WSU Skagit County Extension presents stormwater research, food‑waste prevention, nutrition and farm stress supports

WSU Skagit County Extension staff and affiliated faculty gave the Skagit County Board of Commissioners an extended briefing on June 17 covering stormwater research, community health and nutrition programs, food‑waste prevention, and farm‑stress mental‑health services.

Ani Jayakaran, WSU faculty at the Puyallup Research and Extension Center, described ongoing stormwater work focused on pollutants including 6PPD‑quinone and on practical, scalable stormwater approaches. Jayakaran discussed “two‑stage ditches” for agricultural drainage, a local estimate of ditch mileage (about 380 miles of farm ditches and roughly 800 miles of roadside ditches in Skagit County), and small‑scale best management practice (BMP) research such as biochar amendments and permeable pavements. Jayakaran presented tree‑water‑use measurements from a multi‑year study (64 trees across four species) showing that trees can manage a large share of rainfall that falls on their canopies — the speaker reported figures near 60% for some species — and said the work was intended to produce numbers useful to incentivize developers to retain large trees.

Diane Smith, WSU Skagit County Extension Family and Consumer Sciences, summarized community programs under a “championing planetary health” umbrella, including a food‑waste prevention coalition, a newly piloted Washington Climate Stewards Certificate Program (six to eight sessions with online, in‑person and field components planned for fall), and a farm‑to‑community initiative involving a Peruvian “popping” bean being bred for quick cooking and potential inclusion in school and Head Start menus (the brief said a one‑quarter‑cup serving can meet a one‑ounce protein equivalent used for school snack criteria).

Sarah Gill, a registered nurse hired by WSU Extension for chronic disease prevention, outlined nutrition and cooking curricula the office will offer, including a six‑week Mediterranean‑style program (“Med Instead of Meds”), a four‑week Diabetes Cook‑Along, and a four‑week Dining with Diabetes series. Gill cited the county’s 2021 health survey figures (reported in the presentation) showing adult obesity at 35.8% and adolescent obesity at about 35% and described planned partnerships with senior centers, libraries, and community chefs to deliver classes.

Maddie Vanderkooy, coordinator for the Western Region Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Partnership (RASAP) based in the Skagit Extension office, described outreach and direct services for farmers, ranchers and agricultural professionals. Vanderkooy cited a historical suicide mortality rate discussed in the presentation (28.7 per 100,000 for farmers versus 15.3 per 100,000 across other industries), described RASAP partner services (Farm Aid resource hotline, AgriSafe 24/7 crisis support, National AgrAbility assistive technology), and noted program features including mini‑grants (up to $5,000), training such as COMET (a CBT‑based training for community members), mental health first aid and QPR, and a regional resource site (farmstress.us). Vanderkooy said RASAP funding was paused briefly earlier but that the program was funded through September 2026 and that staff use layered county, state and federal funding to manage pauses.

Commissioners asked about readiness to scale technologies and how research could move into regulation or pilot projects. Jayakaran said many of the techniques are “ready for prime time” but scaling and adoption require champions, policy adjustments and practical pilot testing. Commissioners praised Extension’s outreach and reinforcements that the Extension network gives the county access to statewide technical expertise.

The briefing included logistics and personnel updates (new staff hires and positions) and a note that Extension’s “Pizza for Producers” program has been recognized at state, regional and national levels.