"To contribute to the well-being of our community by fostering awareness, understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of our natural environment; and by preserving and enhancing parks and open spaces"

-- From our Mission Statement

 Table of Contents

Welcome

Current Projects and Events

Grace Cole Nature Park: We sponsor year-round work parties at LFPs largest natural area preserve, located on 28th Ave NE, to build and maintain trails, remove invasive plants and replant with natives. Work parties are generally on Saturdays. Grace Cole is a great place to bring a youth or office group to volunteer – families welcome, as well! Please contact Mamie Bolender at mamiejb@hotmail.com or 206-364-4410 for details.

Backyard Bird Research: Come experience science in action at weekend bird banding projects at two sites in Lake Forest Park. These studies are sponsored by the Puget Sound Bird Observatory. Interesting in bird watching? Spotters are needed to re-sight color-banded birds. For more information and schedule, see http://pugetsoundbirds.org/projects/birds-wintering-in-urban-landscapes/ or contact Christine Southwick at clsouth@u.washington.edu.

Streambank Management for Homeowners: (will be offered twice) Thursday, May 31st, 7-9 pm or Saturday June 9th, 10am-noon in the LFP City Council Chambers at City Hall. Learn landscaping technique that owners of streamside properties can use to prevent erosion, minimize flood damage, beautify streambanks, and improve water quality and fish and wildlife habitat. Workshop includes information about grants to assist homeowners. Sponsored by LFP Environmental Quality Commission, Streamkeepers and LFP Stewardship Foundation. Go to www.streamkeeper.org/aasf/ for more information.

March 22:   7-8:30pm How to Adopt A Stream (classroom)

March 31:   10 am-3pm All About Invasive Plants (park)

April 12:   7-8:30pm Stream and Wetland Science Made Easy (classroom)

April 28:   10 am-3pm Designing and Planting a Native Landscape (park)

May 3:   7-8:30pm All About Salmon and Their Protection Rules (classroom)

Sept. 15:   10am-noon Native Plant Monitoring and Maintenance (park)

Our 2010 Fundraiser on November 12th
at the Civic Club was a fantastic event!

We celebrated our watershed in fine style

Senator Darlene Fairley was presented the 2010 Community Stewardship Award for her many years of service to the 32nd District and support of the Foundation's efforts and Grace Cole Nature Park.

Thanks to Peter Donaldson of the Friends of Cedar River Watershed for his informative presentation. Music and entertainment was provided by "The Padres of the Park" and Doug Mitchell.

Thanks so much to the following sponsors who helped make this event possible:

           Frank Lumber                 Dr. Fred Ebsworth, D.D.S.     Ballinger Clinic
          The Door Store

Windermere Seattle-Northlake    Massage Envy Ballinger     Custom Pure - The Water Store

Avid Angler, Towne Center Hardware, The Lake Forest Park Grill, Jamie Anderson, and Jean Reid donated prizes which were raffled off; thank you.

We look forward to seeing you at a future event. Thanks for everyone's generous support.

Support for the Coalition for the Preservation of Cedarbrook

The Stewardship Foundation supports the efforts of the Coalition for the Preservation of Cedarbrook to preserve the property which was formerly Cedarbrook School. This property abuts the cities of Lake Forest Park and Shoreline. The property contains wetlands and drains into Whisper Creek and ultimately McAleer Creek and is the primary park and playfield for residents in the area.

Click here to view our proclamation in support of Cedarbrook.
The Coalition maintains a Web site at http://www.savecedarbrook.org/

Please join the Coalition in their efforts to preserve this important property.

Salmon in the Schools; the Good News and the....Reality (February, 2011)

The Salmon at Brookside and LFP Elementary Scools are progressing nicely. If you look closely at this picture, you will see the tiny Salmon alevin - almost fish, but still with their yolk sacks attached.

But adding a new salmon tank to our program this year has offered some challenges. There have been a few setbacks with the new tank at Ridgecrest Elementary. This experience continues to emphasize how fragile these creatures are and is serving as a good lesson for the students.

Native American Storyteller Helps with LFPSF's Salmon in the Schools

The Foundation was delighted to sponsor all-school assemblies at Lake Forest Park and Ridgecrest elementary schools featuring renowned Native American storyteller Roger Fernandez.

The assemblies, on January 12, were timed to welcome the salmon eggs to the schools.

Roger is a member of the Lower Elwha Band of the S'Klallam tribe from the Port Angeles, Washington, area. He has been storytelling for many years and has previously performed at Brookside Elementary for the students there.

Roger does a lot of work in schools and tailors his presentations to young people. He believes art, music and stories reflect the culture, and the culture reflects the environment. In sharing these types of stories, Native people can teach non-Natives about aspects of their culture that go beyond food, shelter and clothing, and actually define the culture of the tellers.

Children intuitively understand stories, and he gives them access to stories that are easy to interpret. Native people call their stories "the teachings" as they are the fundamental way of teaching children.

Roger told the story of the salmon people, a traditional teaching about how what we put (and don't put) into our streams affects the "salmon house."

