WWU Alumna Julie Hirsch to Speak on Salish Sea Stewardship Oct. 6 at Western

Julie Hirsch from Hirsch Consulting Services will discuss community environmental education in the Salish Sea region as part of the WWU Huxley College of the Environment Speaker Series at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6 in Miller Hall 138 on the Western Washington University campus.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Garden of the Salish Sea Curriculum (GSSC) is an innovative K-12 stewardship and community environmental education initiative created on Lummi Island in 2012. In her Speaker Series talk, Hirsch will present “Oystertopia: Stewards of the Salish Sea,” a short film directed by Sam Giffin that documents a GSSC oyster planting carried out by Lummi Island students in June 2016. She will also offer a slide presentation that focuses on shellfish harvesting, ocean acidification and stewardship of the Salish Sea.

Hirsch is an environmental scientist with more than 25 years’ experience in Whatcom County. After earning a bachelor's degree at Western, she completed a master’s degree in Applied Microbiology at Northern Arizona University. In 1996 she founded Hirsch Consulting Services, focusing on Salish Sea water quality and water resources as a consultant for clients such as the Department Ecology, the Port of Bellingham, Whatcom County and other local agencies. In 2012, Hirsch created Garden of the Salish Sea Curriculum, an affiliate of parent nonprofit Pacific Shellfish Institute (www.pacshell.org) based out of Olympia.

The presentation will include a question-and-answer period. Anyone interested in the topic is encouraged to attend and participate.

The Huxley College Speaker Series, sponsored by Western’s Huxley College of the Environment, is intended to bring together environmentally-minded members of the WWU and Bellingham communities. Speakers address topics of contemporary environmental concern in the region and the world.

WWU’s Huxley College of the Environment is one of the oldest environmental colleges in the nation and a recognized leader in producing the next generation of environmental professionals and stewards. Huxley’s distinctive, interdisciplinary curriculum reflects a broad view of the physical, biological, social, and cultural world, and has earned international recognition for quality.

For more information, please contact WWU’s Huxley College of the Environment at (360) 650-2554.