The Next Level of Commitment

North Creek Forest - Bothell, Washington

CONSERVATION DEPENDS UPON A COMMITMENT FROM THE COMMUNITY.
Bothell, like all jurisdictions hit with declining income, does not have money to take care of more park land without community help.

OUR VISION is to provide the support the city needs by building a core of volunteers for countless projects like the one last week (see below). In short we support strong stewardship.

OUR VISION ALSO includes the active support for UW Bothell, Cascadia CC and K-12 so interns, students, volunteers and educators have the tools and coordination with the city and community for excellent forest education.

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Author and Professor John Marzluff talks about the biological significance of NCF.

OUR FIRST FUNDRAISER was held last Sunday. Author John Marzluff offered the keynote to about 50 people invited to FNCF President Jeanie Robinson's home.

Gifts of the Crow is UW Professor Marzluff's latest book, co-authored by renowned artist-naturalist Tony Angell. It is a fascinating account of birds with shocking intelligence. John spent most of his time helping us understand the depth and rich complexity found right in North Creek Forest, a place that discourages crows because of it's biological health. Thank you John!

THE FUNDRAISER? We raised over $3000 on Sunday, $2600 more came in the mail, and an additional $10,000 pledge it the form of a challenge grant brings our first effort to $11,200 with $4400 remaining to be matched!

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Adam Hess, Maddie Fisher, Darryl Nevels and Sarah Witte leading a tour.

OUR BUDGET for all of 2013 is under $50,000. With the 2012-13 academic year underway we want to hire a part time Volunteer Coordinator. Then, starting now with an Administrative Intern, we will add a paid Director in 2013.

We are all about thrift, but tools, materials, office supplies, outreach and coordination adds up to thousands of hours of volunteer time and considerable personal donations from Board Members.

THE NEXT LEVEL is to create a sustainable organization with modest funding. We do this by utilizing interns and volunteers along with staffing and modest community giving. It works.

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Board Member Jeri Malloy shares our work with supporter Marilyn Cass.

Over 100 members of our community and students worked with us on the last UWREN site. (see earlier articles)

So far 6 interns have worked with us to identify and map plants, provide landscape architectural conceptual designs and build data bases.

Internships offer students real world learning experience and provide FNCF with services that would consume significant funding.

By weaving education and stewardship together we are improving the ecological function of the forest AND boosting education. Expanding this model benefits our salmon and Puget Sound.

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State Representative Derek Stanford (right) located a grant dedicated to projects like this one (not out of school funding or any other vital state functions). That funding, added to grants already obtained, gave the city enough to purchase the first 35 acres!

Every one in the room has contributed in some way to the conservation of North Creek Forest.

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President Jeanie Robinson, "We might want to save the forest, but ultimately it is the forest that saves us."

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Founding Board Member Jerry Smedes brings home the opportunity to save the rest of North Creek Forest and help the city steward this magnificent park land.

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Thank you for sharing your hopes, your hard work and your gifts.
Friends of North Creek Forest