Have you ever had to pick up trash that people carelessly left on the street, in your yard, or on the sidewalk? How would you feel if someone walked into your yard and dumped some waste oil on your rose bushes or washed their car on the street in front of your house and chucked their bucket of greasy soap in your driveway or on your lawn. This is exactly what we do to our furry and feathered friends when we are careless with our environment. In actuality – we are also doing this to ourselves since these pollutants likely make their way into our watershed. (Pardon the lecture but hey… we humans need it!)

When my coworkers heard that I was taking a wetlands class – they excitedly told me there was beaver activity just down the road from our office. I brought my tennis shoes and a raincoat the next day – eager to explore the nearby wetland. I was saddened by what I saw. The pictures above show what has happened to this wetland over time. Whether this little creek was created due to water diversion through the construction of SR 520 and I-405 or whether the roads were built around it – I am not sure. But I do know that if I were the ducks pictured above… I would not want this in my backyard. (Hey ducks – there have to be nicer places for you to hang out!) Note the small dam built by the beaver in the last photo that has a used drink container that has become part of the structure. I did not get to see the beaver at work – maybe he did seek a new home.

The signage and fencing suggest that authorities are trying to protect what is left of the creek and its inhabitants – but unfortunately – this is not enough. The highways nearby will produce waste that collects on their surface and will produce polluted storm-water runoff that will find its way into the creek. The color of the soil on the banks of this creek already indicate some pollution.

The fact is – human animals are tough on their environment. We build roads, railways, dams, buildings, and sewers. We produce waste that will eventually find its way into our streams and watersheds – like Puget Sound and Lake Washington. Just like every vote counts, every action counts. So often when we think of watershed pollution – we think of big companies dumping toxic waste into oceans, rivers, and lakes. But individuals are also part of the problem. The most important thing this course has done for me is to open my eyes to the actions that can cause damage to our wetlands and watersheds and some simple things I can do to help protect them.

I encourage people to pick just one or two items that can protect our water and – make it a habit… then add a couple more. Small actions by lots of people are just as important as monumental actions by a few. Below is a photo taken at a ferry terminal that lists some simple ways we citizens can help:

http://brimaps.com/resources/RPS.pdf

I hope this project has provided a few pointers in helping to protect our wetlands. For more information about ways to protect Puget Sound and other watersheds… please visit the sites below:

King County Stormwater Services 

Department of Ecology, State of Washington

Adopt a Stream Foundation

Washington Waters

This huckleberry bush exemplifies why humans need to let nature take its course whenever possible. What appears to be a useless dead stump is actually a perfect breeding ground for this native plant.

Last Saturday several classmates, my husband Donovan and I volunteered at the Northwest Stream Center in Everett WA as part of a community engagement experience in my Environmental Studies course at UW Bothell. It was a chilly Saturday morning. We had a sturdy breakfast of leftover egg foo young and coffee. We dressed warmly and were excited to greet the day. We met Marian Hansen, our host who struggled to get the lock off of the building due to the light frost of the morning. Marian is a volunteer at the site responsible for the vegetation aspect of the project. This chapter of Adopt a Stream is building a walkway through this wetland to allow people to commune with and respect nature. The project is a partnership with Snohomish County Parks. Adopt a Stream has many exciting projects you can read about here: http://www.streamkeeper.org/aasf/Welcome.html but for this post I will focus on our experience with Marian.

I love the curvy way a cedar grows. Next time you are in a forest – take a close look at how this tree bends and seeks the sun.

I failed to capture the magic of this fallen tree. It was a cross between a big, scary alien and intricate lace.

Marian’s design – like something out of Tolkien.

Fallen trees have a place in nature – the project tries to leave trees where they fall whenever possible.

Marian is a UW Bothell Alum who volunteers 20 to 40 hours a week at the NW Stream Center. Her passion for this project is evidenced by the way she looks at each and every twig in the wetland. Marian has names for tree stumps and other areas the same way we have names for pets. Even though she had four willing and able volunteers, she first spent a great deal of time getting to know us and asking about our educational goals. Before she put us to work – she gave us a tour of the project pointing out various aspects of the project explaining that fallen trees and brush piles provide important habitat for small animals; and how a small water area near a dead tree might provide a good habitat for frogs.

