Bainbridge Island Land Trust starts seasonal walks program on protected properties

The Bainbridge Island Land Trust has launched a new program to strengthen the community’s ties with the nonprofit and build residents’ education of land trust-protected properties across Bainbridge.

March 27, 2015 3:13 pm
Bainbridge Island Land Trust has launched a seasonal walks program on protected properties. Four walks are planned for this year.
Bainbridge Island Land Trust has launched a seasonal walks program on protected properties. Four walks are planned for this year.

The Bainbridge Island Land Trust has launched a new program to strengthen the community’s ties with the nonprofit and build residents’ education of land trust-protected properties across Bainbridge.

The new Land Trust Walks program is a series of seasonal walks held throughout the year on various trust lands, each led by an ecological expert.

The program has four seasonal walks scheduled for 2015. Each walk will begin with a high-level overview of the land as well as its significant geological, ecological and biological aspects. The free walks will be one to two hours in length and open to the public, with early-bird registration given to land trust members.

The schedule is:

Native Plant Walk — March 28:

Guided tour of the land trust’s Heart of the Forest property (which has yet to be opened to the public) to identify native plants of interest in their natural surroundings.

The tour will be co-led by John van den Meerendonk, a land trust board member, founder of Botanica Inc. landscape design and installation firm and former horticultural and grounds superintendent of Bloedel Reserve; and Maryann Kirkby, former land trust board member and owner of Island Garden Designs. RSVP directly at Becca@bi-landtrust.com or call 206-842-1216 to register.

BioBlitz — May 30:

Location TBD. A special addition to the Land Trust Walks program, the BioBlitz will be an exciting and intense 12-hour period of biological surveying to record all living species within a designated land trust property or properties. Scientists and naturalists will lead specific Taxa Teams of volunteers on identification tours of three- to four-hour shifts. More information and how to volunteer for this event will be released in April.

Shoreline Walk — late July/early August:

Location TBD. Local beach exploration and intertidal sea life identification.

Watershed Walk — September/October:

Location TBD. In conjunction with the Bainbridge Island Watershed Council, participants will be invited to take a self-guided tour, while learning about watershed features and people’s relationship to them at stations along the route staffed with local experts.

For more details, visit www.bi-landtrust.org.