Burien’s Environmental Science Center (ESC) will be holding free and family-friendly Moonlight Beach Walks on Saturdays at Seahurst beach, starting Dec. 10th and again on Jan. 21st from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Here’s more from a press release:

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 Southwest 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:

DO NO HARM

1. Be extra careful where you step so you don’t step on animals or their homes.
2. 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!
3. 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.
4. 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.

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 this event, contact Jennifer Dumlao at outreach@envsciencecenter.org or call 206-248-4266.

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

Julie says:

Taken yesterday afternoon, here’s a photo of the baby seal which was placed on the private beaches north end of Three Tree Point, while its mother hunted. Several neighbors protected it, until its mother came back for it.

We shooed away several folks wandering down the beach with dogs etc. who thought it was injured. One well-meaning but misinformed visitor tried to pick it up and then thought about calling 911, saying “it’s hurt how can you just leave it there?”

Finally I was able to convince her that it really was okay.

If the mothers feel their pups are threatened by someone, they have been known to get aggressive and/or not come back for the pups. I’ve stopped kids from poking them with sticks before.

My first good photo of these pups, which are a regular occurrence.

– Julie Dow

According to the Washington State Department of Ecology:

• Pupping season occurs during the summer and early fall, a peak time for boating and beach walking. Harbor seals are easily frightened of humans during this time. Please stay clear of seal haul outs and leave marine mammals in peace to raise their young.
• If you see a harbor seal pup alone on the beach, do not disturb them. ­ It’s the law. Human encroachment can stress the pup and scare the mother and other adult seals away.
• For your safety and the health of the pup, leave the pup alone. Do not touch! Do not wrap a pup in blankets (seals are protected by blubber and blankets will cause it to overheat.) Do not try to feed a pup. (Incorrect feeding can cause a pup to die.) Do not try to force a pup into the water. Keep pets and children away from a pup.
• Today, seals are protected from killing by the Federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. It is against the law to hunt, capture, kill, harass or otherwise disturb seals or any other marine mammal.

For more info on how to treat seal pups you find on the beach, click here.

There will be a FREE, low-tide, nighttime beach walk tonight (Fri., Feb. 26th) at Seahurst Park Beach from 7:30pm to 9pm.

These are always fun, adventurous family (or creative “date night”) outings, where residents can explore the unseen lifeforms that live all around us, yet are seldom seen.

Here’s a blurb from a flier:

Night Low-Tide Beach Walk

MOONLIT WAVES LAPPING THE SHORE

Imagine you’re on the shoreline at a lovely low tide. Rocks that are covered all year lie exposed to view while the sea denizens remain happily cold and wet in the dark.

All around you, people waving flashlights are intently studying the amazing and abundant sea life as local naturalists help you discover the wonders of your Puget Sound shoreline.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Featured Education family event nighttime beach walk at Seahurst Park Beach.

WHEN: Friday, Feb 26th from 7:30 pm to 09:00 pm.

WHERE: Seahurst Park Beach, Burien.

CONTACT: Barb & Darrell Williams via email: darbarwill@gmail.com; phone: (206) 901-1964.

INFO: From a flier:

Join People For Puget Sound, the Burien Environmental Science Center and Seattle Aquarium in a night low-tide exploration.

Adventure with us out into the intertidal zone at our night time beach walk.

Trained naturalists will wow you with intertidal stories of nature-in-action as rocks that are normally covered with water are exposed.

Sea stars, barnacles & crabs of all sorts are just the beginning of what we’ll see.

Bundle up – We adventure rain, sleet or cold so don your winter clothes, boots and a flashlight for best results.

Bonus – we’ll show you the best way to save the critters you’ll see with direct action through our photo postcard campaign.  Be sure to get your picture taken “standing for clean water” before you head down to the beach.

Family-friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.

Reservations recommended.

BUNDLE UP AGAINST THE WEATHER AND BE SURE TO BRING:

• Bright flashlight with good batteries
• Wading boots (you’ll be in ankle deep water)
• Warm hat & dry gloves

Free and family friendly!

Highline Community College’s Marine Science and Technology (MaST) Center is presenting a special seminar on “Jumbo” Squid with David Eric Hamm, NOAA Fisheries Research Scientist/Contractor, this Saturday, Oct. 17th at their location near the Redondo Beach Pier in Des Moines.

Rumor has it that there may even be a dissection taking place.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Special seminar on “Jumbo” (aka Humboldt) Squid with David Eric Hamm, NOAA Fisheries Research Scientist/Contractor

WHEN: Saturday, October 17 12:00 – 12:45

WHERE: Highline Community College MaST Center, located near the Redondo Beach Park in Des Moines

INFO: From their website:

They’re Big, They’re Here and They’re Squid Jumbo Squid as Harbingers of Ecosystem Change! Dosidicus gigas, the Humboldt or Jumbo squid is a voracious predator with a unique ecology.