Frog habitat within a dead majestic stump.

Marian is not just an environmentalist – she is an artist. I was amused how she explained that her son was a professional artist – Marian – so are you 🙂 She more than once – looked at a piece of timber – and then chucked it ‘just so’ because she “thought it needed to be there.”

Almost apologetically – she finally put us to work. We helped move a large brush and wood pile that had inadvertently been plopped upon some small plantings including a baby cedar and some ferns. It was indeed an honor to be permitted to wander around in her forest. For every single plant is dear. What may look like a pile of earth or soil might actually be some native plants she has staged for a future planting. The highlight of the day was when we got to the bottom of the pile and found one of her babies (a small cedar sapling) that was alive and well.

A team from the U.S. Navy helped Marian remove invasive Himalayan blackberry bushes – what a job!

I dare anyone to spend a few hours with Marian and not come out of the experience wanting to help her in any way to create a space where humans and nature can convene. Marian explained how the project is interdisciplinary and how the engineer, the ecologist, and the landscape architects  all have different points of view that in the end, provide meaningful insight into the project.

I am looking forward to a time in my life when I have the availability to volunteer and really get involved in conservation projects such as this. My time at the Northwest Stream Center was way too short and – I will be back.

It is a tremendous challenge keeping a balance between humans and nature. After all – humans are a vital part of nature. Last Saturday our class took a lovely walk on a boardwalk that is part of North Creek Park. I have to say it was very interesting as parts of the boardwalk had several inches of standing water from overflow of the wetland.

The park hosted good signage that educated people on the importance of wetlands. At one point we stopped for a lecture and a father and his young daughter stayed to listen as our professor explained that she had personally seen or heard of all of the animals listed on the signpost having been witnessed in the wetland. (My personal favorite is the dragonfly.)

In addition, we discussed how some of the vegetation was native such as spirea or red dogwood…

…and that other was invasive such as the reed canarygrass that was originally seen as a beneficial vegetation that stabilized banks – but is now known to be invasive – and perhaps destructive in a wetland.

The most notable part of this wetland is that it is flanked by apartments and condos which could threaten its longevity through pollution or other human impacts.

The original farm is for sale – in case anyone out there with a few hundred thousand dollars wants to buy it and maybe give it back to nature.

Take a walk through this beautiful wetland. Pack it in – pack it out. Hear, smell, and see nature. From the tiny vegetation growing on the water surface – to the dragonflies. If you are really lucky – maybe you will see a beaver!

Closing thoughts… it is important to create human habitats such as nature boardwalks where we can see, smell, hear and learn about wetlands. But – at what cost? Human appreciation contributes to preserving natural areas such as this but, in so doing, aren’t also trespassing on nature?

Trees don’t always follow specific rules. They seek nutrients and sunshine and grow accordingly. I have seen fallen trees in the woods that still branch out trying to stay alive. This lovely tree caught my eye due to the graceful branching from the trunk; an interesting display for passersby.

This photo is (in my humble opinion) eye candy for the nature lover. The beautiful green in the foreground and the messy natural settings with dead leaves, brambles and a creek in the background reminds me that pretty is not always symmetrical and tidy.

Beavers, like humans can drastically change a landscape. Beavers dam up rivers to build homes and ensure availability of food supply. Humans change water flow for similar reasons such as this business park built within the wetlands of North Creek in Bothell, Washington near the UW Bothell campus. Beaver Solutions is an organization that works to resolve human/heaver conflicts. They report “The dams, canals and lodges beaver builds have gained them the reputation as “Nature’s Engineers”. No other animal with the exception of man so significantly alters its habitat to suit its own needs and desires. Native Americans revered the beaver and referred to them as “Little People” for this reason.” [http://www.beaversolutions.com/about_beaver_biology.asp]

This is the flooding caused by the stoppage of natural water flow from building the business park within the North Creek wetlands.

This nature trail that is a useful byproduct of a dike built to keep the office complex built in the North Creek wetlands from becoming floating offices.

