Photo By Jean Colley

Yesler Swamp Restoration!  Please join the fun!
Bring your friends and family!

Work Party
Saturday, June 22, 2013

10 – 12 a.m.

Meet at the East Parking Lot of Center for Urban Horticulture

3501 NE 41st Street Seattle

 Why are we working to restore Yesler Swamp? Here is what Professor Kern Ewing says:

“Yesler Swamp sits in the middle of residential, commercial and transportation dominated land uses.  It is not near any large acreages of native vegetation.  As a consequence, it has been subjected to a long history of disturbance, it is bombarded by a seed rain from non-native plants, the climate that impacts the site is urban, not rural or natural, and there are not great refuges of other native plants to replenish it with a native biota.

“There is a simple rule in restoration:  the more “natural” your surroundings, the easier the restoration.  Our surroundings are not very natural, so a lot of work is going to be required to keep Yesler Swamp looking like a real freshwater swamp.  Here are some of the things that we must do:

            Get rid of invasives

             Plant natives

             Create shade (most invasive plants like sun)

             Create structure (forest floor, understory, canopy)

             Make habitat

             Create visual interest

             Increase biodiversity

             Build biomass and organic material

“If we do all of these things and are able to maintain a certain level of effort, we should create an environment that supports plants, birds, mammals, fish, amphibians and other organisms, while providing ecological functions that improve our lives (water quality, hydrology, local climate).  In addition, we can teach, learn and enjoy because of the presence of this ecosystem.”

Supporters of Yesler Swamp enjoyed a Saturday evening of music, delicious food, and champagne in the beautiful garden setting at the home of Jean and Peter Colley. In addition to a good time, the “Swamp People” contributed $2,000 to the Yesler Swamp trail fund. This celebration marks the successful end to the campaign to raise matching funds for Yesler Swamp Trail ~ Phase 1 and the beginning of our fund drive for Yesler Swamp Trail ~ Phase 2. We expect construction on Phase 1 to begin Fall 2013.

The highlight of the musical evening was the amazing concert played for us by William Chapman Nyaho, a celebrated concert pianist. Nyaho is famous for his eclectic mix of classical music and African music.  During the evening, we enjoyed everything from Bach and Mozart to African dance music from Nyaho’s father’s land in Ghana. You can learn more about this amazing musician at his website.

Thank you, Nyaho, for contributing your time and talent to Yesler Swamp! And thanks to everyone who has given their time and treasure to preserve and protect this unique natural area in the heart of our city.

Spring in Seattle is all about color. I suppose that’s because we grow so accustomed to gray throughout the winter. The clouds sock in around November, and everything dulls. High clouds, low clouds, thunderclouds, fog, mist, drizzle, rain, sleet: we get way more than a mere 50 shades of gray.
When the sun finally does appear, as it did yesterday, we pretend to grump about it. “What’s that bright ball hurting my eyes?” we ask.
But really, we love the rainbow of colors painted by the sun: New grass a tender green. Diamond drops of water trembling on the ends of rose bushes now ruby, now emerald, now citrine. Gold crocus peeking out of the fields like doubloons washed up on the beach. But the most wondrous color of all is the red of a Pileated Woodpecker’s red crest, a red so red it defines the color itself.
I know because a male Pileated Woodpecker flew out of the swamp yesterday to perch in a cottonwood out in the open. The long rays of the springtime sun bathed his head in light, and his head burst into flame. Living fire.

GOOD NEWS! The community so far has donated over $13,500 to the Yesler Swamp trail!!

We have almost reached our goal. The community share of the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods matching fund is $16,000 by February 15.

PLEASE DONATE NOW!

Contribute $100 or more and you will receive a gift of a beautiful forest green Yesler Swamp T-shirt!

To get your gift T-shirt, just drop us a note at yeslerswamptrail@gmail.com with your name and address and your size (S,M,L,XL). Your T-shirt will be delivered to you!

Your gift goes to the UW Foundation for the Yesler Swamp Trail. So when you give, you become part of the Yesler Swamp trail AND you will be on your way to Tyee Points, membership in the UW President’s Club and much more.

Please DONATE or mail your check payable to “UW Foundation – Yesler Swamp” to Friends of Yesler Swamp, c/o Carrie Cone, UW Foundation, Box 354115, Seattle, 98195-4115.

In addition, donors to Yesler Swamp will receive special acknowledgement at the Opening Ceremony for the Yesler Swamp Trail:*

$1,000            Great Blue Heron

$500                Bald Eagle

$100                 Barred Owl

$50                   Blue Jay

$25                    Chickadee

*Let us know if you prefer not to have your name acknowledged in the Opening Ceremony by emailing us at yeslerswamptrail@gmail.com

The UW Foundation accepts donations for Yesler Swamp. Your gift is tax-deductible as specified in IRS regulations. The University of Washington and the University of Washington Foundation (Tax ID# 94-3079432) are registered as charitable organizations with the Washington Secretary of State.

