Author Archives: GriffinNeighbors

Science Café: "The Unknown Sea: Flotsam Above, Snarks Below"

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When: 7:00 pm, Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Where: Batdorf & Bronson Coffee House, 516 Capitol Way S. Olympia, WA, phone (360) 786-6717.
Batdorf & Bronson has three locations in Olympia. Science Café meets in the downtown coffee house on Capitol Way. On-street parking is available on Legion, Capitol Way, Columbia Street, and Water Street. After 6 p.m., there is parking available at Heritage Bank on Columbia Street between 5th and Legion.

Our topic this month is The Unknown Sea: Flotsam Above, Snarks Below.

Dr. Curt Ebbesmeyer will enlighten us with his lively discussion and colorful slide show about flotsam in the news, including the latest status of the BP oil spill, disembodied feet that wash ashore, and eight huge garbage patches, totaling an area several times the size of the U.S., floating on the ocean where much of our plastic waste end up. Lastly, but most importantly, learn how the ocean is a pointillist maze of water slabs, like an immense pile of slithering amoebas.

Curt is an internationally recognized oceanographer and has recently authored (along with Eric Scigliano) a Smithsonian book entitled, Flotsametrics and the Floating World. Editions include Audible Books, Chinese, and is now paperback. He.also worked in the oil industry for 40 years.

Coming in August: Forensic Science by Dr. Terry McAdam, Forensic Supervisor, Washington State Patrol Crime Lab and Lecturer, St. Martin's University and Centralia College.

We welcome comments and suggestions on topics, speakers, and how we can improve our meetings. Also, please feel free to pass this notice on to like-minded friends.

Science Café of Olympia provides an informal atmosphere where people both with and without scientific background can meet to gain a better understanding of interesting topics in science and technology. After a brief presentation by an expert in the field, the meeting will be opened to discussions. Science Cafés are found nationwide and are loosely affiliated with the U.K.-based Cafe Scientifique, an international organization promoting public engagement with science. The Sciencecafes.org website is produced by the Science Unit of WGBH in Boston in association with Sigma Xi. Support for Science Café of Olympia is provided in part by the Puget Sound Chapter of The American Chemical Society.

http://www.sciencecafes.org/event_pages/olympia.html
http://www.cafescientifique.org/

We thank Batdorf & Bronson and its staff for welcoming us into their delightful gathering spot.

Naturally Raised Meat and Eggs from Building Earth Farm

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Local residents Jason Jurst, Jen Johnson, and Iris Johnson Hurst operate Building Earth Farm, located in the 9100 block of Steamboat Island Road NW. Building Earth Fam provides naturally raised meat and eggs. Harvest dates for their boiler chickens are coming up soon and they are taking orders for those as well as grass-fed lamb and holiday turkeys.

Building Earth Fam was started in 2007 by Jason Hurst and Jen Johnson. This ten-acre organically maintained farm is in its third year of producing fresh pastured poultry and eggs. In 2010 they are introducing turkey and lamb production to their farm.

They are excited to be adding to the economic vitality of our community, and to the health of both their family members and the families of other residents in the Griffin area, through sustainable, organic agricultural practices.

Building Earth Fam raises egg layers, broiler chicken, turkey and lamb. Their animals are raised without antibiotics or hormones; outdoors on pastuer, connected with the ground. The chickens adn turkeys are also fed organic grain.

Their egg layers get plenty of fresh air, sunshine, grit and bugs and you can tell that when you eat the eggs; full of flavor with deep golden yolks. Eggs are available for pickup at the Farm most times of the year, and from the Madrona Grove Summer Fruit Truck through September, for $4 per dozen. Give them a call at 867-9331 to find out when and where to pick up your farm fresh eggs.

Broiler chicken harvest dates are:
July 23, 24, 25
August 27, 28, 29
October 1, 2, 3

Harvest dates for grass-fed lamb are in September and October.

Holiday turkeys are available in mid-November and mid-December.

Click here for an order form with more details on the harvest and how you can pick up your order. Also included in the download is a form you can complete to request further information about Farm offerings and projects including Supper Club dinners and cob building workshops.

Building Earth Farm
9140 Steamboat Island Rd. NW
Olympia, WA 98502
867-9331

Text is from the Building Earth Farm flyer, which is distributed at local businesses and available directly from the Farm.

Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail is "a Gem in Our Own Backyard"

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Many local residents are likely already familiar with the Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail. This trail, operated by the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group, provides guides (in the late Fall) and interpretive signage to tell the salmon story. Observation platforms enhance viewing. Nearby, the Kennedy Creek Natural Area Preserve showcases Puget Sound estuary habitat, with shorebirds, waterfowl, and migrating salmon. Each year, nearly 5000 people flock to the Salmon Trail to witness chum salmon as they return home to spawn. The Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail truly is a gem in our own backyard. If you haven't visited the Salmon Trail, you ought to make a point to do so, particularly around November. It's located too close by to miss.
 
