Volunteers are needed to help with two upcoming invasive plant removal work parties – the first at Walker Preserve Saturday, Feb. 18 and the second at a stream in Burien Monday, Feb. 27.

Donuts, along with gloves and tools, will be provided, and workers are asked to bring:

• Your enthusiasm
• Clothing that will protect you from the rain and blackberry thorns
• Filled water bottle
• Gloves if you have them
• Pruners

Here are the specific details:

WHAT: Walker Preserve Invasive Plant Removal

WHEN Saturday, February 18, 2012, 9:30 a.m. – Noon

WHERE: SW 168th Street and 2nd Ave SW in Normandy Park, up the road from Normandy Park City Hall.  If driving, your parking options include:

• Three spaces in the small lot at SW 171st St. and Second Ave. S.W.
• On the street along SW. 168th St.

INFO: Stewardship Purpose: Improve habitat along the stream by removing non-native, invasive plants.

Activities:

• Seek out English ivy and remove it from trees and pull roots out of the ground.
• Seek out Himalayan blackberry plants, cut them back, and then dig out the root balls.

RSVP:  See below for what to bring and how to sign up.

The second event:

WHAT: Streamside Invasive Plant Removal in Burien.

WHEN: Monday, February 27, 9:00 am – 11:30 a.m.

INFO: Neighbors will meet at SW 158th Street near 7th Ave SW to remove ivy from trees along the stream.  This stream is a tributary to Miller Creek, which supports spawning coho and chum salmon. Please park along the street.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  There are no restrooms at either site.

CONTACT/INFO: Elissa Ostergaard, elissa.ostergaard@kingcounty.gov, 206-296-1909 (Day of event only: 206-707-6549)

Also, check the Volunteer Event Calendar for other stewardship opportunities in the basin.

These stewardship projects are a joint effort of the City of Normandy Park, the City of Burien, the City of Seatac, King County, the Port of Seattle, and the Miller and Walker Creeks Stewardship program.

• Arbor Lake Park, 12380 2nd Ave South, volunteers will be working 9 am-Noon to spread mulch chips around the native planting added late last year along the North side of the lake.  No restroom facilities!
• Shorewood Park, 28th Ave SW & SW 119th Street , volunteers will be working 10am-Noon to remove those English ivy shoots and continue pushing the big stands out of the park.  Also, we have had lots of branches fall – great mulch except those that are covering our new native plantings, so we can artistically replace those, and add a few  baby native conifer trees.  No restroom facilities!

Coming up in March:

• Salmon Creek Ravine on Saturday, March 10th,  volunteers will be working 10 am- 2 pm (unless we finish earlier)  planting 150 new bare root plants and mulching around the newly added plants.

For more information, contact Lisa Aumann at the City of Burien: (206) 988-3700 or lisaa@burienwa.gov.

Recycle your household items, and bring canned food donations to benefit Highline Area Food Banks, and Rainbarrel Sale. Recycle appliances, metal, tires, oil, transmission fluid, batteries, electronics, flourescent tubes/bulbs, reusable household goods, EPS Styrofoam and more!

See additional information below for specifics items that can be recycled.

WHAT: Spring Recycle Event & Rainbarrel Sale

WHEN: 4/7/2012 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM

COST: Admission is Free; CASH only where specific fees apply

WHERE: Tyee Educational Complex Parking Lot, 4424 S 188th Street, SeaTac.

INFO: Recycle your household items; canned food donations to benefit Highline Area Food Banks, and Rainbarrel Sale. See additional information for specifics items that can be recycled.

Here’s more from the city’s website:

SeaTac is dedicated to reducing waste, encouraging recycling and promoting reuse. Mark your calendars for our Spring Event, and help make a difference in your environment!

Recycle appliances, metal, tires, oil, transmission fluid, batteries, electronics, flourescent tubes/bulbs, reusable household goods, EPS Styrofoam and more!

Styrofoam must be clean, dry and free of any plastic film. NO foam sheeting, cardboard, hard plastics, screws or metals. Packing peanuts must be bagged or boxed. Dirty and wet EPS will not be accepted. No food containers will be accepted.