On Monday night, Friends of Yesler Swamp showed off the Yesler Swamp Trail project to the Opportunity Fund Levy Oversight Committee. Connie Sidles brought lovely bird skins and feathers to demonstrate a few of the birds that can be seen in the Swamp. We all wore our Friends of Yesler Swamp tee-shirts and presented our case in photographs and stories. The Opportunity Fund supports community initiated parks funded by the Seattle Parks and Green Spaces Levy. We are hoping that the Opportunity Fund will select our project to complete the Yesler Swamp Trail!

Volunteers were busy in Yesler Swamp on Monday’s Martin Luther King Day of Service.  UW Capstone Students were joined by UW and community Volunteers to clean out one of the environmental mitigation areas. The energetic group cleaned out a mountain of invasive blackberries and English Ivy. This swampy site will be planted with native species. Thanks to all the hard working volunteers!

Dear Friends of Yesler Swamp,

This year’s senior UW Capstone student group is starting the required mitigation as a response to the impact our permanent Yesler Swamp Trail will have on the Swamp. As you may know for every 1 portion of wetland we disturb, we have to restore 8 times the wetland area. They are working in wetland sectors W1 and W6  below 41st and Surber beginning on Martin Luther King Day 1030AM till 1PM and would appreciate the community as partners (us).

Other dates proposed include:
Saturdays 1030-1PM:
Feb 2,9,16,23
And
Saturdays 10-noon
March 16
April 20
May 11

Thanks to an award from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund, construction of the Yesler Swamp Trail is expected to begin soon! The $64,000 award plus the community $16,000 cash match will go toward preliminary engineering, environmental mitigation, and construction of Phase 1 of the trail.

The community has already contributed more than $11,000 towards the match. You can help by clicking the DONATE button to the right. Your tax-deductible contribution to the UW Foundation – Yesler Swamp will help reach the $16,000 goal for Phase 1.

The Matching Fund also funded the professional trail design by SBA Landscape Architects and much of the expense of the environmental permits. The environmental permitting process is now complete, and we have the permits in hand!

A request for proposal for preliminary engineering services will be out soon. This work involves surveying to mark the center of the designed trail, a geotechnical study to test the soils, and prepare construction level drawings for Phase 1.

Meanwhile, environmental mitigation is taking place. Our permits require mitigation in several zones, which involves pulling invasives (blackberry, English ivy, and reed canary grass) and planting native species.

You can help! Please watch for information on the dates and times of environmental mitigation work parties.

Photo by Jean Colley

WINTER SWAMP WALK & SOUP ‘N CIDER

Sunday, January 6, 2013

1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Please join us for a winter Swamp Walk through Yesler Swamp led by UW Professor Kern Ewing. Meet at the CUH Parking lot at 1:00 p.m.

The Swamp Walk will be followed by Soup ‘n Cider (and Mulled Wine) at 2:00 at the home of Friends of Yesler Swamp Board member Jean Colley and Peter Colley, 3811 N.E. 41^st Street.

Please come and look over the design plans for the soon-to-come Yesler Swamp Trail and hear a report on our progress toward construction.

Yesler Swamp is at its most beautiful in the winter, and we hope you will join us for either or both the Swamp Walk and the Soup ‘n Cider (and Mulled Wine).

Both events are FREE! Donations for the Yesler Swamp Trail will be gratefully accepted. 

DONATE NOW to  Yesler Swamp Trail and Friends of Yesler Swamp will deliver your choice of these gifts:

• $100   Friends of Yesler SwampT-shirt  -  Logo on forest green background
  
• $150    Your choice of one of Constance Sidles’ acclaimed books, Second Nature  or In My Nature. Your book will be autographed by the author. These acclaimed books take the reader into the wilds of a natural area – including Yesler Swamp – set in the heart of Seattle.
• $300    Second Nature AND In My Nature
• $500    Yesler Swamp T-shirt AND  Second Nature AND In My Nature
  

Please GIVE NOW!  You can donate online or mail your check payable to “UW Foundation – Yesler Swamp” to Friends of Yesler Swamp, c/o Carrie Cone, UW Foundation, Box 354115, Seattle, 98195-4115.

Free delivery! To receive your gift, please send your name, address, and your choice of gift to yeslerswamptrail@gmail.com If you choose a T-shirt, also let us know if you want size S, M, L, XL

The UW Foundation accepts donations for Yesler Swamp. Your gift is tax-deductible as specified in IRS regulations. The University of Washington and the University of Washington Foundation (Tax ID# 94-3079432) are registered as charitable organizations with the Washington Secretary of State.