What Can Members Do in the Washington Koi & Water Garden Society?

The Washington Koi & Water Garden Society (WK & WGS) is a non-profit hobbyist organization for koi keepers and water garden fanciers. Members get together through Zoom meetings, pond tours, field trips, and summer outdoor gatherings, and they receive a monthly newsletter with relevant articles. The club is best suited to people who keep koi, are planning a koi pond, or simply enjoy water gardens — you do not need to own koi to take part.

What membership activities look like

WK & WGS describes itself as "a koi community" where members share ideas and help one another. Its activities fall into a few recurring categories:

• Educational programs at membership meetings — topics include koi health, pond construction, koi varieties, aquatic plants, nutrition, filtration, and water quality.
• Meetings and gatherings — the club currently meets on Zoom, and also holds pond tours, field trips, and summer outdoor meetings. One example from the site is "Koi Fest."
• A monthly newsletter — members receive a newsletter with articles relevant to the hobby.
• In-person events at members' ponds — for instance, an upcoming "Sundaes on Sunday" gathering at a member's pond and garden, which includes a talk on Rotary Drum Filters (RDFs) by a guest from Play It Koi, covering what they are, how they work, and why a keeper might want one.

Who it is for

The club's own framing is broad: it focuses on koi, its "living jewels," but it notes that you don't need koi to enjoy ponds. Beautifully planted ponds, ponds with goldfish, or even pondless waterfalls are all part of what members appreciate.

That makes membership a reasonable fit if you are:

• Already keeping koi and want education and peer help on health, nutrition, filtration, and water quality.
• Thinking about building a koi pond — the club explicitly suggests joining a club like theirs and gathering as much information as possible before "taking that first shovelful of dirt."
• A water garden enthusiast who wants the social and educational side of the hobby without a koi focus.

How to take part

The site gives a concrete route for non-members who want to attend an event: call 206-949-2402 and let Nancy Moore, Program Chair, know. Members are asked to RSVP for events so the organizers can plan supplies (for example, ice cream and toppings). Event directions are sent through the newsletter, so joining as a member is the way to get full logistics.

Affiliations and structure

WK & WGS is a non-profit hobbyist organization affiliated with the Pacific Northwest Koi Clubs Association and Koi Organisation International. It has an Executive Board that meets regularly to plan activities for members. Before the Covid outbreak, the club put on koi shows for 28 years — a useful signal of its experience level if you're looking for a club with a long track record in the hobby.