Day 2 in Bandhavgarh National Park. When you are here, it is always about the tigers, but there are many other inhabitants that populate this beautiful landscape.
It’s time to get out to the Elwha River and help Olympic National Park as Park Service staff begin the massive undertaking of revegetating the now empty reservoirs behind the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams with nearly 400,000 native plants. With only 6 full time staff members, NPS is going to need all the help they can get–cleaning, packing, transporting, and planting native plant starts! So if you are ready to get covered in mud and be instrumental in the recovery of the Elwha River ecosystem, join Olympic National Park this fall and winter and be part of this incredible project.
Event Details
WHAT: This is more than just planting–NPS needs volunteers for a variety of associated tasks. At the nursery, plants need to be cleaned and packed for their journey home. Once they arrive at Lake Mills or Lake Aldwell, they need to be transported (by foot) to planting areas throughout the 600 acres of dewatered reservoirs, and then planted!
WHEN: The park is looking for help beginning Monday, November 5, and planting season will continue through mid-March, 2013, with a break during the month of December. Weekdays are preferred, but a limited number of weekend work parties are available.
WHERE: Former Sites of Lake Aldwell and Lake Mills on the Elwha River, Olympic National Park
WHO: NPCA Volunteers Led by Jill Zarzeczny of the Elwha Revegetation Project, National Park Service
RSVP: If you would like to participate in this historic restoration project, please contact Jill Zarzeczny at Jill_Zarzeczny@nps.gov or 360.565.3047. Let her know what day or dates would work for you, and with what tasks you are interested in helping.
An annual tradition, the Greenway Trust is hosting a series of native tree and shrub plantings starting with the October 13th Kick-Off. Sponsored in part by REI, Carter Subaru & Carter Volkswagen, and KMTT- The Mountain the celebration will feature food (including free pizza from Papa John’s), music and vendors for the whole family to enjoy, plus plenty of trees to plant.
Planting events are excellent for individuals, families, groups, and work teams. No experience is required. The Kick-Off will be at Sammamish Cove in Issaquah. Sammamish Cove is a former dairy farm adjacent to Lake Sammamish State Park. It borders Tibbetts Creek, a salmon-bearing stream, to the Northeast. Boasting sweeping views of the Issaquah Alps, the area has been extremely degraded over time by invasive weeds. During the Kick-Off, we will be planting 2,012 native trees and shrubs along the banks of Tibbetts Creek to increase vital tree cover and improve salmon and wildlife habitat.
Join the Burke Museum at the Neptune Theatre for an evening of fast-paced talks on the enduring relationship between the human imagination and the natural world. Inspired by the International Conservation Photography Awards exhibit, Short Takes features a stellar lineup of artists, scientists, students, and scholars. Speakers include internationally-renowned photographer Art Wolfe, curators from the Burke and the Seattle Art Museum, and explorers of the seas and the stars. Ten short talks, each illustrated with 20 slides, will take us on a journey from humanities’ first artistic impulses to our latest glimpse into the far reaches of space.
>>CLICK HERE for Short Takes topics and more information.
• Art Wolfe, internationally renowned photographer, host of “Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe”, and founder of the International Conservation Photography Awards
• Katie Bunn-Marcuse, Assistant Director of the Bill Holm Center, and a Curatorial Associate of Native American Art at the Burke Museum
• Allison Fundis, Education and Public Engagement Liaison, Ocean Observatories Initiative/Regional Scale Nodes, University of Washington
• Shaun Peterson, a pivotal figure in the revival of Coast Salish arts
• Ellen Dissanayake interdisciplinary scholar and writer, Affiliate Professor in the University of Washington, School of Music
• Wendy Call, 2012 Writer in Residence for the North Cascades and Joshua Tree National Parks
• Dan Ritzman, Northwest and Alaska Regional Director of the Sierra Club
• Brad Rutherford, Executive Director of the Snow Leopard Trust
• Phil Rosenfield, Graduate Student, Astronomy, University of Washington
• Patricia Junker, the Ann M. Barwick Curator of American Art at the Seattle Art Museum
Celebrate and give back to your parks with the National Parks Conservation Association and the National Park Service for National Public Lands Day on Saturday, September 29. National Public Lands Day provides us the chance to give back to special places in our own backyard like Mount Rainier National Park. Join hundreds of other park supporters and help repair park trails, clean up campgrounds and picnic areas, and plant native vegetation.