The children will be following up in the classroom to discuss just what the "salmon house" means, and how our choices affect it.

Many thanks to Aimee Miner, principal at LFP Elementary, and Andrea Early, music teacher at Ridgecrest, for their phenomenal cooperation and flexibility in helping this come together.

Salmon in the Schools

The Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation is proud to sponsor a new salmon tank at Ridgecrest Elementary School. This adds a new site to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) program of "Salmon in the Schools," and supplements the existing programs coordinated by Diana Bettelli at Lake Forest Park Elementary, and Katie Johnson at Brookside Elementary.

This expands the reach of the Salmon in the Schools to a third school in our watershed. Liz Whitney's fifth grade students, about half of whom come from LFP, are sponsoring the tank at Ridgecrest. Like their counterparts at LFP and Brookside Elementary Schools, the children keep the tank clean, and check temperature and pH daily, all the while learning about the fragile ecosystem which sustains the salmon eggs in their natural habitat- our streams and wetlands.

Coho eggs arrived with the new year, delivered by long time volunteer, Jim Siscel.

Jim is a former teacher who has shepherded many programs in schools throughout the area. He was ably assisted by Foundation Board member and former caretaker of the LFP Elementary program, Rick Purn.
Equipment has been historically provided by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, though funding resources for the program have become extremely strained in recent years. Through Jim's successful scavenging of equipment and the transfer of equipment from Brookside Elementary to the Ridgecrest program, the system has been brought up and running with funds from the Foundation and supplemented by the Ridgecrest PTA.
 

Many thanks to Principals Kathryn Noble at Brookside, and Cinco Delgado at Ridgecrest and Aimee Miner at LFP Elementary for their help coordinating. The "new" tank sits in the Ridgecrest lobby for all to enjoy. Stop by and check it out. The students will be happy to share their excitement as they eagerly await the first egg's hatching.
 

If You Were a Carpenter....

.....we could use your help. Do you have carpentry skills and a little time to donate to the Salmon in the Schools Program? Katie Johnson, and her students at Brookside Elementary need a new base for their salmon tank. The Stewardship Foundation is soliciting volunteers to work on this project. If you are interested in helping, please contact us at info@lfpsf.org or by calling our voice mail at (206) 361-7076.

Bird Banding, January 2010

Sunday, Jan. 10th was a perfect rain-free day for bird banding in LFP. The birds were active. The yard was busy, but we had to close the mist nets several times due to having more birds than the volunteer banders could keep up with. These fine nets are designed for the easy release of the birds to keep them from being injured. We banded a new bird for the project - a white-throated sparrow. This is very exciting, as this species is rarely spotted in Western Washington. We suspect this one was traveling with a flock of Oregon Juncos.


For the day we banded 8 new birds(3 Black-capped chickadees, 2 Chestnut-backed chickadees, 2 Oregon Juncos, 1 White-throated Sparrow), checked and released 5 previously banded birds (2 Black-capped chickadees, 2 Oregon Juncos and 1 Spotted towhee). We had to release 5 birds without banding them (4 Oregon Juncos, and 1 Black-capped chickadee) due to shortage of banders. The nets were only open 1/2 of the time.

A big thank you to all of the volunteers and visitors. And extra thanks Andrea Wuenschel, our site coordinator, Libby and Kerri for supplying delicious muffins and scones and to Kelsey Josund for taking pictures.

LFPSF Newsletters

Read about our work as well as the latest news about important issues and developments in LFP.  Previous paper newsletters are available in our newsletter archive and previous eNewsletters are available in our eNewsletter archive.

North Cascades Wild Youth Adventures

For several years, The Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation was a proud sponsor with the North Cascades Institute and the Student Conservation Association of the North Cascades Wild Summer Youth Adventure.

From 2006-2010, the Stewardship Foundation sponsored over 50 students from Shorecrest High School to attend this exciting 12-day, all expense paid, outdoor experience. Targeting students who would otherwise not have opportunity to visit the great outdoors, experienced wilderness guides lead students in exploring the area around Ross Lake, canoeing, hiking, restoring hiking trails, camping and viewing wildlife. Leadership skills are promoted and students returned home with a new awareness about stewardship of our natural resources.

For more information please go to http://www.ncascades.org/programs/youth/north_cascades_wild/

Brookside Creek Restoration Project

The lower Brookside stream restoration project at the Wilcox home, funded by the Community Salmon Fund and a King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks WaterWorks grant, was a great success. Please read more about this project and see the photos!

Additional projects and information:

April, 2005: We received the Environmental Legacy Award from the City of LFP, "In recognition of outstanding contributions to our community by maintaining, preserving, enhancing, and fostering awareness of our natural environment for current and future generations."  Please click here to see the award.

