Building Community
At Vashon Nature Center, we envision a community of humans that works together, drawing on knowledge and creativity from diverse perspectives to nurture communities that foster thriving ecosystems.
Humans are a disproportionately powerful species in the web of life. Solving immense environmental sustainability challenges requires shifting our influence from taking from natural systems to giving back. We envision a community of humans that works together, drawing on knowledge and creativity from diverse perspectives to nurture communities that foster thriving ecosystems. We believe that this contributes to humans’ personal physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
Featured Projects
Heron Meadow: We are proud partners with Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA) in the Heron Meadow Project, a collaboration of science and art to grow a deeper awareness and understanding of nature. Vashon Nature Center stewards a 2.5-acre wetland meadow on the VCA campus in exchange for a field office and outdoor campus for school programs, workshops, and meetings. Both organizations join forces to offer science-art workshops, talks, and events while jointly improving the meadow. The latest collaboration is the preparation of a gray whale skeleton to be displayed in the VCA atrium. This installation will share the natural history of gray whales, how they are impacted by climate change and other challenges, and their connection to our islands.
Naturalist Workshops: We offer workshops on native plants, mushrooms, lichens, birds, salmon, kelp, and more. We also teach an annual naturalist training series, Fin to Feather, and host occasional Beach Naturalist trainings.
Come learn with us and meet fellow nature lovers!
Our Fantastic Partners
We thank our many partners and supporters in building community around nature including: The Russell Family Foundation, 4Culture, Doors Open, King County, Vashon Center for the Arts, Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust, Vashon Parks District, Vashon Heritage Museum, Washington State University COHORT program, The Rose Foundation, and private donors.