The ongoing range expansion of this creature, coincident with changes in the California Current suggest that something larger is afoot.

Are these changes indication of global change? What will the impact be to our fisheries and the ecosystem of the West Coast? Come to the MaST Center, and find out.

Please join us to hear David Eric Hamm, NOAA Fisheries Research Scientist/Contractor

More info here.

This means that now you can watch HD footage not only of the beach, but from underwater as well!

Here are some pretty cool video clips ranging from time lapses that show the changing tides (fast-moving) passersby and sunsets, to clips of dogfish and more; as always, we feature these feeds on our Webcams page along with other local cams:

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For video highlights from the Seahurst Beach Underwater camera, click here.

For an archive of Seahurst Beach HD clips, click here.

More info from their website:

The observatory is a collaboration between oceanographers and engineers at the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory and the Puget Sound Skills Center’s Environmental and Marine Science program. The Marine Science program has a wonderful shoreside facility located at the north end of Seahurst Park in Burien, Washington. To support the salmon hatchery located at the facility there are two saltwater intake pipes that run 850 feet from the building out to 25 feet of water. Those pipes provide an ideal means to run power and fiber optic ethernet cables for underwater instruments, providing a permanent, real-time, high bandwidth presence on the bottom of Puget Sound.

The observatory was installed through a combination of volunteer efforts and a science and engineering development project at APL-UW funded by the National Science Foundation. That project is working to install a cabled-to-shore profiling mooring at the MARS observatory in Monterey Bay, California. The installation at Seahurst provides a plug compatible observatory interface for testing that system in diver accessible depths right in our own backyard.

Data from the CTD is collected every 1.5 seconds. Time-lapse video frames are taken every 10 seconds. Daily time-lapse videos are archived. Full-rate video is captured and archived when motion is detected. For presentation on the front page of the web site a snapshot is taken once per minute and twenty seconds of full-rate (10 fps) video is taken every five minutes.

“It was the largest I have ever seen on the beach – three and one half feet in diameter. I measured it,” Sasanoff said.

And yes, the world’s largest jellyfish do sting – just check out the colorful red and orange tentacles on that guy.

According to Wikipedia:

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish is the largest known species of jellyfish in the world.

Its range is confined to cold, boreal waters of the Arctic, northern Atlantic and northern Pacific Oceans, seldom found farther south than 42°N latitude.

The Arctic Lion’s mane jellyfish is one of the longest known animals; the largest recorded specimen had a bell (body) with a diameter of 2.3 m (7 feet 6 inches) and the tentacles reached 36.5 m (120 feet). It was found washed up on the shore of Massachusetts Bay in 1870. This specimen was longer than a blue whale, which is commonly considered to be the largest animal in the world.

A common species, the lion’s mane jellyfish is well known to divers for its painful, but seldom fatal stings; they are toxic and can cause severe burns. Most encounters cause only temporary pain and localized redness. Although this species is potentially dangerous, only one person has ever been reported to have been killed by this type of jellyfish.

Here’s a video of one of these guys swimming in TTP waters that we previously posted from Youtube user and area diver m4jwilliams:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click to View Michael Brunk’s Photo Slideshow

Wednesday’s low tide will be a -3.9 at 12:40pm, so pack a lunch, take the kids and don’t forget to bring your camera!

Here are the tides through Sunday, June 28th:

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24th:

Low 12:45 AM 7.6
High 5:27 AM 11.3
Low 12:40 PM -3.9
High 8:14 PM 12.6

THURSDAY, JUNE 25th:

Low 1:41 AM 6.9
High 6:26 AM 10.8
Low 1:28 PM -3.2
High 8:55 PM 12.8

FRIDAY, JUNE 26th:

Low 2:38 AM 6.0
High 7:30 AM 10.1
Low 2:16 PM -2.0
High 9:34 PM 12.8

SATURDAY, JUNE 27th:

Low 3:38 AM 4.9
High 8:39 AM 9.3
Low 3:05 PM -0.4
High 10:13 PM 12.6

SUNDAY, JUNE 28th:

Low 4:39 AM 3.7
High 9:56 AM 8.5
Low 3:55 PM 1.5
High 10:52 PM 12.4

Click to View Gregory Rehmke’s Photo Slideshow

Some of the lowest tides of the year will hit the beaches of Burien this week (as witnessed in the slideshow from Monday’s -3.9 above by BTB Contributing Photographer Gregory Rehmke), including a -4.1 at 11:51am Tuesday (June 23rd).

If you do venture down into the low tide zone, remember the hiking phrase “take only pictures, leave only footprints,” and please remember to not pick up or touch any of the exposed critters – just look at them, take lots of macro pictures (and send them to us), but don’t pick anything up. The intertidal zone is most likely a tough place to live, due to the daily fluctuations of exposure to water and then air.

