Heraldnet.com
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 2:47 am
ADVERTISEMENT

LocalNorthwestNation & WorldPoliticsSpecial ReportsPhotosColumnistsMultimedia 
Blog
The Buzz
Be mine, Valentine, just watch your feet
Your town news
Julie Muhlstein
Columnist Julie Muhlstein's take on life in Snohomish County.
•Latest: Teacher battles students’ anxiety about math
Kristi O'Harran
Columnist Kristi O'Harran writes about people in Snohomish County.
•Latest: Words ‘I love you’ a powerful gift
Latest gallery

Model Train Show
February 7. 2010 (7 photos)
[More Herald photos]
 
WEEK IN REVIEW
Tuesday
Two suspects sought in Everett shooting that in...
School levies in Snohomish County all passing, ...
Police seek witnesses in two accidents
Monday


Lynnwood woman knew area's stories long before ...
Everett rethinks boutique wineries
A tidy lawn could be law in Lynnwood
Sunday


Marysville family comes together amid devastati...
Monroe Correctional Complex to lessen security ...
Extra patrols will be watching for drunken driv...
Saturday


Olympics are in the air
Everett police officers cleared in 2008 shootin...
Edmonds woman leaves gift of millions
Friday


Budget squeeze may close beloved Trafton school
Endgame near on airport flight debate?
Aaron Reardon laments political sparring with c...
Thursday


4-car police pileup in Everett under investigation
Edmonds educator, famous announcer dies
Bill would suspend limits on tax hikes
Wednesday


Citizenship classes: All for a better life
Many Snohomish County kids haven't had second d...
Snohomish County jail thrives under sheriff's m...
 

ADVERTISEMENT

Local News   Print This Article  Email This Page  Subscribe Now! facebook digg reddit del.icio.us fark stumble

Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge)
Crabs are held during a beach walk at Kayak Point in July.
Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald  (click to enlarge)
Beach Watcher Cindy Ridgeway looks up at pier footings at Kayak Point in search of interesting critters during a low tide walk in July.
 
ADVERTISEMENT

 
CONTACT THE HERALD
Robert Frank, City Editor
frank@heraldnet.com
 
Published: Thursday, August 13, 2009

Volunteer keeps watch over beaches

Cindy Ridgeway still can’t quite believe how lucky she is.

Even after four years of participating in the Beach Watchers program, a day of volunteering still leaves her with nothing short of full-tilt enthusiasm.

“I came home and told my husband, ‘This is the best day ever!’” she said.

In part, it’s connections she’s made with children and adults at beaches like Kayak Point, telling them some fact about ocean life, seeing them smile and hearing them say: ‘I didn’t know that.”

“I feel fortunate that I’m allowed to do this,” she said.

When she sees children and adults gathering along the beach she often walks up and asks if they want any help identifying what they’re looking at.

“Then I hold my breath and hope I can figure it out,” she said.

Ridgeway’s husband, Dave Ridgeway, also volunteers for the program.

Cindy Ridgeway joined the program in 2006, a year after federal money was approved to expand it from Island County, where it started, to Snohomish, Skagit, San Juan, Whatcom, Clallam and Jefferson counties.

Volunteers come from diverse backgrounds, including college students, retirees, people making career changes, home-schooled students, and young moms, said Chrys Bertolotto, coordinator of the Beach Watchers program.

The program’s goal is to protect Puget Sound through activities such as water quality sampling, education, seminar planning and recreational crabbing education, she said.

Ridgeway, 69, was a sales manager for Verizon before retiring. She said she was drawn to the Beach Watchers program by her love of being by the water. “It’s my passion,” she said.

She met Bertolotto, and learned about the program, while on a spartina removal project at Warm Beach.

Ridgeway said she feels a special association with Kayak Point because of the hours of volunteer time she’s put in there and because it’s so close to her Warm Beach home.

Dungeness crab, sea stars, sea urchins and mussels are some of the beach creatures she often sees there.

Low tide gives visitors a peek at eelgrass — “an indicator of a very healthy habitat,” she said.

Herring and other small fish use it as a nursery area. It’s an area frequented by crabs, which use it as “some place to hide until they can get bigger,” Ridgeway said.

“We try to educate folks, to let them know this isn’t just green stuff, it has such a vital role.”

She often takes people to look under the pier at Kayak Point to get a glimpse of the mussles, sea urchins and starfish that can be seen.

Sturgeon, which can grow up to five feet long, can also be spotted in Port Susan Bay between Kayak Point and Camano Island, she said.

“Anytime you see that kind of spark in someone’s eyes, where something’s clicking, when you see that spark of passion that you yourself feel, you feel such a connection,” she said.

“It’s just the best.”



Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486, salyer@heraldnet.com.



Cindy Ridgeway

Volunteer: Beach Watchers

How long: Three years

Career: Retired from Verizon

Hometown: Warm Beach

Favorite sea critter: Sunflower starfish

About Beach Watchers:

The program began in Island County as part of the WSU extension programming there. It has since been expanded to seven counties in Western Washington. About 65 people in Snohomish County participate. Volunteers do research, education, restoration and project planning on area beaches. They are asked to donate 100 hours of time over two years.

For more information, go to www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/skagit-snohomish, call 425-357-6020 or e-mail chrys@wsu.edu.


COMMENTS | Be the first to comment

Log in or register to post a new comment.


To read other terms and conditions, click here

Other Advertisers
TODAY'S TOP JOBS
 View All Top Jobs 
Top Cars
Top Homes

ADVERTISEMENT