Gray Whale Project
In April of 2024 a gray whale washed ashore on Vashon. Vashon Nature Center is rebuilding the skeleton with students and the community for educational display at Vashon Center for the Arts.
A Whale Of An Opportunity
In April 2024, Vashon Island received a bittersweet gift from the sea when a 39.5-foot adult male gray whale beached near the high tide line. After discussion with tribal contacts, Vashon Nature Center obtained a salvage permit from NOAA and started recovering and processing bones as they released naturally.
Within 2 weeks of the whale beaching, VNC staff and volunteers installed wildlife cameras to track the decomposition of the whale. During his time on the beach, 20 trained volunteer Whale Ambassadors provided daily checks on the whale to help recover bones as they were released from the carcass. After retrieval, the bones are processed and cleaned on dry land. VNC staff will work with schools and the public to catalog and illustrate the bones and then articulate the full skeleton. By Spring of 2026, the whale will be displayed inside the atrium at Vashon Center for the Arts to inspire wonder, raise awareness, and create a sense of caring for these incredible creatures of the sea.
Be a part of this rare opportunity!
- Please contribute to the GoFundMe campaign. There are considerable costs in articulating a whale for display. These costs were not planned for in our annual budget as we had no idea this event would arise.
- Join our Whale Ambassador team and help us clean, process, and assemble the whale!
- Check out our Whale WildCam highlights
- Read about gray whales and the whale on Vashon
- Follow the process on our social media accounts. https://www.facebook.com/groups/vashonnaturecenter and https://www.instagram.com/vashonnaturecenter/
Thanks to those already helping us in many ways with this whale of a project! King County, NOAA, The Russell Family Foundation, Cascadia Research, Port Townsend Marine Science Center, whale ambassador volunteers, Vashon Adventures, World Vets, Vashon Center for the Arts, and private donors.
Vashon Nature Center whale ambassador volunteers, a group of dedicated volunteers from Vashon and the mainland, are instrumental in helping us collect, curate, clean, catalog, and prepare the gray whale for articulation and display. You can become a whale ambassador volunteer by signing up here. You can also support this effort with a donation to cover the considerable costs we will incur creating this educational display for the community. photo by: Maria Metler
Header Photo: Vashon Nature Center