The Guild organizes stewardship camps to provide assessment and restoration services for land managers, with our prototype on the Skykomish River in collaboration with the Tulalip Tribes of Washington. Camping to work in ecosystems is a 300,000-year-old tradition. We offer a modern version, through mobile biocultural restoration field stations that let ecosystem stewards provide efficient services over time at low cost. We do better than leave-no-trace.
Volunteer Enthusiasm, Professional Stewardship
For every task there is a season. We organize our efforts to follow the rhythms of the land. We work with partners to build the ecological resource base for communities. We organize on-site activities that don’t require financial compensation.
What is a Field Station?
To establish a field station a site Steward negotiates access to a restoration site with a Host that wants to cultivate common pool resources. The Steward sends an Invitation to the guild to support field station development. Different groups from around the Salish Sea respond to the invitation and attend scheduled camps, living on-site. Guild members share a Handbook and take responsibility for station management. The Steward guides work based on a stewardship plan negotiated with the host.
This pattern distributes responsibility while ensuring accountability and transparency among all roles. Our aim is to cultivate the capacity to gather and restore landscapes with a minimum of management and oversight. Field stations are learning environments, and are open to all levels of expertise. A diversity of skills are needed, and the Steward manages invitations to build a strong station