Computer monitors and televisions will not be accepted. You can recycle these items for free at other locations through E-Cycle Washington. Call 1-800-RECYCLE or visit http://1800recycle.wa.gov to find authorized E-Cycle Washington collection locations.

Rain Barrel Sale
Sale will be held at the Tyee Educational Complex in conjunction with the Recycling Event.

Saturday, April 7- 9:00AM to Noon or until sold out. There is a limited number of barrels available for sale.

SeaTac Residents only – $25 ea cash only, limit TWO (2) per customer.

Food Drive for Highline Area Food Bank sponsored by SeaTac Domestic Violence Task Force
Food drive will be held during the Recycle Collection Event on April 7. Bring canned and non-perishable food, diapers, toilet paper, soap, pet food and laundry detergent. Paper bags and donations are welcome, too!

The Spring Recycling Event is produced in partnership with Washington State Department of Ecology, King County Solid Waste Division, and the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County.

Missed a collection event, or have items not accepted at the event? Visit King County’s “What Do I Do With…?” website at http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/wdidw/, or the Earth911 website at http://earth911.com/ to find information on where to take your items.

Call Resource Conservation/Neighborhood Programs Coordinator Trudy Olson with any questions at 206.973.4763.

Sustainable Burien’s next meeting will include a field trip to look at a sustainable garden from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12th.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Sustainable Burien meeting on developing sustainable garden/farm.

WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 12 from 2:00pm – 4:00pm.

WHERE: A local sustainable garden/farm TBA (call 243-9366 for address).

INFO: From an email:

“Rather than having our regular monthly meeting at the library on February 12th, we will be gathering at the private home of two of our members.  They have created many raised beds, planted berries and fruit trees, built a green house/chicken coop, and have been experimenting with beekeeping. We will be learning pruning techniques with Bill Wanless of Brooke/Wanless Gardens.  He will demonstrate how to prune new and old fruit trees and shrubs. We will also have a biochar stove demonstration.  Come and see what you may be able to create in your own garden.

Also, there will be a Bird Count  between Feb. 17-20. Some SuBu members will be participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count, and we invite others to join in the activity. It’s simple to do and only takes 15 minutes! Here’s a link: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/howto.html

The March meeting will be on March 18th, on the third Sunday rather than the second, and will be a joint presentation by Sustainable Burien and Environmental Science Center on Rain Gardens and Low Impact Development. We will be sending out detailed information soon.”

For more information, go to: http://www.sustainableburien.org.

UPDATE 1/20/12 11:50 a.m.: Saturday night’s ‘Moonlight Beach Walk’ has been canceled, “due to weather, unsafe roads, and the condition of Seahurst Park,” according to an email from our friends at the Environmental Science Center (ESC).

“ESC hopes to reschedule the event during the spring or summer,” the email adds. “Keep updated by checking the website: www.EnvScienceCenter.org.”

For more information about this event, contact Jennifer Dumlao at outreach@envsciencecenter.org.

Here’s more from a previous press release:

The Environmental Science Center (ESC) would like to remind our Readers about their free and family-friendly Moonlight Beach Walk, which will take place this Saturday, Jan. 21st from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Local naturalists are volunteering their time to help guide visitors in discovering the unique marine life that lives in the intertidal zone.  Considered a marine reserve, the rock strewn beach provides vital habitat for creatures such as purple sea stars, burrowing sea cucumbers, Dungeness crabs, moon snails, and aggregating sea anemones plus an abundance of seaweeds.  These walks are a unique opportunity to see Seahurst’s beach at low tide and in the dark. When the tide goes out during the day most of the creatures on the beach go with it or burrow under something.  But at night, they stay on the beach.  Visitors should bring reliable flashlights to explore the nooks and crannies of the large rocks.  Remember that you’re in their house, so tread gently. The goal is to Do No Harm.

This year’s walk promises a new treat to returning beach explorers- a brand new warm building!  Our new center is at Seahurst beach: 2400 SW 140th Street in Burien.  Park in the lower or upper lot and walk along the trail that runs north from the turning circle at the lower parking lot.  Visitors should check-in at the center for some pre-beach activities and cider, hot chocolate or coffee.  Activities include a Matisse themed art project on sea life and a microscope lab with plankton to identify.