National Public Lands Day is a great opportunity to help Mount Rainier and spend the rest of the day recreating or relaxing in the park. With free admission, feel free to bring a friend or make it a family outing, and enjoy the experience together.
RSVP: Please RSVP to Sean Smith so we can plan projects accordingly.
OTHER INFO: There will be free admission at the park that day. Parking will be available at the White River Campground. Please bring warm clothes and be prepared for weather changes as this work day will take place rain or shine! Sturdy work shoes are also needed, as well as gloves, lunch, and water. Sunscreen and a hat are also recommended. Please note that pets are not permitted on park trails.
Please join us!
Sincerely, Sean Smith
Policy Director
Northwest Region
Have a look at this beautiful show online: >>ICPA GALLERY
This is a reminder to be sure and get over to the Burke Museum and see the ICPA (International Conservation Photography Awards) show. They have had great turnout for the show this year. It is both beautiful in its presentation and valuable in its conservation message. Take the whole family. Kids totally get this. Photographers are also interacting with the Conservation Candids. This is an interactive Flickr gallery that anyone can contribute a like-minded image to. The Burke Museum even has prizes if you enter a photo.
On August 8, join Art Wolfe and Green Builder Media President Ron Jones as Ron interviews the fascinating photographer about his observations of changing conditions within natural and built environments around the globe, the adaptations that the inhabitants of these environments have been forced to make, and how Wolfe has been able to win support for conservation issues by focusing his camera on the Earth’s beauty and bounty.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s great natural wonders & now it is going to be part of the largest marine park encompassing 1.2 million sq miles of ocean surrounding the continent. In this age of economic peril, it is such good news to hear of a preservation of our planet of this proportion.
There are a ton of articles out there on it. Here are a few links to follow:
I was asked to be part of the judging of the King County Parks container camping structure competition.
Architecture firm, HyBrid, was recently named the winner of a competition sponsored by the King County Parks department to create a camping structure from re-purposed cargo containers. The 8’x24′ structure incorporates recycled glazing and mess kitchen and can accommodate up to 6 overnight guest. Funding is secured for the prototype unit and should be camp ready by Summer 2012.
Visitors to King County’s Tolt-MacDonald Park will be able to spend the night in a comfortable and ecologically sound camping structure – thanks to the creative vein tapped by King County Parks’ Little Footprint/Big Forest contest.
The challenge given to designers was to create an overnight camping structure from a used cargo shipping container that could be placed in select areas of King County Parks’ 26,000 acres of open space.
The winning design – selected from 12 entries by a panel of judges that included King County Executive Dow Constantine, plus architectural and sustainability experts.
“Re-Tain” features an adaptable floor plan complete with queen-sized bunk beds, a table that can be moved outside for more floor space inside, and a multi-purpose mess cabinet made from recycled and reclaimed materials that allows for use from inside and outside the structure.
See the winning design and other entries at: http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/partners/littlefootprint.aspx
“The contest provided us with an exciting and replicable design, and we hope to install these camping structures at appropriate sites within our open space areas,” said King County Parks Division Director Kevin Brown. “I want to thank the judges for their thoughtful analysis of all the entries.”
Design competition judges said they were impressed with the overall design concepts and the creative approach to the second use of storage containers.
“King County is home to wonderful parks and outdoor experiences, and the Little Footprint, Big Forest contest shows that we have the creativity to meet the challenge of preserving our environment and adopting sustainable practices,” said judge Andy Wappler.