Our History:

2004:  Harbor WildWatch was informally started in 2004 with a private commission to produce The Puget Sound's Wildside: A Natural History of Gig Harbor’s Marine Environment reference book. Katrina Mikitik & Corey Watson, local Evergreen State College students, complete the project as part of their Senior Thesis. Informal interpretive beach programs are conducted at Jerisich Dock and Wild Birds Unlimited’s Wildlife Fair in Gig Harbor.

Spring/Summer 2005: More informal beach programs are held and our signature Get Your Feet Wet program is born.   Harbor WildWatch commissions Katrina Mikitik and Alex Mikitik to design and write a full-color brochure on local wildlife in partnership with the city of Gig Harbor. The concept and production of four permanent signs that interpret the local ecosystems are also produced in partnership with the city of Gig Harbor.

Fall/Winter 2005: Through the generosity and energy of the Gig Harbor Gallery Association and the foresight of the City of Gig Harbor’s marketing office, the SalmonChanted Harbor auction provides substantial funding to launch Harbor Wildwatch 2006 programs.

Spring/Summer, 2006:  Harbor WildWatch hires the first naturalist and recruits a few volunteers and conducts 29 ‘Get Your Feet Wet’ programs on local area beaches for the public, serving approximately 1,900 residents and visitors.  Two new interpretive signs are designed and produced in partnership with Friends of Pierce County for the Crescent Creek area of City Park in Gig Harbor.  Harbor WildWatch receives 501 (c)3  status and applies for additional grant money to expand its programs to develop a “Jr. Naturalist” program (later named seaStars & Beyond), more public interpretive signage, and further expansion of the summer beach program.

Fall/Winter, 2006/7: Harbor WildWatch receives additional grant money and private donations to further expand its programs of providing ecosystem education and interpretation. An ‘Explore the Beach’ program is developed in cooperation the WA State Parks Dept. that brings ‘beach etiquette’ workshops into local classrooms. In January 2007, a new school program called Harbor Outreach Program (HOP) is introduced in local area elementary schools. Workshops in marine ecology, biology, geology, and conservation are brought into the schools at no cost.

Spring/Summer 2007: Harbor WildWatch commissions and installs three new interpretive signs done by a renown OR coast wildlife artist in partnership with the city of Gig Harbor. A new seaStars & beyond program is piloted that allows teacher-recommended 8-12 year old students to participate in comprehensive marine workshops, fulfill a community service project, and participate in Get Your Feet Wet programs. Ten seaStars are graduated. Harbor WildWatch hires three naturalists and conducts 42 Get Your Feet Wet beach naturalist programs reaching over 5,000 visitors.

Fall/Winter 2007/8 Another SalmonChanted Auction by the Gig Harbor Gallery Association generates valuable funds to sustain Harbor WildWatch into 2008 and 2009. The Harbor Outreach Program expands into eight public schools with the addition of four new marine workshops developed around topics of marine food webs, water chemistry, species adaptation, and geomorphology. Over 2161 elementary children participate in HOP.

Spring/Summer 2008: Two new marine interpretive signs are commissioned and erected at Kopachuck and Penrose State Parks. Get Your Feet Wet programs expand to seven local beaches, completing 62 naturalist-led beach programs, delivering the latest science about the ‘State of Puget Sound’ to over 7,800 kids and adults. Twenty new “seaStars” are admitted to the seaStars & Beyond program. The 10 graduated “seaStars” become “sunStars” and participate in a series of biologist led workshops.

Fall/Winter 2008/9: With the generous support of the Russell Family Foundation and The Hayes Family Fund of the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, Harbor WildWatch is able to expand its HOP program into 10 public and private schools with 298 workshops presented to 117 teachers and 6,795 student hours taught. The seaStars & Beyond program accepts an additional 19 new students. The 20 graduated “seaStars” from 2008 become “sunStars” and the eight graduated “sunStars” become “Jr. Naturalists” and get more advanced marine ecology workshops.

Spring/Summer 2009: Harbor WildWatch completes 79 Get Your Feet Wet interpretive beach programs with the aid of 479 volunteers hours spreading knowledge about the Puget Sound ecosystem to over 8,000 visitors. Our new Pier into the Night program is successfully launched at local docks, allowing the public to view our local marine life from a nighttime perspective. Forty-one seaStars, sunStars and Jr. Naturalists graduate from our seaStars & Beyond program after completing numerous community service projects and contributing an additional 251 volunteer hours mentoring guests at the Get Your Feet Wet program. The publication of our book The Puget Sound's Wildside is completed. 

Fall 2009/10: Three additional HOP workshops are developed and vetted in the middle schools with an additional 1463 student hours learning about ocean pollution and climate change, zoology and cladistics, and symbiotic relationships and evolution.  Twenty-three new teacher-recommended students join the seaStars & Beyond program for 2010.

 Spring/Summer 2010: Harbor WildWatch moved across the bridge to bring HOP workshops into 6 Tacoma and Puyallup public and private schools, with an additional 8,354 student hours of marine education presented. A total of 203 interactive workshops were delivered in both the classroom and on the beach. The seaStars & Beyond program graduated 23 new seaStars, 10 sunStars and along with 9 Jr. Naturalists, they soon will be relating their new knowledge to the general public at our 69 scheduled Get Your Feet Wet programs, throughout the summer. This spring 27 new and returning volunteers participated in 3 intense training sessions and are excited about also "getting their feet wet".