Please make sure to dress warmly with hats, gloves, and warm coats.  Also, wear rubber shoes so that you can wade out into the ankle-deep water around the tide pools.  And please practice beach etiquette:

1. DO NO HARM
2. Be extra careful where you step so you don’t step on animals or their homes.
3. When you want to look more closely at a creature, bend over and look rather than picking it up. Leave animals where you find them. Don’t move them to a new home!
4. Touch plants and animals gently with one wet finger. Animals living on the beach and in the water are cold and wet, your fingers are warm and dry. Simply touching a plant or animal may be enough to injure or kill it.
5. If you want to look under a rock, be gentle. Turning over a rock can be like someone turning on a bright light in your bedroom in the middle of the night. Lift it slowly and gently. When you’re done the rock needs to be gently returned to its original position.
6. SAVE THE CHILDREN ?Leave all shells and animals on the beach rather than taking them home. Shells and rocks need to be left on the beach because they provide a home for the next generation, an animal’s children, to live on.

For more information about the Environmental Science Center visit: www.envsciencecenter.org

Since 2008, volunteers in Walker Preserve have removed large amounts of invasive plants and planted many native trees and shrubs. Walker Preserve is in the City of Normandy Park, along Walker Creek, and has spawning coho and chum salmon each fall. Restoring native vegetation along the creek benefits salmon and other wildlife.

“Please join us this Saturday, January 14, to continue this work!” said Elissa Ostergaard, Miller/Walker Creek Basin Steward. “We also have several monthly community weeding projects scheduled through the winter to remove ivy and other invasive weeds, and plant native trees and shrubs along the trail and stream in Walker Preserve and other areas in the basin.”

This stewardship project is a joint effort of the City of Normandy Park, and the Miller and Walker Creeks Stewardship program.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Walker Preserve Invasive Plant Removal work party.

WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 14, 9:30 a.m. – Noon.

WHERE: SW. 168th St. and 2nd Ave. SW. in Normandy Park, up the road from Normandy Park City Hall.

If driving, your parking options include:

• Three spaces in the small lot at SW 171st St. and Second Ave. S.W.
• On the street along SW. 168th St.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This park does not have a restroom.

Stewardship Purpose:

• Improve habitat along the stream by removing non-native, invasive plants

Activities:

• Seek out English ivy and remove it from trees and pull roots out of the ground.
• Seek out Himalayan blackberry plants, cut them back, and then dig out the root balls.

What to bring:

• Your enthusiasm
• Clothing that will protect you from the rain and blackberry thorns
• Filled water bottle
• Gloves if you have them

We provide:

• Gloves
• Tools
• Donuts!

Sign up and questions:

• Elissa Ostergaard, elissa.ostergaard@kingcounty.gov, 206-296-1909 (Saturday, January 14 only: 206-707-6549)

This volunteer event is an opportunity to visit a pleasant park along Walker Creek. The City of Normandy Park recently rebuilt the footbridge over the creek, and neighbors and other volunteers have made a lot of progress restoring the native plant community in this park. This work will help create areas for native plants to go in later this winter. Please sign up if you can, or decide to show up at the last minute!

They’ll also be at the Alki Masonic Hall (4736 40th Ave. SW.) from 10:00 – 2:00.

Here are more details:

• Suggested donation is $5.00.
• No flocked trees please.
• For more information please contact Jan Hunter at 206-849-7906.

Check out the Rainbow Girls by going to www.gorainbow.org.

The highest winter tides along Washington’s shorelines, also known as ‘King Tides,’ will be coming on two occasions soon: Dec. 27 – 29 and again Jan. 13 – 17.

The state Department of Ecology is asking residents to help them out by taking photos of the high tides, in an effort to document their effects.