The interpretive trail is nationally recognized and  funded and coordinated by a partnership between Mason Conservation District and South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group. Of the 5000 annual visitors, approximately 2500 students and their teachers also visit the trail, incorporating this outdoor classroom into their regular lesson plans. Students from Steamboat Island Cooperative Preschool and the Griffin School District are regular visitors to the trail. Last year 41 volunteer trail guides participated in our training and contributed a whopping 327 volunteer hours during the month of November. Says Stephanie Bishop, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Mason Conservation District, "Kennedy Creek is a catalyst for behavior change, providing a crucial link between water quality issues in Totten Inlet and the general public who have the power to decrease certain non-point sources of pollution entering this waterway."
 
This year the Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail is experiencing a budget shortfall which could seriously impact this amazing program.
 
There are two opportunities to help support the Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail. First, it's easy to make a tax-deductible contribution to the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group. Click here to initiate a secure transaction and to get all the details necessary to include your gift on this year's tax return.
 
Second, residents are invited to the 3rd annual "Kennedy Creek Salmon Splash" Sunday, August 22, from 3:00 to 6:00 PM. This "fun" fundraising event is held right at the Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail and features live music and food.
 
$35.00 per person includes appetizers, shellfish, beverages, and dessert. All proceeds directly support the Kennedy Creek Salmon Trail Education Program. Every $35 raised at Splash will support 10 student visitors.
 
Click here to download a flyer for the Kennedy Creek Salmon Splash, with a reservation form for you to use to purchase tickets to the event.
 
Please RSVP by August 19.
 
For more information, email LanceW@spsseg.org at the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group.
 
Click here for more information about the fundraising drive to support the Salmon Trail.
 
Click here for information regarding the Salmon Trail, on the web site of the Mason Conservation District.
 
Many thanks, too, to Taylor Shellfish, for their support of this year's Kennedy Creek Salmon Splash.

Capitol Land Trust Eld Inlet Acquisition Conserves 1.25 Miles of Puget Sound Coastal Habitat

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More than a decade ago, Capitol Land Trust identified lower Eld Inlet's coastal habitats as a strategic conservation priority. Now, ten years of investment have culminated in the conservation of six miles of Eld Inlet marine shorelines and more than 600 acres of surrounding upland habitat, spanning 17 individual sites.

Completion of the Eld Inlet Coastal Preserve project, the Trust's latest Eld Inlet success, is the result of extraordinary collaboration and an agreement between Anderson & Middleton Company and Capitol Land Trust, with support from many other partners. Anderson & Middleton is a family-owned agri-business company involved in forestland management, table grapes, wine grapes and wine production (click here and here). Anderson & Middleton was founded in Aberdeen, WA in 1898 and today is headquartered in Hoquiam, WA. Capitol Land Trust began working with cousins Jim and Rick Middleton more than three years ago to explore the potential for purchase of the site. Rick Middleton and his family live on Eld Inlet and the Middletons were personally invested in the outcome of this effort.

"It was a pleasure to work with Eric Erler and Capitol Land Trust on this project. Our company owned this property for many years and we can attest to its unique and special character. Capitol Land Trust will be a great steward of this property going forward. From our perspective, this was a win-win for all of us," said Rick Middleton.

The site is located along the eastern shoreline of lower Eld Inlet (Mud Bay), just south of Capitol Land Trust's Randall Property and the Highway 101 Bridge. The property encompasses 1.25 miles of high-quality, undeveloped Puget Sound estuarine shoreline, 40 acres of saltmarsh and freshwater wetlands, and 15 acres of mature forest. McLane Creek, recognized for its hearty, native salmon runs, flows through the property and into Puget Sound. The vegetation on the Preserve consists of saltmarsh and wetland emergent grasses near the shoreline, and native coniferous and hardwood forests. The property also conserves an area of great cultural and historical importance to the Squaxin Island Tribe.

The new Preserve provides intact habitat for five salmon species and anadromous coastal cutthroat trout. Large numbers of juvenile salmon smolts produced in McLane Creek use the waters along the property for feeding and transitioning to life at sea. Forage fish species and numerous waterfowl, shorebird, waterbird and landbird species also take advantage of the property's unique coastal habitat.

