program

The County and the Skagit Conservation District are beginning new social marketing programs.

South Holmes Harbor SPD

The SPD publicly shared the success of the program as compliance rates began to rise. Maps showed properties that were in and out of compliance, not as an enforcement tool but as a way to show all the good work the community was doing and the positive trend of the data.

Stillaguamish River CWD

Social marketing research is used to identify strategies to encourage behavior change. OSS repairers are very effective at spreading the word.

Surveys

Henderson and Nisqually SPDs

Surveys were conducted when Henderson Inlet was downgraded.

Oakland Bay CWD

Oakland Bay CWDAC conducted a survey to learn more about what citizens in the CWD cared about. Out of 386 property owners screened for the survey, 126 OSS owners who were not following the recommended practices participated in a followup interview. 32 livestock owners participated in a followup interview. The survey found that single, older female property owners were more likely to be non-compliant. It also showed that immediate health impacts on family, pets and livestock were more motivating to citizens than general statements about the environment. Mason County has been focusing on getting people to understand that an OSS needs regular maintenance. WSU also performs regular six-month follow-up surveys. Mason County has completed surveys to ask property owners what is important to them about OSSs. Mason County is now asking people to maintain their systems and is tracking that activity. Industry professional and homeowners who complete a service event have to report maintenance or pumping to Mason County via the Carmody O&M database or directly to Public Health staff. Mason County or WSU may or may not conduct a follow up survey.

Sequim Bay Dungeness Watershed CWD

In Clallam County, staff sent out a county-wide survey asking about OSS owners' attitudes regarding OSSs, O&M, and other factors (online and hard copy to almost 16,000 OSS owners). The county hoped to have 400 surveys returned, and instead received over 2,000. The survey report will be available in mid-2014.

South Holmes Harbor SPD

Surveys were used to determine the effectiveness of the outreach program in effecting behavior change.

Websites and Social Media

Henderson and Nisqually SPDs

Thurston County's website includes educational material about the connection between pet waste and water quality.

Jefferson County CWD

Jefferson County Public Health website provides information about CWD. Social media is not allowed due to public records issues.

Oakland Bay CWD

Mason County developed a website that is interactive and includes a septic system owner's manual booklet (PDF). The Oakland Bay CWD site is linked to the Mason County webpage.

Sequim Bay Dungeness Watershed CWD

Clallam County has developed an online do-it-yourself homeowner septic system inspection tool. CCD posts BMP information on its website.

Skagit County CWP / The CSI / PIC Program

The CWP and CSI host websites and Facebook pages with resources, videos, and information.

South Holmes Harbor SPD

The SPD website is current and active. Social media is not supported as a tool.

Stillaguamish River CWD

The SPD website is used for outreach.

Events (Including Workshops, Open Houses, and Dinners)

Burley Lagoon, Filucy Bay, Rocky Bay SPDs / Pierce County PIC

SWM conducts annual Homeowners Association workshops for proper stormwater facility O&M and pollution source control. PCD holds regular class workshops, small farm tours, community displays and information tables to bring current tools and learning opportunities to the SPD areas.

Henderson and Nisqually SPDs

Homeowner classes are very popular.

Jefferson County CWD

The County holds Septic 101 and 102 classes, public information meetings, festival booths at local events, and Jefferson County Conservation District workshops.

Kitsap Public Health District

Kitsap Health conducts public meetings to kick-off PIC projects, provide project updates, and provide free technical assistance about how to protect their septic system investment. Meeting invitations are mailed to project area owners and residents. Kitsap Health and Kitsap County Public Works partner to conduct three regional (north, central, and south) OSS workshops annually. Brochures, water conservation kits, and sink strainers are distributed and participants are given free Green Cleaning Kits.

Oakland Bay CWD

Mason County partners with WSU and offers four or more homeowner OSS workshops per year, and offers discounts on pumping for class participants when available. Oakland Bay CWD partners attend fairs and events. The Oakland Bay CWD partners sponsor an event around Earth Day to bring as many partners together as possible. These events are very well attended. In Mason County, seafood “snacks” are provided at open houses.

Sequim Bay Dungeness Watershed CWD

Clallam County and CCD participate at the annual Dungeness River Festival. Staffing shortages and a reduced work week schedule restrict the amount of participation at other public events.

Skagit County CWP / The CSI / PIC Program

Skagit CD programs include workshops. The County hosts periodic public meetings to inform the public about the project and progress towards eliminating pollution. Septics 101 and Septics 201 classes are available. Septics 101 training is also available online.

South Holmes Harbor SPD

The SPD hosted frequent septic workshops. The County has recently begun conducting outreach about septics in places where property owners already gather—restaurants, homes, local events—instead of focusing on big public meetings.

Stillaguamish River CWD

Snohomish County recently hosted a successful Shellfish Dinner event in Stanwood. The event highlighted the local softshell clam, and brought together citizens and shellfish growers. Organizers distributed information and were impressed by the results and willingness of the group to improve the environment for the overall community. The event was promoted through local radio, flyers, public service announcements, email notices to the CWD mailing list, and distribution through non-profit partners (Sound Salmon Solutions). The event drew people from outside the watershed, which was a benefit to the Stanwood leaders who are looking to develop an agro-tourism industry. Other events include Stillaguamish River Festival (with popular pet waste disposal toss game), Poochapalooza and Strut the Mutt.