by Kathryn True | May 22, 2020 | blog
Every low tide I am seized by conflicting emotions of joyful anticipation and looming dread. I am excited by the prospect of entering the temporarily drained and accessible octopuses’ gardens—to walk among the sea pens I can usually only discern in a watery blur from...
by Kathryn True | Oct 5, 2019 | blog
I became fascinated by dragonflies by accident. I was swimming in a lake in Canada and the price due for the glory of floating weightless under an open sky was navigating the reeds along the water’s edge afterward. There is something singularly unpleasant about the...
by Kathryn True | Sep 19, 2019 | blog
I opened the box very slowly as I’d been instructed, mindful of the talons and beak within. As I loosened the last tab and opened the lid, I saw the bird for the first time. It struck me that the hawk was not much bigger than the robins and other passerines she preys...
by Kathryn True | Aug 13, 2019 | blog
Humans usually rely on their eyes to observe nature, but one night each summer, a small group of islanders set out under cover of darkness to witness the wild in a different way. “At night, our island puts sight to sleep and awakens a symphony of sound—owl calls, bat...
by Kathryn True | Jul 22, 2019 | blog
Vashon Nature Center (VNC) conducts a variety of community science projects around the island and islanders of all ages volunteer to gather data that contribute to our larger body of scientific knowledge about island plants and animals. VNC chooses projects that have...