Pritchard Island Beach is always a fun restoration visit with the kind and knowledgeable Forest Stewards, Kathy & Catherine of the Green Seattle Partnership. The property's past life is fascinating–check out some history of the park area, including how it used to be an island before the construction of the Ballard Locks dropped the level of Lake Washington.
There was wonderful salmon art as well, done by an artist and local school children who reused aluminum beverage containers. The Native American style (sans the bamboo) fish weirs, stood vertically, made for attractive and informative markers. When placed horizontally in the water, the fish swim into them but the current prevents them from exiting.
Unfortunately for the ecologically sensitive restoration efforts, there is now an an active encampment cut out of the shoreline vegetation that has eliminated years of volunteer efforts. There are chopped plants, trash and debris on the water's edge in the restoration zone such that we decided to work elsewhere at the site. We briefly touched on the basic idea that sometimes people disagree about ownership, environmental significance and best uses for particular spaces–that while we may consider this a community natural area, someone else consider's this their personal home and it is a complex issue to be addressed on another occasion. We were there for ecological stewardship and stuck to pulling noxious weeds, climbing trees, water play and spreading mulch.