Ways to Get Involved

A group of masked volunteers gather around the golf cart used to transport salmon eggs into the nursery, giving the photographer a thumbs-up.
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Volunteers provide essential help during big hatchery events like spawning.

Have an idea for a project? Looking for a way to give back? Contact us!

Volunteering

A fish hatchery volunteer holding a stuffed animal salmon stands behind a visitor information station in front of Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery
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Volunteers are our favorite people! Here's some examples of what some have done for us:

  • Hosts live on site to greet and orient visitors, provide tours, and work on maintenance projects.
  • Master Gardeners maintain our native plant and pollinator garden and help with educational programs and events.
  • Scouts build benches and signboards, install signs and fencing, paint murals, and put in native plants.
  • Volunteers helped us create our Birding Bench Trail, constructed virtual StoryMaps, built bird nesting boxes, and spread wood chips on trails.
  • Volunteers pick up trash, trim back brush, clear trails after winter, pull up weeds, water flowers, take photographs and video for us, help with events, feed our fish, and so much more!

Would you like to volunteer? Get in touch and find out what you can do!

Festival volunteer and salmon mascot
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The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival

This award-winning event has been around since 1991. Thousands of students visit Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery to learn about and celebrate salmon and the natural environment. A public day invites everyone to come and join in the fun and family-friendly learning. The event is managed by Friends of Northwest Hatcheries. But it takes hundreds of volunteers to make it happen!

Teenage girls in t-shirts paint folding wooden signboards on a tarp while smiling at the camera.
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A traveling youth group spends a day at Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery painting signboards for the Wenatchee River Salmon Festival.

Volunteer to staff a booth, run an activity, provide a tour, wear a mascot costume, pick up trash, greet visitors, or help set up tents. Salmon Fest is always FREE to the students and the public. Donations of any kind to keep the event free are always welcome.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Salmon Fest had to be cancelled. But the celebration moved online! Visit the Salmon Fest On-Line site, which is rich with educational videos and activities for students and teachers.

Our Partners

A group of 4 people in drysuits and snorkel masks stand in a river and grin for a selfie.
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Directorate Fellow, Jonathan Blackmon snaps a selfie with Yakama Nation Fisheries and Mid-Columbia Fish and Wildlife Service staff during a snorkel survey for native fish.

We are proud to work with many different partners in our community and region. In fact, without partners, we couldn't get nearly as much done! From assisting with research and hatchery production, to helping with educational programs, our partners are the best!

Education Programs

High school students in waders explore a creek together.
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High school students in waders explore a creek together.

We offer a range of tailored educational programs for all ages. Looking for a field trip destination? Interested in getting kids outside on snowshoes? Aiming for an introduction to field science? Get in touch!

Some of our typical programs include:

  • Winter snowshoeing
  • Guided summer walks
  • Aquatic education, from fish dissection to macroinvertebrate collection in Icicle Creek
  •  Hatchery tours
  • Active educational games
  • Service projects paired with learning
  • Individualized internships
  • Archery

Talk to us about what you need. We're happy to help!

You'll also find some great educational resources online in several places. Check out a variety of videos on the Friends of Northwest Hatcheries YouTube channel. Drop by the Cascade Fisheries Schools for Salmon Online page. And visit the Kids in the Creek section on Cascadia Conservation District's website.