The site also contains a rare mineral salt deposit which is an important source of nutrients for the Band-tailed pigeon, a Bird of Conservation Concern as identified by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Approximately 350 Band-tailed pigeons visit the property in early morning every day from late June to September. There are fewer than 100 documented mineral sites in Oregon and Washington frequented by these pigeons.

Capitol Land Trust wishes to thank all of the project partners, especially the former landowners, Anderson & Middleton Company, for their support and commitment to seeing the project to completion. Generous funding support and project oversight was provided by the WA Department of Ecology and the US Fish and Wildlife Service through the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program, and the WA Recreation and Conservation Office through a Salmon Recovery Funding Board grant. According to Jeanne Koenings of the Department of Ecology, "Protecting the shorelines of Washington State, particularly Puget Sound, is a job that the Department of Ecology and local governments can't do on our own. Partnering with groups like Capitol Land Trust is crucial to our success. Thanks to the high quality projects Capitol Land Trust works on, Washington State has been able to secure more funding from the US Fish & Wildlife Service and NOAA than most other coastal states."

Finally, completion of the Eld Inlet Coastal Preserve project would not have been possible without generous private contributions from Taylor Shellfish Farms, the Squaxin Island Tribe, Margery Sayre and other Capitol Land Trust members and supporters.

- ERIC ERLER
Eric Erler is Capitol Land Trust's Executive Director.
Reprinted from Issue 49, Summer 2010, of Capitol Land Trust News

Help support the Capitol Land Trust's efforts right here on the peninsula between Eld and Totten inlets by contributing to the Steamboat Conservation Partnership. Click here to learn more about this unique partnership between the Capitol Land Trust and Griffin Neighborhood Association.

Thurston County Sheriff Warns of Phone Scam

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The Thurston County Sheriff's office is warning area residents about receiving automated bank calls on cell phones.

Bank cardholders are being contacted by cell phone using various spoofed numbers, and are pre recorded messages stating that they are calling from your bank.

As of now, they have used Evergreen Direct Credit Union and Our Community Credit Union. The message states that "their debit card has been deactivated due to a billing error". It then prompts the cardholders to enter their 16 digit debit card number and pin. After this information is entered it tells the cardholder that their account is now "activated".

As a result, the cardholder's account is accessed through ATM activity based in Spain. Banks do not call you on your cell phone numbers or your home number and ask for your account information. Even if you see a local phone number on the caller Id, it could be from any where in the world. Local numbers can be spoofed and some local numbers are being sold by phone companies to other persons around the world. There are web sites that also allow callers to show any number on a caller Id that they want.

For more information on scam prevention, visit the US Federal Trade Commission website.

Join Olympia Residents to Discuss Olympia's Comprehensive Plan - June 17

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Griffin area residents are invited to join with Olympia residents at a Community Cafe event to discuss environmental implications of the City of Olympia's Comprehensive Plan.

Date: Thursday, June 17, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Olympia Center (Room B)
222 Columbia St. NW, Olympia

This is YOUR CHANCE to comment on the climate implications of Olympia's comp plan. Following a brief update on the progress of the comp plan by Keith Stahley, attendees will break into separate groups to discuss one of the focus areas recommended by the Planning Commission and suggest measurable outcomes, and then report their conclusions to the whole group.

Focus Areas recommended by the City of Olympia Planning Commission:

  • Downtown (including Capitol Campus and Port of Olympia)
  • Neighborhoods
  • Shoreline/Waterfront/Critical Areas (Integrated with the Shoreline Master Program Update Process)
  • High Density Corridors (HDC)
  • Environmental Stewardship

 Refreshments served at 6:45 - please bring your own mug. The program will start promptly at 7:00 pm. This is a free public meeting.
 
Sponsors: Olympia Climate Action, Transition Olympia, and the City of Olympia.
 
I would personally like to invite you to the following event at the Olympia Center. Please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions.

Barb Scavezze
Chair, Olympia Climate Action
360-754-6320

North Totten Inlet Floating Mussel Farm Topic of County's June 22 Public Meeting

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The environmental impact of Taylor Shellfish Company's proposal to build a new floating mussel farm along north Totten Inlet will be the topic of a public meeting on Tuesday, June 22. The meeting by the Thurston County Resource Stewardship Department will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Griffin Middle School gymnasium, 6530 33rd Ave. N.W. in Olympia.

The meeting will focus on Thurston County's Draft Environmental Impact statement, a document required by state law as part of the county's decision-making process for reviewing a Shoreline Substantial Development Permit application.