But then again, despite our ability to re-grow a severed limb, we’re not a Seastar.

Here are the tides for this week through Sunday, June 28th:

TUESDAY, JUNE 23rd:

High 4:31 AM 11.5
Low 11:51 AM -4.1
High 7:33 PM 12.4

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24th:

Low 12:45 AM 7.6
High 5:27 AM 11.3
Low 12:40 PM -3.9
High 8:14 PM 12.6

THURSDAY, JUNE 25th:

Low 1:41 AM 6.9
High 6:26 AM 10.8
Low 1:28 PM -3.2
High 8:55 PM 12.8

FRIDAY, JUNE 26th:

Low 2:38 AM 6.0
High 7:30 AM 10.1
Low 2:16 PM -2.0
High 9:34 PM 12.8

SATURDAY, JUNE 27th:

Low 3:38 AM 4.9
High 8:39 AM 9.3
Low 3:05 PM -0.4
High 10:13 PM 12.6

SUNDAY, JUNE 28th:

Low 4:39 AM 3.7
High 9:56 AM 8.5
Low 3:55 PM 1.5
High 10:52 PM 12.4

One of our area’s hidden gems is Seahurst Park.

And tucked away at the beach there is another diamond – the Environmental Science Center.

The Environmental Science Center (ESC) is the only community-based, not-for-profit environmental education organization in south King County with programs for all ages.

With a primary focus on K through 12, ESC offers school-day programs including classroom lessons and field trips, after school programs, summer camps, and community presentations.

State Sen. Joe McDermott, ESC Executive Director Julie Burr and Burien Deputy Mayor Rose Clark.

Since its founding in 1999, rapid expansion in programs has led to an increasing number of program participants served, with more than 8,000 clients during 2008, up from 5,000 clients in 2006.

“We want to foster the next group of environmental stewards,”  said ESC Executive Director Julie Burr. “Kids don’t get out there, really out-of-doors, like they used to. We reach out with special effort to minority or lower-income children.”

Julie recently spent time showing the B-Town Blog around the Center, and brought us up to speed on a big project they have in mind.

“We have a vision for an Environmental Learning Center,” Julie said. “And we have the perfect spot to build it on.”

Years ago, when Seahurst Park was the property of King County, a park caretaker actually lived in a cottage just a few yards from the building ESC currently works out of.

Guests at the campaign kickoff gathered in front of the old caretaker's cottage.

The caretaker is long gone, and the cottage is boarded up.

“We will renovate inside and expand the cottage a bit on its south side.”

The result will be a 2,200 square foot facility which will seat fifty students.

It will take about $1.3 million to fully renovate. The fundraising has been going on for a while, with $900,000 having been raised to far.

“The remaining $400,000 is proving the toughest. Several major corporations sincerely want to help, but have had to drastically cut back their civic donations” due to the current economic state of affairs.

Corporate groups who have contributed toward the Learning Center include Boeing, Alaska Airlines and Waste Management.

“We greatly appreciate, as well, our funders who help keep our regular programs running,” Julie said. These groups include:

• The Russell Family Foundation
• The JiJi Foundation
• The Bottler Charitable Trust
• The City of Burien
• The Horizon Foundation
• The Seattle Foundation
• King Conservation District, WRIA 9

Julie received a special gift last month.

“My daughter, Jesann, bless her heart, went out and raised $1,540 from her friends for the Learning Center. She didn’t tell me about her efforts at all,” Julie recalled. “Then on Christmas Day she gave me the checks. What a sweetheart.”

No gift is too small (or too big!), so if you would like to contribute, please feel free to contact Julie anytime:

Julie Burr
Executive Director
Environmental Science Center
Julieb@envsciencecenter.org
phone 206-246-2144

DIRECTIONS:: From Ambaum Blvd. go west on 144th. Turn right on 13th. That road will take you all the way to the beach, where parking is available.

The Environmental Science Center and the cottage are about 200 yards north of there.

View Larger Map

According to the Washington State Department of Ecology:

If you see a harbor seal pup alone on the beach, do not disturb them ­ It’s the law.

Human encroachment can stress the pup and scare the mother and other adult seals away.

For your safety and the health of the pup, leave the pup alone.

Do not touch!

Do not wrap a pup in blankets (seals are protected by blubber and blankets will cause it to overheat.)

Do not try to feed a pup. (Incorrect feeding can cause a pup to die.)

Do not try to force a pup into the water.

Keep pets and children away from a pup.

Shortly after these photos were taken, several neighbors who were watching from a safe distance decided to scare the pup back in the water, citing previous experiences where the babies have ended up being “baked” on the beach and passing away.