Island School hopes to build
To coincide with its 30th anniversary, the Island School has begun a $2 million building and endowment campaign.
The small, nonprofit private school, which began in a Rolling Bay garage in 1977, now educates students grades K-5 in its Day Road building.
Head of School Trish King announced the campaign at a “sweet secret” celebration this past Friday. Parents, teachers and board trustees knew of the party weeks beforehand, but weren’t given a clue about its purpose.
This campaign represents “phase II” of the school’s building project.
Funds are earmarked for a 5,000-square-foot gathering hall that will include a 2,800 square foot gymnasium/multi-purpose room and a performing arts facility complete with a stage, lighting and sound system and lobby.
The building will also contain a kitchen, offices, storage space and an outdoor deck.
Seattle firm Studio Meng Strazzara designed the building in keeping with the school’s existing structure. Drury Construction will build it. These firms also teamed for 2001’s “phase I” school expansion and remodel.
The Island School has already raised $1.6 million toward the campaign goal, some of which will be set aside to increase a small endowment that has been in place for 10 years.
Construction of the hall will begin in late spring and is estimated to take about six months.
Online forum for eco-voices
Bainbridge has a new online hub for environmental information and activism.
“Green Voices” will collect and disseminate information via email to its members on various meetings, rallies and other events related to environmental preservation.
The email service’s founder, Kirsten Hytopoulos, hopes to reach follow islanders who may, like her, have busy schedules but are concerned about Bainbridge’s natural areas.
“The idea is to collect the voices of all of those islanders who are reeling from a constant bombardment of bad news,” she said. “Trees are going down and condos going up. There are questions about water availability, while density bonuses are undoing our Comprehensive Plan and Winslow Tomorrow is looming. And over and over again we hear that even where the laws are adequate, they are often not enforced.”
Green Voices is modeled after political Internet-based groups such as MoveOn.org and Care2Connect. Hytopoulos and other members will send out email-based action alerts through the group’s site. Participants can indicate if they will join in on a particular event.
More than 25 people have joined the new online discussion group, according to Hytopoulous.
To sign up, send an email to GreenVoicesBI@gmail.com New members will receive instructions on the registration process.
Arbor Day honors for girl
State Forester Vicki Christiansen will honor a local fifth grader and the City of Bainbridge Island at this evening’s City Council meeting.
Amy Stephens, Sakai Elementary fifth-grader, created a prize-winning tree-themed poster, which won second place in the state in the annual Arbor Day Poster Contest sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation and, in Washington, by the Washington State Arbor Day Council and Puget Sound Energy. The contest aims to educate children and foster awareness of the importance of trees and their functions.
Christiansen will also present the City with the Tree City USA award, sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters. To obtain Tree City USA status, a community must adopt a tree ordinance, appoint a board, department or commission to advise the city on tree issues, spend $2 per capita on community forestry activities and hold an Arbor Day celebration. More than 2,700 U.S. cities have been awarded Tree City U.S.A. status, including more than three dozen in Washington State. Each year, the winning communities receive signs and certificates recognizing their achievements at local ceremonies that take place in April, which is Arbor Month.
As State Forester at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Christiansen represents Washington at the national and state level in advocating for sustainable forestry and the protection of forest lands.
