K-12 Initiative

Since 1995, SPMC has been providing assistance to local schools through a work-study component of the Multicultural Initiative in the Marine Sciences: Undergraduate Program (MIMSUP). MIMSUP students earn their work-study stipends by providing lessons to local 2nd and 4th graders in marine science topics. SPMC is also working with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (NMFS/NOAA) to implement programs for middle and high school science teachers from regional schools with high populations of minority students. The Marine Center also sponsors a Marine Biology Club in Anacortes High School and has assisted with the development of general public and K-12 educational programs in conjunction with the Ship Harbor Interpretive Preserve.

Ship Harbor Interpretive Preserve (SHIP)

The Ship Harbor Interpretive Preserve is a project designed to preserve and protect the wetland immediately east of the Washington State Ferry Terminal in Anacortes. The Preserve contains 25 acres of freshwater wetlands, five acres of upland habitat, and 2,000 feet (650 m) of sandy beach and subtidal eelgrass beds. It is a rich and interesting area, with an abundance of plants and wildlife. The area is important to the general environment, providing habitat and protecting the quality of the water in the wetland and in adjacent marine areas.

A number of organizations in Anacortes, including the Shannon Point Marine Center, have formed a partnership to preserve and protect the wetland and to implement an environmental education program at the site. Local volunteers are participating in SHIP projects to observe, identify, and monitor the many varieties of plants and wildlife in the wetland and to research local history. SHIP plans to protect the wetland by building an interpretive pavilion and an accessible trail that will allow people to enjoy and learn in ways that will have the least impact on this delicate ecosystem.