Blog
A BioBlitz Retrospective: Why Everyone Counts
Six years ago, I met Vashon Nature Center’s director Bianca Perla at Vashon Tea Shop. I had read about the center in an article in The Beachcomber and I wanted to learn more. I was looking for a new volunteer venture and as a longtime naturalist, the organization’s...
Thank you Stream Team 2017!
Over the last few days we had an intrepid team of 10 volunteers join our stream team, rearrange their schedules to beat the oncoming rains, and conduct our 5th annual stream invertebrate survey of Vashon creeks. We finished exactly 1/2 an hour before the fall rains...
Why? A wildlife management perspective on Vashon’s late cougar
by Bianca Perla As I left the wilderness and drove back into cell service my phone exploded with texts. The cougar had been killed. Both kids and adults cried at the news, wondering why. Many in our community disagreed about this cougar but most people seemed to...
Barney and Blanche: a tale of barn owls nesting
by: Mark Timken, owl painting by Beatrice Timken Hope just means another world might be possible, not promised, not guaranteed. Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope. ---Rebecca Solnet, 2016, p. 4 “Look! An owl!” my partner exclaimed with surprise...
Meeting the Lion: A Vashon Nature Center Blog Series: Part 1
by: Kathryn True Vashon-Maury Islands have been host to a cougar for the past year. In the absence of an on-island state wildlife office, many islanders have turned to Vashon Nature Center for questions about the cougar and to report sightings. As we hit the one-year...
Resources for Living with wildlife
Vashon Nature Center has recently learned of several livestock injuries (including to pony, miniature donkey, and pig) that might be due large predators. All animals have survived. We currently have cougar, bear and coyotes on Vashon as well as dogs-- all of which can...
Myth Busters: A mountain lion fact-finding mission
by: Kathryn True A mountain lion has made its home on Vashon since last July. Its presence inspires awe, joy, fear, excitement, and fuels rumors. At Vashon Nature Center, we hear many questions and concerns about the cougar. We came up with a list of the most commonly...
Fin whale on Vashon
by: Bianca Perla, featured photo above by Kelly Keenan. Have you ever touched whale skin? It’s slippery and firm like the smooth skin of a wet apple. Have you had the chance to stand and look down into a whale’s gaping mouth? The lines of stiff baleen fray open to...
BeachNET launches as part of larger Salish Sea restoration
by: Kathryn True On several cold, wet nights this winter, while the rest of us cozied up by the fire, a group of intrepid scientists and volunteers visited local beaches to pan for gold—fish gold to be exact. They carefully measured out predetermined beach sections,...
Header Photo: Bianca Perla