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PSI has been involved in pet waste education in South Puget Sound for over a decade. Our aim is to increase knowledge of the impacts of pet waste on bacterial pollution in Puget Sound and encourage responsible disposal practices among pet owners. With support from Thurston County and the Russell Family Foundation, PSI developed and distributed brochures, posters and stickers and participates in various water quality education events throughout the year. Numerous presentations have been delivered to neighborhood associations and small group gatherings over the past few years. Working with South Sound GREEN and the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, over 50 hands-on presentations have been offered to K-12 school children at the Henderson Inlet Community Shellfish Farm and local marinas. Our Scoopy Doo mascot has distributed brochures at Earth Day celebrations, festivals, and community events throughout Puget Sound. In addition, hundreds of signatures have been collected from pet owners pledging to pick up their pet's waste.
In 2012, PSI initiated the Scoop to Win Campaign a survey of dog waste in the Henderson and Nisqually Inlet Shellfish Protection Districts in an effort to identify problem areas and create fun incentives for citizens to clean up after their pets. Staff flagged and scooped over 1200 piles of dog waste from neighborhood parks and pinpointed locations in need of bag dispensers, signage and further outreach. More recently, PSI completed a study examining the feasibility of establishing an anaerobic digester for dog waste at Hawk’s Prairie Off-leash Area in Thurston County.
Now Available: Everything you need to incorporate our fecal coliform bacteria curriculum into your class or program! Download the curriculum and field investigation notebooks below, and contact our office to borrow a kit with all the supplies.
Fecal Bacteria Educational Curriculum
Field Investigation Notebooks
To learn more about bacterial pollution in Puget Sound, request pet waste educational materials or organize a guest speaker for your classroom or neighborhood association, contact:
Aimee Christy
Pacific Shellfish Institute
Tel. 360-754-2741
aimee@pacshell.org
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