Blog
Airport RAP
This guest blog article is part of a series that addresses local water quality topics written by Mary Bruno, Vashon Groundwater Protection Committee member. Did you know that the Vashon Municipal Airport is its own “Municipality”? Yeah, neither did I. This official...
The Water Tester
Kevin Wanamaker is filling the water-testing vacuum left behind after local well expert Bob Seibold retired. Credit: Mary Bruno Like most well owners, they hadn’t tested their drinking water in years. They’d been meaning to get one of those home-testing...
Local Shark Death Mystery
The mystery began on January 17 when Vashon Nature Center received an email about a large skeleton found on the beach at Maury Island Marine Park. The beachcombers reported it was picked clean and looked to be made of cartilage, not bone. It was several feet long and...
Blackwater Blues: How Dockton Solved Its Manganese Problem
This guest article is written by: Mary Bruno, Vashon Groundwater Protection committee member, as part of a series featuring important water topics on Vashon-Maury Islands. To access all articles in this series go to our blog page and type Mary Bruno into the search...
Swimming Under the Radar: Less Splashy Salmonid Has Much to Teach Us
The headwaters of Christensen Creek, Christensen Pond. Credit: Bianca Perla Just before winter solstice, Vashon Nature Center co-director Bianca Perla visited her salmon-watch reach to both look for fish and find her calm center amid the holiday bustle. As she walked...
Extreme high tides hit Vashon this winter
Featured Image: KVI on December 27th, 2022. Photo Credit: Island Resident As we drove towards KVI for an afternoon walk, we hadn’t given much thought to tides. High tides just mean a shorter walk right? Most days of the year this would be a decent way to approach a...
Vashon Nature Center Co-directorship
As of January 1, 2023 we have converted to a co-director model for leadership of Vashon Nature Center. We are excited about this change and all that it symbolizes and brings! Read below for a letter from your new co-directors: Bianca Perla and Maria Metler! Dear...
The Apprenticeship: Water District 19 Trains Local Talent
"For my age, to be in a union and to have all these benefits is amazing,” says 20-year-old Jayce Alberthal, Water District 19's first ever apprentice. Photo Credit: Mary Bruno Water District 19 was at half staff last January when John Martinak...
Rare Birds
The visiting Acorn Woodpecker. Photo credit: Jim Diers An acorn woodpecker has been hanging around the old Misty Isle Farms airstrip at SW 232nd Street since Nov. 2. For the nonbirder, this information might result in a shrug, but to the birding community on Vashon...
Header Photo: Bianca Perla