We asked local kids to share their tips for keeping the islands clean, being fire safe, and respecting wildlife. Learn about the principles of Leave No Trace from these bright (and often funny!) budding island stewards.
Jonah: "I like living on San Juan Island because there's trees, and rocks, and clouds, and pinecones."
Sebastian: "San Juan Island has my favorite cheese pizza here."
Jonah: "You can't pick the flowers, but you can look at them and sniff them and take a picture of them. But I can't because I'm allergic to pollen."
Sebastian: "You can't pick the flowers. You can't! If you pick the flowers, nobody else gets to see them."
Jonah: "We shouldn't take shells from the beach because a person's house will get stinky. And then you wouldn't like that and you'd have to move out of the house."
Jonah: "It's not okay to carve on trees because it could really hurt the trees. And then they would be dead.
Jonah: "It's bad to litter because it can kill dolphins or sharks. It makes me feel sad because it could blow into the ocean."
Sebastian: "When I see garbage on the ground it makes me mad because I don't like litter in the ground. I just like how the things on the world are fine — are like all clean."
Sebastian: "People should leave it as they find it to keep it safe."
"I like living up here because all the nature is beautiful and the sun is mostly always shining. And everybody is nice around here."
"South Beach is the place to go! You've got a big beach, an ocean you can play in, and up here we've got rabbits and foxes all over the place.
"Don't feed them - rule number one. And don't go near their babies. You shouldn't feed the foxes because then they won't hunt for themselves. They'll start going up to people and getting food from them, but that's not the world should work.
"It's really cool how animals work and it's cool what they do in their natural habitat. But don't go anywhere near them because they might never come back."
"I like living on San Juan Island because I have sleep overs with my friends and cousin and we get to go to the park and the pool and have picnics."
"It's important to plan and prepare when you come to the San Juan Islands because there's a lot of places here. So you should prepare where you're gonna go."
"People should know to make a ferry reservation or you're going to miss the ferry or you'll have to wait longer. It's different every season because in summer, they'll have different days and times for ferries, and in winter, they'll have not that many times a lot."
"It's super important to bring warm shoes, a warm jacket, and warm pants because it can get cold here. You should bring a water bottle and something healthy if you plan on walking somewhere."
I'd like people to know that there are a lot of animals here and not to litter because that could harm the animals. And also, I would not be in such a rush. Like, "Island Time" means that you don't have to be in a rush. You can just take it slow."
"I love living on Orcas Island because there's so many creatures."
"There was a glass bottle, wrappers, and a lot of plastic things. I was telling my mom that people are really just weird to do this."
"I would pick it up and put it either in my dad's pocket or my mom's pocket or my pocket. And then I would go find a trash can when we are done with the hike or the walk."
"Don't litter. And if you have a snack bar and you want to bring it to the beach, make sure there's a trash can nearby."
"There are lots of farms and beaches - and these big hikes where you can go up hills. There are high places and low places. There's a lot of cool animals on Lopez - especially the birds. It's like a mixture of everything."
"When it's summer you don't really want to make a fire that is not inside a burn pit that is made out of metal."
"I prefer not putting things in a fire that you're not supposed to. Like don't put in plastic or garbage or burnable things that are not supposed to be burned."
"Pour some water on it. I would get a stick and go around and break through it and put water, then move it around and see where the rest of it is. Then pour some more water so you know you got it all and you know there's not going to be a problem."