March, 2005: Going Green one Yard at a Time. The Stewardship Foundation is again co-sponsoring the Lake Forest Park “Green Garden Fair,” also know as “Dig it!” The Second Annual fair will take place Saturday, March 19, from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Third Place Commons, Lake Forest Park Towne Centre. The fair will feature exhibitors from a variety of agencies and organizations supporting environmentally friendly gardening practices and watershed stewardship, as well as children’s activities and giveaways. This year’s theme is “Going Green one Yard at a Time.” In line with this theme, the Stewardship Foundation will be presenting information on our new Good Stewards backyard wildlife certification program. You can register on-line. It takes less than 15 minutes and many LFP residents already have all it takes to be certified. Read about us in an Enterprise article.

You've probably heard that the City of Lake Forest Park is updating its Comprehensive Plan, the core document which provides the vision and guidance for almost everything the City does. What you might not know is that the most recent draft of the Comprehensive Plan proposes rezoning of 192 lots in the City to higher density. The Stewardship Foundation believes that this is something each and every citizen should know about, since a zoning change like this can change the fundamental nature of where we live. Click here to read more about this.

A babbling brook now meanders down its cobbled 80-foot course in the forested back yard of Rick and Launa Hoy in Lake Forest Park, through a corner of the new Grace Cole Nature Park, before it joins the main channel of Brookside Creek and continues downstream to McAleer Creek. This section of stream, now navigable to salmon and trout, replaced a perched culvert through an earthen dam, which formed a backyard pond. It is one of numerous improvements needed in Lake Forest Park to make all our streams passable to salmon and trout.

The Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation invited neighbors, public officials, volunteers and the professionals who planned and carried out the Brookside Creek restoration, to share in the official opening of the new creek channel on October 3, 2003. Brian Bodenbach, of Biosphere Company, worked from a plan by Arthur Fleming, of HartCrowser, to create this beautiful stream. See photos of the opening ceremony, the Enterprise article about it, or download a movie of the ceremony (movie is in Windows Media Format -- a very large file).

For more information about this, visit our Brookside Creek Restoration Project page.

Our Salmon's Guide to Lake Forest Park won an award! The Enterprise (local newspaper) reports (2/28/2003), "The Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation produced the brochure, complete with a one-of-a-kind detailed map, to tell Lake Forest Park residents about their creeks, wetlands and city parks. It combines the 'wet geography' of the city with the history of the creeks along with information from professional biologists about protecting the fish and wildlife habitat from further degradation. The Puget Sound Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication found the booklet worthy of its Award of Merit, in company with professional publications from Microsoft, Boeing, and other business and industrial giants." Click here for a list of awardees (ours is the 3rd from the top on the list of Merit Award winners).

For many years, students of the Brookside Elementary School have been hatching salmon eggs and releasing juvenile salmon in Brookside Creek. We have supported this project by replacing the equipment that maintains the cool temperature needed for the development of juvenile salmon before they are released. For more information and photos of the Salmon Release Project at Brookside school, click here.

The Stewardship Foundation, in cooperation with the City of Lake Forest Park, has succeeded in preserving 11 acres of open space, including the wetlands comprising the headwaters of Brookside Creek. This land is the core of the Grace and Carl Cole Memorial Nature Preserve. Click here for more information.

• Attention all Washington State Employees and Retirees. The Washington State Combined Fund Drive (CFD) provides state and public agency employees and retirees an opportunity to contribute to qualified charities through payroll deduction. We have met the CFD’s requirements and is now are listed as one of the potential recipients. The CFD annual campaign is held each fall. If you are a Washington State or public agency employee or retiree involved in the fall campaign, we would appreciate it very much if you would consider the LFP Stewardship Foundation as one of your recipients. Simply log on to the WA state "Giving Station" page, and indicate our Charity Code, 314987. Please consider indicating on the form that you want to be identified to us. We’d like to acknowledge your generosity by sending you our personal appreciation. If you have any questions, please email us, or the CFD office, or call 1-888-353-9396.
   
• Would you like to become an official Salmon Watcher? Contact Katie Sauter Messick at King Co dept. of Water and land resources!
   
• Interested in reducing your property taxes and saving the ecosystem at the same time? King County's Public Benefit Rating System (PBRS) provides incentives to encourage private landowners to voluntarily conserve and protect land resources, open space and timber. In return for preserving resources, the land is assessed at a value consistent with its "current use" rather than the "highest and best use" The reduction in assessed land value (on which the property taxes are based) can be as much as 90% for the portion of the land participating in the program. Click here for more information.
   
• We are listed in the King County Watershed Stewardship directory. If you select Lake Forest Park as city, you'll see us and the City's Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) there.
   
• Salmon sighting in McAleer Creek, October 11-14, 2000.
   
• King County "Fall for Salmon!" campaign.
   
• For more news, see our news archive.
   
• To view our eNewsletter Archive, click here.

Our Mailing address is

Post Office Box 82861, Kenmore, WA 98028

If you would like to support the Foundation's projects, please donate:

About LFPSF and LFP

eNewsletters

Newsletters

News articles about LFPSF

Grace Cole Nature Park

Brookside Creek Restoration

Wildlife Sightings

LFP Streams and wetlands mapping

Kindred spirits & resources

Membership

For more information contact us at  info@lfpsf.org.