Inspiring Ocean Stewards One Connection at a Time

By Kate Hruby, Communication and Education Coordinator

Marine Mammal Stewards along the Des Moines beach shoreline showing locals a harbor seal hunting at the creek mouth at high tide. Our transportable education display is in the foreground.

SR3’s on-the-beach education program was a wild success this year. Marine Mammal Stewards, as the program is called, started in 2023 in collaboration with MaST Center Aquarium when our organizations saw a need to reach out to locals about marine animals in the area. The program invites folks to look deeper into the nature around them through hands-on activities designed to inspire ocean stewardship. Beachgoers can stop by for a quick update on the day’s marine mammal sightings, or stay longer to learn how to use binoculars, explore animal artifacts, and practice species identification in the wild.

The number of interactions with beachgoers has increased from 800 in 2023 to 6,000 in 2025. We’ve also expanded from one King County beach in 2023 to five in 2025.

Over the past three summers, the program has grown from one beach location to five, and from 800 annual interactions with beachgoers to more than 6,000 this year! 

Volunteers and interns have been an integral part of the program since the first year, but in 2025, they spent 700 hours on the beach. To put that in perspective, it’s about the same amount of time a harbor seal pup will nurse before they are on their own in the wild. This means the time a harbor seal mom dedicates to fostering and growing her pup is the same amount of time our volunteers and interns dedicated to this community.

“During my time with SR3, I watched people of all ages learn about their local marine mammals—sometimes for the very first time,” says Olivia Kilby, a 2025 Education and Outreach intern. “I saw curiosity turn into understanding, understanding grow into genuine appreciation, and appreciation grow into a call to action. It’s these small sparks of awareness that this program provides that ultimately create meaningful, long-lasting change for marine mammals and the ocean overall.”

The community gathers on a Saturday morning to watch a humpback swimming past Des Moines.

This year was also an exceptional summer for wildlife sightings, and while the program is designed to run without them, it’s always a perk to see the animals we care about in their natural habitat. Highlights include a humpback whale who perused the waters off of Des Moines for a week, killer whales passing by the Des Moines beach pier, harbor seals hunting for forage fish at high-tide, as well as porpoises, sea lions, river otters, squid eggs, sea stars, and so many birds.

This year's record-breaking season was thanks to all of our dedicated volunteers, interns, supporters, and those of you we met along the shore. Thank you for helping us inspire more ocean stewards every year. As we lay the groundwork for another impactful season starting in June 2026, we look forward to seeing you out on the beach again next summer!

A harbor porpoise surfaces in calm waters.