Event to urge action for orcas, climate

PORT ANGELES — Rise for Orcas and Climate Justice is set Sept. 8 to celebrate endangered southern resident orcas and rally for action for them with a picnic, speakers and children’s activities at Hollywood Beach.

The free daytime program hosted by Olympic Climate Action (OCA) will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Hollywood Beach and the Feiro Marine Life Center near the base of City Pier at the foot of Lincoln Street.

The free evening program will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Elwha Klallam Heritage Center at 401 E. First St.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The picnic will be a bring-your-own affair, but a burn ban-exempt covered fire will be available and organizers will provide marshmallows, sticks for roasting them and ingredients for do-it-yourself s’mores, said Brian Grad of Sequim, OCA board member and event coordinator, in a news release.

Booths for children’s games and art will remain open through mid-afternoon. Activities will include Pass the Orca and Share Your Thoughts, storytelling, sidewalk art, tile art, picture coloring, 3-D puzzles, a singalong and an orca informational prize wheel.

Musicians will perform, Grad said, and people are encouraged to bring instruments and songs.

Following the picnic, participants on shore will join with kayakers in Port Angeles Harbor at noon for a brief vigil and invocation, then walk to the Feiro Marine Life Center to hear speakers, Grad said.

Starting at 1 p.m., the Feiro Center will host discussions about orcas, salmon, climate, energy options, and the continuing threat of Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion proposal.

Speakers will include Ken Balcomb of The Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Eric de Place of Seattle’s Sightline Institute and Verner Wilson of Friends of The Earth.

Balcomb will dicuss the plight of orcas facing starvation from depleted salmon stocks and the proposed breaching of the lower Snake River dams in southeast Washington to boost salmon recovery.

Wilson and de Place will focus on fossil fuel export plans, describe threats to the Pacific Northwest, and talk about the “thin green line” of opposition to these proposals.

The evening program, co-hosted by Olympic Climate Action and the Elwha Klallam Heritage Center, will feature “The Road to Athabasca,” a multi-media, first-person account of a group bicycle ride along the path of the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline, from Vancouver, B.C., north to the Alberta tar sands.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Center, 401 E. First St. Although admission is free, donations are encouraged to the Pull Together campaign to oppose the Trans Mountain pipeline.

To RSVP or more information, see tinyurl.com/PDN-orcaclimate, the group’s Facebook page or email Grad at brian sway51@gmail.com.

More in News

Gary Norris, front, takes a photo of the Rayonier No. 4 as Leo Frymire looks on during a tour of the engine on Sunday at Lauridsen Boulevard and Chase Street in Port Angeles. They attended a fundraiser for Restore the 4!, a local group leading the effort to restore the geared locomotive built in 1924 by Willamette Iron and Steel in Portland, Ore. The North Olympic History Center, which helped organize the event, donated $1,000 toward the cause. More than 100 people attended a presentation by Steve Hauff, a local historian and expert on Willamette logging locomotives, at the Port Angeles Main Library beforehand. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Locomotive fundraiser

Gary Norris, front, takes a photo of the Rayonier No. 4 as… Continue reading

Court denies recall petition

Sequim man files motion to reconsider

Former Washington Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens dies

Judge spent 19 years on Clallam County District Court bench

Boatbuilding school names executive director

Local candidate chosen from national pool

Road improvement project set at Lincoln Park

The city of Port Angeles will perform road improvements… Continue reading

Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group
Sisters Jasmine Kirchan, left, and Shawnta Henry and their mom Nicole Kirchan all work at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club. After work on Feb. 26, they all helped save the life of a man in front of Walmart.
Sequim woman uses CPR training to save man outside Walmart

She credits training to Boys Girls Club, fire district

The 104-lot Bell Creek Major Subdivision and 24-lot Bella Vista Estates recently were approved by Sequim Hearing Examiner Peregrin Sorter. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Hearing examiner approves 2 projects

Developments could add 128 homes in Sequim

No flight operations scheduled this week

There will be no field carrier landing practice operations for… Continue reading

2024 timber revenue shows Jefferson below average, Clallam on par

DNR timber delay could impact 2025 timber revenue

Forks council looks to fill vacant seat

The Forks City Council is accepting applications to fill a… Continue reading

Charter Review town hall set

The Clallam County Charter Review Commission will conduct a… Continue reading