The proposed project would be located adjacent to Taylor Shellfish Company's existing Gallagher Cove mussel farm, about midway through the length of the company’s tideland ownership. The proposal would also require a new Aquatic Lands Lease from the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

Residents have until July 12, 2010 to submit comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, either by attending the meeting, or by mailing comments to Robert Smith, Senior Planner, Thurston County Resource Stewardship Department, Thurston County Courthouse, Building 1, 2000 Lakeridge Drive S.W., Olympia, WA 98502. Comments may also be e-mailed to smithr@co.thurston.wa.us.

Click here to view the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Thurston County website. Copies are also available for review at the Olympia Timberland Library on 8th Avenue and at the main station of the Griffin Fire District #13, 3707 Steamboat Loop N.W.

After receiving public comments, Thurston County will finalize the environmental impact statement and schedule a public hearing before the Thurston County Hearings Examiner for consideration of the underlying Shoreline Substantial Development Permit application.

UPDATE: John Dodge reported, in the June 16th edition of the Olympian, that the farm "would not have a significant environmental impact, according to a review of the project released by Thurston County this week."

The project was proposed 15 years ago, but it ran into stiff opposition from shoreline residents who claim commercial shellfish growing operations are running roughshod over the South Sound inlet.

At full build-out, the new 11.25-acre farm, including 58 growing rafts covering 1.36 acres of tidelands, could produce nearly 878,000 pounds of mussels in a 16-month growing season.

Click here to read the entire article.

Griffin School District Now Registering for Summer Camp

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The Griffin School District is now taking registration for its new summer camp program.

June 28, 2010 to August 27, 2010
7:30 AM to 5:30 PM @ Griffin School

Summer Day Camp will be offered for students in grades K-S and a Summer Teen Camp will be offered for students in grade 6-8. All students are welcome even if you do not attend Griffin School District during the school year. Students in both camps will be onsite (at Griffin School) three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and will have the opportunity to attend a variety of field trips two days a week (Tuesday and Thursday). In addition to recreational activities, field trips, and fun, students will also have the opportunity to participate in academic classes (reading, writing, math and science) with a summer twist. There will be a weekly itinerary posted at camp to keep you informed about what’s going on and coming up. Parents are encouraged to stop by anytime.

Students in grades 6-8 will have the opportunities to conduct Community Service Projects, go Kayaking, and visit the Experience Music Project in Seattle!

Students in grades K-5 will get to attend field trips to Point Defiance Zoo, NW Trek, Long Lake for Swimming, and cheer on the Tacoma Rainiers at a Game!

There will also be a fun summer twist to reading, writing, math and science!

Full Program Cost is $1050.00 (8 weeks), payable in two payments of $525.00. The first payment is due at the time of registration and the second payment is due on August 2, 2010.

Partial Program Cost is $550.00 (4 weeks). Parents are encouraged to sign up for a minimum of four (4) weeks (the weeks do not have to be consecutive). Payment in full is due at the time of registration.

Parents can make weekly payments, if desired. Sign up for a minimum of four weeks (weeks do not have to be consecutive) or anywhere from four to eight weeks.

Click here to download registration materials.

Please call the District Office at 360-866-4918 for more information!

Feline Friends Close Out Plant Sale and Garage Sale - June 5

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Feline Friends will be having a huge Close Out Plant and Garage Sale this coming Saturday, June 5th at Griffin School.

Bring your umbrella and join them from 9am - 3pm on Saturday. There are many tomatoes, grasses, groundcovers, and shrubs as well as great cut flowers (the same you see in the summer bouquets at Island Market) ready to grace your garden. ALL PLANTS WILL BE SOLD 2 FOR THE PRICE OF 1!!

They have many books this year including a number of children's educational items recently donated by a former teacher.

Help make this garage sale a success by donating your used items. Drop off your donations Friday, June 4, from 6-8pm at Feline Friends. They are located at 6515 Sexton Drive NW, Olympia, WA 98502. Tax receipts for your donations are available upon request.

Community Meeting on No Shooting Zones in Thurston County - June 17

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A Community Meeting on No Shooting Zones in Thurston County will be held Thursday, June 17th, 5:30pm to 7:30pm in the Thurston County Courthouse, building 1, room 152. 2000 Lakeridge Dr SW, Olympia, WA 98502.

NOTE THIS IS THE SECOND (AND WE HOPE THE LAST) ADDRESS CHANGE BY THURSTON COUNTY STAFF.

The Board of County Commissioners has received requests from Thurston County residents who live along or near Eld, Henderson, and Budd Inlets to prohibit the discharge of firearms in the vicinity of their homes. The Board seeks your input on this important issue.

For more information, contact Danielle Westbrook, assistant to Commissioner Karen Valenzuela, at (360) 786-5414.

Click here to read past posts on this blog, regarding the issue of shooting on Eld Inlet.