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Controlling your stormwater can benefit you & the Salish Sea

Controlling your stormwater can benefit you & the Salish Sea

This is a guest blog article written by Michael Laurie. Michael has decades of experience on buildings and landscapes of all sizes on Vashon and in the Seattle area, helping them manage their stormwater, consulting on water efficiency, and also carrying out...

Heron Meadow is Happening!

Heron Meadow is Happening!

This guest blog post is written by Heron Meadow Head Steward Adria Magrath, a professional landscaper, biologist, bird enthusiast and naturalist who has been stewarding the meadow for the last year. In this post Adria summarizes activities and improvements in the...

Dock Fouling Offers Glimpses of Other Worlds

Dock Fouling Offers Glimpses of Other Worlds

Before I went dock fouling, I’d never heard of a hammerhead doto. These minute nudibranchs (only 11 millimeters long) are adorned with stalks of waving “pom poms” that make them look like exotic confections. The stalks are technically cerata, which sea slugs use for...

The Last Days of Natural Wonder

The Last Days of Natural Wonder

Reflecting on our Natural Wonder museum exhibit, closing Jan. 5. Way back in 2018 BC (Before Covid), Kathryn True and I took a field trip to Puget Sound Natural History museum to connect with director Peter Wimberger and curator and VNC Science Advisor, Gary Shugart....

Does Vashon have enough water?

Does Vashon have enough water?

This guest blog article is part of a series that addresses local water quality topics written by Mary Bruno, Vashon Groundwater Protection Committee Member. That question is bound to hijack any Island conversation about growth, be it building more affordable housing...

Airport RAP

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

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

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

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...

Header Photo: Bianca Perla