Duwamish Hill Preserve Planting & Play.

The Duwamish Hill Preserve was a special stewardship event in numerous ways. Significantly, the site has considerable Native American importance, "the Hill is associated with the southern Puget Sound Salish oral tradition as the key location in the stories collectively known as the “Epic of the Winds.” There is lovely interpretation and art throughout the site including a gathering space showcasing seasonal tribal activities. We all stood upon our birthday-month and learned about what would be happening at that time in a Duwamish village.

The hill itself is a glacial remnant that is older than Mt. Rainier! It is geological significant and a real treasure to behold. Kids even found marine fossils with clearly visible shells, offering a memorable indication that this site used to be under water. The top of the hill has wonderful views of the Duwamish River valley, showcasing many sites from the lite rail line to Mt. Rainier itself, framed in bright red madrona berries. In between planting native plants in the new meadow habitat beds the children delighted in playing all over the hill, from scrambling rocks up to the peaks, to bolting down the long stairways.

You can read about the superb volunteer efforts to save the hill in a Seattle Times article, "In 2000, the hill was going to be blasted apart by dynamite and developed into an industrial area, much like the properties surrounding it. But the community and Cascade Land Conservancy raised about $1 million through donations, contributions and grants for the city of Tukwila to purchase the land."

We we even graced with the presence of an eagle pair flying, calling and perching on a tall electrical tower. We certainly look forward to returning and being a part of the ongoing efforts to develop and protect the Hill.

Carkeek Park Stewardship & Salmon.

The fall colours sparkled in the sunny mist at Carkeek Park. Our hosts, the longtime Weekday Workers volunteer group, supported by the Green Seattle Partnership, led us through the extensive trail system to rake leaves and also pull ivy. Leaves decompose into organically rich but slippery mush on the trail, this compromises tread and leads to silty runoff which is bad for the salmon's water quality.

Down in Piper's Creek the salmon were easy to see. Many were splashing around or swimming and many were already deceased after completing their journey. Carkeek is a precious gem in the city and a lovely place to see the confluence of forest, fish, stream and Sound- I can't think of a better way to experience it than by serving it hands-on.

You can find out more about Carkeek's wonderful Heaven & Earth outdoor art installations here.

Duwamish River Restoration in Seattle's Industrial Center.

Squad was enthused to return to T-105 Park where we have tended an estuary restoration site for many years close to the heart of Downtown Seattle (see a few in previous posts). The fantastic non-profit, EarthCorps has a wonderful team of Sound Stewards who host our work in many hidden spots through out Puget Sound and its rivers.

This former superfund site is flourishing beautifully amidst the busy industry immediately surrounding it. After crossing the long habitat-rich channel, we focused our attention on two tasks. The first was targeting a weedy mustard species sprouting en masse amongst the native plants. The second was transplanting beach grass from one area in order to help it expand into another, along the shoreline. 

Being not far from the mouth of the river, the park has heavy tidal influence and the walk out required extra balancing across logs (splash!) or additionally walking the long way around.

Salmon Sightings on the Cedar River with the Seattle Aquarium & KC Parks.

Squad braved the pre-storm weather for some salmon and stewardship on the Cedar River and we were greatly rewarded! The beautiful red salmon were easy to see, we saw up to six swimming at once. Many others were perished on the shoreline after their long journey to spawn. 

The Seattle Aquarium's Cedar River Salmon Journey program sent us a group of truly fabulous naturalists to explain everything salmon, complete with props and posters. The very popular polarized viewing glasses assist in spotting fish in the water by cutting down on glare.

Another handy learning strategy for remembering the salmon types was the hand mnemonic-hand (pictured below):

thumb - chum/Keta
pointer (eye poke) - sockeye/red
middle (largest) - King /Chinook
ring - silver/Coho
pinky - pink/humpie

We learned that the cut fins washed-up represent deceased fish that have been counted by salmon monitors so that they can keep track of which have been tallied already. The Aquarium's website has good information on opportunities for seeing and learning more about salmon.

The Cavanaugh Pond Natural Area, managed by King County Parks, is a unique site in that the river flows through a levee culvert which directs some of the salmon into the pond- a habitat they do not normally spawn in. The ponds are remnants of a former gravel mine which closed due to frequent flooding.

Restoration is well underway and will continue into the future. We performed some weeding around the young native plants, particularly digging up tenacious burdock roots. Let's hope the upcoming wind/rain storm has only a limited pollution impact on our salmon waterways due to roadway oil, sewage overflow, etc.

If you'd like to see salmon, come on out Thurs 11/10 at Carkeek Park for more stewardship and salmon viewing. We will also be on the Duwamish River just south of Downtown Tu 10/25 where we also hope to see salmon.

An Owl in Rainier Beach at Pritchard Island Beach Park.

Squad was treated to a special encounter indeed. We stood just beneath a lovely barred owl for a good long time as it quietly looked at us, turning its head occasionally and even yawning. Its majesty was felt by everyone and we counted ourselves very lucky. Regular Pritchard Island Beach volunteers and Forest Stewards (Green Seattle Partnership) saw the owl previously and led us back into the woods hoping to share the good fortune. We thank them!

Unfortunately our endangered snowy owls are struggling to compete with the recent introduction of these barred owls, who have migrated from the Eastern US, likely due to human alteration of the landscape. Currently officials are culling barred owls in order to better help various threatened species, read more about the issue here.

The owl says: hoo-hoo-hoo, hoo, hoo-hoohoo-hoo-a-aw. Given in words: “who-cooks-for-you, who-cooksfor-you-a-all,” ending with a descending note.