Join trained volunteer naturalists at four riverside locations around Renton and Maple Valley this weekend to spot spawning salmon and to learn about them from trained volunteer naturalists. The Cedar River Salmon Journey program’s final weekend offers free salmon-viewing programs for the whole family. Presented by Friends of the Cedar River Watershed, the Seattle Aquarium, and Seattle Public Utilities, the Cedar River Salmon Journey has been working to educate the public about local salmon’s epic journey from the ocean to the Cedar River for the last 17 years.

On Saturday, Oct. 25 and Sunday, Oct. 26 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors can expect to see sockeye, plus possibly Chinook and Coho, at these four sites, which include Jones Park, Cedar River Park, Cavanaugh Pond, and Landsburg Park and Dam.

“By providing an opportunity to connect the community with this magnificent species, we learn that there are small things you can do to help the salmon, things that if we all did collectively, could make a big impact,” said Charlotte Spang, Program Manager, Cedar River Salmon Journey. “People get overwhelmed by global warming and other environmental problems, but then you go to the river, and the salmon are still coming back. We share our urban environment with these amazing fish, and the fate of Cedar River salmon is directly tied to the choices people make.”

Join the Cedar River Salmon Journey to learn about what salmon need to survive and how you can help to keep this keystone species coming back to the Cedar River. Further information on the program and directions to program sites can be found on the Friends’ web site at www.cedarriver.org.

These events are free and open to the public. For more information on the Cedar River Salmon Journey program, please contact Charlotte Spang, Program Manager, at charlotte@cedarriver.org or 206-792-5851.