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April 21, 2014 · Exit133

May is Puget Sound Starts Here Month

Protect health, economy and quality of life with Sound-healthy behaviors

The City of Tacoma is teaming up with hundreds of organizations across Puget Sound to offer a month of May activities to help residents engage in Sound-healthy behaviors:

  • Right Plant for the Right Place Workshop – Friday, May 2, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Tacoma Nature Center
  • Spring Native Plant Sale – Saturday, May 3, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Tacoma Nature Center
  • Yard Waste and Worm Bin Composting Workshop - May 10, 10:30 am to noon at the City of Tacoma EnviroHouse
  • Puget Sound Starts Here Family Fun Day– Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Foss Waterway Seaport
  • Rain Barrels - How to Make & Maintain One for Your Home – Sunday, May 11, 3-4 p.m. at the City of Tacoma EnviroHouse
  • Residential Rain Gardens How-To & City Incentives – Saturday, May 17, 10-11:30 a.m. at the City of Tacoma EnviroHouse

Find and register for these and other local events on the Puget Sound Starts Here events calendar at pugetsoundstartshere.org/events-list.

Communities up and down Puget Sound are working together to reduce pollution and restore diverse ecosystems. Much of the pollution still entering Puget Sound comes from runoff. When it rains, the water flows over hard surfaces like houses, parking lots,driveways and streets, picking up pollution along the way. 

This polluted runoff flows through ditches or storm drains directly into local waterways. Therefore, Puget Sound Starts Here Month communities, such as Tacoma, are also asking residents to commit to taking one Sound-healthy action in May, such as:

  • Volunteer  to help with a local habitat restoration project
  • Take a car to a commercial car wash instead of washing it in a driveway
  • Fix an auto leak and taking any used fluids to a recycling center
  • Pick up pet waste and place it in the trash
  • Use natural yard products like compost and mulch instead of chemical pesticides and fertilizers
  • Landscape with native plants and trees that soak up rain and slow the flow of runoff
  • Boaters can use sewage pump-outstations and take care to avoid fuel and cleaning solution spills.  

Puget SoundStarts Here is supported by more than 750 organizations across 12 counties,such as the City of Tacoma, that are working to clean up and protect Puget Sound and our region’s waterways. Puget Sound Starts Here Month raises awareness and empowers residents to make a difference. Learn more at www.PugetSoundStartsHere.org.

Puget Sound Fun Facts:

  • Puget Sound has 2,500 miles of shoreline.
  • Puget Sound is home to countless species, including orcas, sea lions, salmon and shellfish, as well as 4.5 million people who live, work and play across the 12 counties.
  • Puget Sound is the second-largest estuary in the nation.