To download a map of the King Tide schedule, click here (PDF file)

According to Ecology’s website:

Take photos during one of the identified high tides in your area:

• To better illustrate the impacts of the high winter tides, we recommend taking photos in areas where the high water levels can be gauged against familiar landmarks such as sea walls, jetties, bridge supports, dikes, buildings, roads or other infrastructure.
• Please do not include people in your photos

Upload your photos to the Washington King Tide Photo Initiative Flickr Group.

• Watch these great tutorials created by British Columbia to learn how to upload photos to Flickr, how to “geotag” them (identify where the photo was taken using Flickr’s map) and how to add them to a Flickr group.

Here are the times:

December 27 – December 29:

• Tuesday, Dec. 27: 8:00 am – 8:15 am
• Wednesday, Dec. 28: 8:00 am – 8: 45 am
• Thursday, Dec. 29: 8:00 am – 9:00 am

January 13 – 17:

• Friday, Jan. 13: 8:00 am – 8:45 am
• Saturday, Jan. 14: 8:00 am – 9:15 am
• Sunday, Jan. 15: 8:30 am – 10:00 am
• Monday, Jan. 16: 9:00 am – 10:30 am
• Tuesday, Jan. 17: 9:30 am – 11:30 am

Here are some photos by Michael Brunk of last year’s King Tide:

And from Ecology:

Here are some videos showing previous King Tides both from the northwest and other areas:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sustainable Burien’s next meeting will be from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012 at the Burien library, and will focus on the ‘Tacoma Plume’ from the ASARCO plant in Tacoma.

Elizabeth Weldin, of the Toxics Cleanup Program with the Washington State Department of Ecology, will be speaking about the “Tacoma plume,” from the ASARCO plant in Tacoma.

“For almost 100 years, the Asarco Company operated a copper smelter in Tacoma. Air pollution from the smelter settled on the surface soil over more than 1,000 square miles of the Puget Sound basin. Arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals are still in the soil as a result of this pollution.”

Learn how this affects you. How safe are we? Who is at risk? How does this impact the sustainability of Burien? Can I grow my own food? Can my kids play outside in the dirt? What businesses might be impacted? Land value? What steps can we make to mitigate the presence of arsenic and create a healthy and resilient community?

Here are the details:

WHAT: Sustainable Burien’s monthly meeting.

WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 8th at 2:00 p.m. (doors open at 1:30 p.m.)

WHERE: Burien library, located at 400 SW 152nd Street.

INFO: Please call Rebecca or Bill at 243-9366 if there are questions.

From their website:

Sustainable Burien is an organization started in January of 2008. We recognize the need to promote and participate in the creation of a sustainable community in Burien. We invite all residents and businesses to participate in creating a sustainable local community by sharing their ideas, passions, knowledge and talents.

At our meetings we will be collecting burned out CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) bulbs and dead rechargable batteries. People are welcome to bring any extra food items [produce from your garden, fruit from your trees, etc.] that they have and barter with others. Also bring any coupons for food that you get in the mail or from the newspaper, we’ll pass them on to the food bank, who can make good use of them.

For more information, go to: http://www.sustainableburien.org.

Come join us for learning, exploring and more….www.sustainableburien.org

Not that anyone would be swimming in this chilly near-winter weather, but on Tuesday (Dec. 6) the state Department of Ecology’s King County Health District closed the swimming beach at Seahurst County Park in Burien due to a sewage spill.

“Contact with fecal contaminated waters can result in gastroenteritis, skin rashes, upper respiratory infections and other illnesses. Children and the elderly may be more vulnerable to waterborne illnesses,” reads a note on Ecology’s website.

This is the second time in less than three months that Seahurst Park Beach has been closed due to a sewage spill (read our previous coverage here).

UPDATE 12/7/11: While we haven’t yet received an answer as to whether this most recent spill is related to the September one, we did get this quote from Larry Altose, News Media Relations of Dept. of Ecology, Northwest Region:

“Ecology’s water quality program is working to gather more information about the spill.

The city must submit an initial written report to Ecology within five days of the incident, and we can keep you posted.”

As we learn more, we’ll continue to update this post.

For more information, check out the state’s appropriately-titled blog Fecal Matters, “Like” them on Facebook, or join their listserv.