Human beings – like beavers – alter their environment to suit their needs. What makes the human “footprint” more or less harmful than that of a beaver? One might argue that the main difference is that beavers use what is available in nature to alter their surroundings. Humans bring in asphalt, gas and electric lines, concrete and other unnatural objects and materials into a natural environment.

Beavers are interesting creatures. I had the opportunity to live on the Chena River Slough in Fairbanks, Alaska where I observed how quickly a beaver can take down a cottonwood tree. It is amazing to watch these animals work.

Read more here: http://www.landscouncil.org/beaversolution/facts_on_beavers.asp

As a student, I love it when I learn things that are worth sharing with others. Ducks are lots more fun than algorithms (well – unless you are a geek). When my kids were young we enjoyed buying bread from the local sandwich shop in Lowell, Michigan and wandering down to the river’s edge to feed the ducks and swans. Many people do this and with good intention. It is fun to watch the ducks dive for bits of bread, and to see the little ducklings swim in dutiful lines behind mom and dad. It would seem that feeding ducks is a harmless way to connect with nature. After reading about the pollution problems in North Creek and some of the causes, such as pet waste, car washing, and duck droppings, I now know that feeding ducks can cause problems. I was skeptical about just the droppings because I assumed that this was matter found in nature. This is true however, people feeding wild ducks human food such as bread or even duck food is not natural. Wild ducks eat bugs and grass that is found naturally in wetlands. Ducks Unlimited warns that feeding wild ducks human or even duck food can disrupt their natural migration patterns and put them at risk for abuse by becoming too comfortable around humans and settling in areas that can’t sustain them or cause them to become a nuisance.

For more information Check out:

Ducks Unlimited Conservation FAQs http://www.ducks.org/about-du/frequently-asked-questions/conservation-faqs

U.S. Geological Survey What should I Feed the Ducks and Ducklings on My Lake http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/about/faqs/birds/feeding.htm

UW Bothell’s wetlands

Science begins with curiosity… in my opinion. Many times people are bogged down by scientific terms when they think about science and they forget about this essential element. If we have no curiosity or desire to find out why… bears hibernate in the winter, our blood is red, colds produce sniffles, etc….. we would not have science. I do not fashion myself a scientist because when I think of science – I think of equations and periodic tables. However, what I do have is curiosity. This is the beauty of an Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (IAS) program like the ones offered at UWB. IAS programs approach a student’s educational journey through many different lenses. [And the bonus in this class is that we get to go for nature walks as part of our curriculum!]

The UW Bothell campus is built on what used to be the Truly Ranch and hosts 62 acres of protected wetlands. You can read more about the UWB Wetlands and restoration here: http://www.uwb.edu/wetlands/restoration. This facilitates the teaching of the course Wetlands and Our Watershed and yet, it also offers a conundrum because we are learning about restoration while attending school in an area that perhaps, ideologically – should not have been utilized for a college campus. But that is a longer conversation. This post will focus on foam; and not the kind you find in a tasty beverage, but rather that which is found in a stream.

I mentioned that curiosity fuels the “art of science.” With so much information at our fingertips, curiosity is quickly fed. Hopefully this does not mean people will stop searching for their own answers since it is so easy to Google information. For our first Saturday class we went for a walk in the UW Bothell wetlands. I saw a two forked creek with foam gathering in a spot near some lodged branches. My first thought was that foam was related to pollution. However, since I saw this occurrence in a protected area – the UW Bothell North Creek Wetlands, and because I have seen foam in other remote locations, I wondered if this was a natural phenomenon and what caused it. I did a quick Google search and found that foam is often a natural occurrence in streams. According to Davis (2014) foam is created when plants break then mix with water and rise to the surface creating surfactants. When surfactants meet wind by being propelled against a log jam or at the base of a waterfall, foam is created. Davis also mentions that surfactants also provide convenient transport for bugs in a stream [which in turn, may attract and feed fish]. For more information, check out the ARRI website here.

Jeffrey C. Davis, Aquatic Ecologist of The Aquatic Restoration and Research Institute. http://www.arrialaska.org/foam-in-streams.html