Ride The Tide, Give With Pride: Bellingham Bay Blood Drive
Donating blood is a simple yet powerful act of kindness. Blood cannot be made in the lab. It can only come from willing donors like yourself. Nervous about donating? That’s normal! Check out our website or watch Gaard Swanson from Seattle Refined donate for his first time!
Appointments are required for the best possible donation experience. Photo ID is also required. For safety, we kindly request no visitors under 16 at our donation sites. Eat a hearty meal and drink plenty of fluids prior to donation.
Tide Talks: Sail Like a Mother: Tales from a Crew of Mothers in the Race to Alaska
Katie Gaut is a cartographer and digital storyteller who harbors a profound passion for the sea and for empowering women in sailing. With over 20 years of experience on the ocean, including a 50-ton master Coast Guard license and ASA sailing instructor credentials, she's captained boats in Hawaii, Alaska and the San Juans.
Melissa Roberts is an aquatic ecologist turned ER nurse who knew next to nothing about sailing but lots about Type 2 fun. She has spent many summers cruising the Inside Passage as a cook on an eco-tourism boat, and couldn't wait to return to those magical waters.
Katie and Melissa will share the story of their grand adventure as three moms who decided to compete in the Race to Alaska. They will discuss their decision-making process, the planning and preparation involved, the experience of the race itself, and their reflections on the journey.
Hearing Loop Grand Opening
We are thrilled to announce the unveiling of our new hearing loop system, marking a major step toward inclusive and accessible recreation for individuals with hearing loss. Join us as we learn about this powerful tool, made possible through the generosity of Spencer Audiology’s owner, Pam Spencer, and dedicated community members Lou Touchette and Emily Hammond.
Hearing loops provide direct transmission of an instructor’s voice to a participant’s hearing aid or cochlear implant through the telecoil program, ensuring clear communication during classroom instruction. For those without telecoil-equipped devices, CBC will also provide captions during classroom lectures, as well as solutions to help participants hear out on the water.
Attendees will have the opportunity to experience the new hearing loop technology firsthand, learn about CBC’s expanded accessibility features, and enjoy light refreshments as we commemorate this exciting milestone.
The event is free and open to the public. Community members, boating enthusiasts, and advocates for accessibility are encouraged to attend and learn with us.
Tide Talks : Sea Stars
Join Melissa Miner for a look at how ochre sea stars have been affected by sea star disease over the years—are they making a comeback? We'll explore what’s happening along the West Coast and in our own local waters. After the talk, there will be time for questions, plus a short training on how you can help monitor sea stars using the resources at seastarwasting.org.
About the Presenter: Melissa Miner is a researcher at the University of California Santa Cruz, but works remotely from Bellingham, WA. For over 30 years, she has helped to monitor rocky intertidal communities from Alaska to Mexico as part of MARINe (Multi-Agency Rocky Intertidal Network, pacificrockyintertidal.org). Beginning in 2013, MARINe documented west coast-wide declines in ochre star populations due to a disease called “sea star wasting” (SSW). Melissa began working with community science groups in 2014 to expand sea star monitoring efforts, which has contributed to a better understanding of the long-term impacts of SSW and informed our estimates for recovery of impacted sea star populations.
Marine Birds of the Salish Sea
North Cascades Audubon Society will present a 2-hour class on seabird identification, including the most commonly seen Salish Sea diving birds. Species included are loons, grebes, cormorants, scoters, alcids, some gulls and others. Instructor Pam Borso will show slides of birds inbreeding and non-breeding plumage and discuss feeding, nesting and wintering habits around the Salish Sea.