 Amy Lambert with founding board member Warren Gold. WELCOME AMY LAMBERT TO OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS Amy's academic background: Lecturer, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, U of W Bothell Ph.D. Conservation Biology, University of Washington M.S. Restoration Ecology, University of Washington B.F.A. Visual Arts, Florida State University Amy's classes play a large role in NCF restoration. Her summer class, Urban Bees, will offer an oft overlooked perspective on our urban wild lands (and back yards). Also proposed, a project to design signage that might someday be used to awaken visitors the the wonders of the forest.  Amy (about her classes) “...an opportunity for people living in urban environments to be involved in the reconstruction of ecological processes." “Humans need a relationship with natural environment.” Amy's classes include The Art And Science of Restoration Ecology. It is a good track toward the senior Capstone program, UW Restoration Ecology Network. In the words of one student, a former business major with a 3.96 GPA: "After taking a restoration ecology course at UW Bothell taught by Amy Lambert, I rediscovered the wonders of nature and changed my major to environmental studies with a minor in ecological restoration."  Kent Parkinson, UWREN Team Liaison, and Dr David Bain. OTHER EVENTS NOT PREVIOUSLY COVERED May 10th - Montessori visit FNCF Vice President Dr. David Bain invited a class from Woodinville Montessori to tour the UWREN site with team liaison Kent Parkinson. The students saw first hand, the results of a scientifically designed restoration site. They also got the story behind this moss covered door: A doorway to nature, created by artist Teppei Sato. By the way: an interesting convergence of funding... The Rose Foundation Grassroots Grant enables us to expand all of our stewardship activities including UWREN support. A second Grassroots Grant to The Environmental Science Center expands that group's environmental education, which includes enriching their activity with Woodinville Montessori. A third Grassroots Grant, to Woodinville Montessori, enables them to do a significant restoration project along a small stream next to their school. Thank you Rose Foundation!  Old cistern used for farm irrigation before I-405 existed. May 18th - "County Line Creek" cleanup Our previous article announced a pending clean up of some of the areas of NCF now owned by the city. We started by taking apart the rotting roof on this structure.  Force and leverage, it worked on this roof.  Steve Dahl, Bothell Parks, was the lead on this event. Two volunteers independently mentioned their appreciation for Steve's leadership. One comment... "Man, he doesn't just tell you what to do. He's in there doing the heavy work." Thanks Steve. You have our appreciation for your leadership and hard work.  Carolyn Freese, FNCF Treasurer and Adam Hess, Cascadia CC, Amphibian Research Intern, hauling loads of soggy rugs to the dumpster. Smelly stuff...  We finished getting everything out of "County Line Creek" then volunteers regrouped at 242nd, in the upper forest, to relocate additional trash to a city truck staged for the event.  Everything planned was completed. The team doesn't look tired so... After this end-of-day photo many enthusiastic volunteers walked 200 meters to the UWREN site and put in another 1.5 hours! An awesome day team... we received communications from city officials expressing appreciation for your hard work. You made a real difference. Our level of stewardship was made possible by a grant from the Rose Foundation. Thank you, FNCF
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 There is no official name for this creek. So we call it "County Line Creek" because that's where it is. This beautiful small stream has been trashed... as in garbage. Plastic chairs, bottles, plastic bags old rugs and a broken down tin covered cistern dominate the scene. The land the creek passes through was purchased by the city in December 2011, our first successful assist in land purchase. Now we are teaming up with the Bothell Parks and Recreation Department to clean it all up in one day. We need a team to do this.  The building in the photo on the right is a cistern, a catch basin for irrigation water left over from the farming days before I-405 was built. It might look pretty here but it is a bag-of-ugly up close.
We will be dismantling the roof and hauling it off along with everything else. With your help we can make every view along this creek a place to enjoy. Saturday, May 18th 10:00 AM - 2:30 PM End of 112th Ave NE just north of the restoration site. MAP Thanks, FNCF  FNCF President, Jeanie Robinson, is smiling about forest science without using cars. In addition to securing the ecological benefits of North Creek Forest our stated dream is: To enable a giant outdoor "walk to laboratory" to inspire students in science, art and literature. On May 1 we took a big step in that direction. Saint Brendan students walked from school and did scientific research under the guidance of noted northwest naturalist, Rob Sandelin. Rob teaches at the Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe. He has also been a park naturalist at Yosemite, Olympic Peninsula and Denali National Parks and a field educator at Yellowstone.  Decent into a research zone. The day was absolutely perfect in every way.  After going over a personal story about recovering a baseball in nettles and showing students what nettles look like, Rob weaves his magic. Adults and students were captivated.  Rob had students group in teams of three. Each team was given a clipboard and 2 wood stakes coupled with exactly five meters of string. Field research involved randomly placing the stakes and recording how many different plants fell under the stretched string and the count for each plant in each sample. Students took as many samples as they could in about 45 minutes.  Random sampling (and fun) was magnified when Rob said, "Come back to this spot when you hear this sound," and proceeded to howl like a wolf. With a grin student teams scattered everywhere.  It is worth pointing out how serious students were about their research. They were meticulous in getting the string tight and counting every plant under the string.  The event was important enough that Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition (WWRC) brought in a professional photographer to make a video. [Also see: Bothell Reporter ]  After students regrouped at the sound of the "wolf" Rob talked about the plants they found. He held up a plant and asked "How many of you found this plant to be the most abundant in more than half of your samples?" Student were able to see how different plants dominate in different parts of the forest. He then helped them learn plant names. They will probably remember when he waved the fern (in his left hand) like a sword... a Sword Fern, right?  Hanna Clark, with WWRC, told students about the Land and Water Conservation Fund and how important it is to saving North Creek Forest, not for a few years, but forever. The money for this fund comes from a tax on oil and gas drilling and has been in place since 1965. It has been difficult to get Congress to fund the grant even though the the money is collected.  Thank you Senator Murray! Senator Patty Murray has worked very hard to get Congress to keep funding for the LWCF. Without that work, the forest you see in the background (right) would not be in purchase negotiations with the city. A second LWCF grant we worked with the city to apply for will be used to help purchase 3 remaining forest parcels IF Congress funds the LWCF. Senator Murray was once called "the Senator in white tennis shoes". So students signed a gift of white hiking boots to express gratitude for her help in saving the forest.  North Creek Forest is an urban gem. If you have a giving program please consider a donation to our organization so we can continue our activities of conservation, education and stewardship. If you are a current or retired Boeing employee your gift will be matched by Boeing. All gifts are deductible. This is a fragile forest. No official trails exist. We will advocate for special trails. We want trails to be designed by biologists so people can see diverse habitat without disturbing the wildlife. So far UW Bothell students have carefully mapped key plant communities across 35 acres. Our Cascadia CC interns started a one year amphibian study and key amphibian habitats will also be mapped. Someday the whole forest may be saved (with a lot more work). Someday you may be able to see this waterfall and let your mind go where it does in places like this. All is possible because you support it. Gratefully, FNCF ALSO...  Rob Sandelin, "This is what I do." If you want to get a very useful book check out: Field Guide to the Cascades and Olympics by Rob Sandelin Stephen Whitney Published by the Mountaineers It's made for the field: sturdy, compact and full of what you need, to identify many of the plants, animals, insects and a lot of other you things might run into. |
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