Alright folks, it’s time to do our best beaver impressions and get building!

That’s right, our permits are in, and it’s time to build the first Beaver Dam Analogs in Judd Creek. Grab your wellies, sharpen those chompers, and join the Stew Crew this Tuesday!

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

Grab a friend; we’ll supply the bags. It’s time for a non-native plant roundup at the Upper Shinglemill Trailhead! The Stew Crew will be hunting the usual foes and taking care of some trail maintenance while we’re there. Hope you can join us for the best way to spend a Tuesday morning :)

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

VBA volunteers partner with the Land Trust every week to help maintain and restore habitat in Paradise Valley.  They remove invasive plants, prepare new areas for planting, and plant native trees and shrubs that capture and store carbon and provide food and shelter for the whole array of local wildlife.  And they have a great time doing it together!  Come join the fun!

Meeting place: Judd Creek Loop Trail trailhead, on the east side of 111th Ave. S.W. in Paradise Valley. Parking is along the road. Note: This is not the Kneeshaw Trailhead parking lot, which is further north and on the west side of 111th. If you arrive late, follow the signs to the worksite.

Tools needed: Bring your own shovels and loppers, if possible. A few extra tools will be on hand, but bringing your own helps assure we have enough for everybody!

 Attire: Please bring your own work gloves. Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts are strongly recommended.

Questions? Contact Jim Evans at frangula54@gmail.com.

The Paradise Valley Preserve is the property of the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. All of the Vashon Bird Alliance’s activities on the preserve are planned out in consultation with land trust stewardship staff and in accordance with the Paradise Valley Preserve management plan.

No time for napping; we’ve got non-native plants to handle in our island’s largest creek!

Join the Stew Crew this Tuesday to tackle blackberry and Bittersweet nightshade in the riparian zone. After all, there’s nothing like spending a summer’s morning in the forest!

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

Embrace the bramble! This week the Stew Crew is heading out to one of our Beaver Dam Analog sites to tackle some invasives to help prep for installation. (Plus, we’ll be clearing the area for planting in the fall!)

We’ll be pulling blackberries, hawthorn, and ivy in the wetland, so this is a great week to come out if you have not sufficiently scratched your desire to do battle with invasives this summer.

Please park along Cove Rd next to the airport. We'll start at the trailhead after an orientation to the sites and location. Look for the Land Trust trucks!

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

VBA volunteers partner with the Land Trust every week to help maintain and restore habitat in Paradise Valley.  They remove invasive plants, prepare new areas for planting, and plant native trees and shrubs that capture and store carbon and provide food and shelter for the whole array of local wildlife.  And they have a great time doing it together!  Come join the fun!

Meeting place: Judd Creek Loop Trail trailhead, on the east side of 111th Ave. S.W. in Paradise Valley. Parking is along the road. Note: This is not the Kneeshaw Trailhead parking lot, which is further north and on the west side of 111th. If you arrive late, follow the signs to the worksite.

Tools needed: Bring your own shovels and loppers, if possible. A few extra tools will be on hand, but bringing your own helps assure we have enough for everybody!

 Attire: Please bring your own work gloves. Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts are strongly recommended.

Questions? Contact Jim Evans at frangula54@gmail.com.

The Paradise Valley Preserve is the property of the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. All of the Vashon Bird Alliance’s activities on the preserve are planned out in consultation with land trust stewardship staff and in accordance with the Paradise Valley Preserve management plan.

The Stew Crew spent last week thinning at the Mary Matsuda Gruenewald Forest, and holy cow, what a difference they have made!

There is now light penetrating to the forest floor, which will allow us to plant more native shrubs and ferns in the fall. A diverse forest is a healthy one!

In the meantime, we have some cleanup to do to support the team's efforts. Come on out this Tuesday for some forest TLC!

Please enter the farm via Cemetery Rd and park in the parking area near the farm gate. We will head into the planting area from there. Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9PcakxD4WEZ9ziEL8

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

It’s not every day one of your founding Board Members turns 100!

We hope to see the Land Trust community for a celebration of Yvonne Kuperberg, a true trailblazer and ally to our island’s wild lands!

VBA volunteers partner with the Land Trust every week to help maintain and restore habitat in Paradise Valley.  They remove invasive plants, prepare new areas for planting, and plant native trees and shrubs that capture and store carbon and provide food and shelter for the whole array of local wildlife.  And they have a great time doing it together!  Come join the fun!

Meeting place: Judd Creek Loop Trail trailhead, on the east side of 111th Ave. S.W. in Paradise Valley. Parking is along the road. Note: This is not the Kneeshaw Trailhead parking lot, which is further north and on the west side of 111th. If you arrive late, follow the signs to the worksite.

Tools needed: Bring your own shovels and loppers, if possible. A few extra tools will be on hand, but bringing your own helps assure we have enough for everybody!

 Attire: Please bring your own work gloves. Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts are strongly recommended.

Questions? Contact Jim Evans at frangula54@gmail.com.

The Paradise Valley Preserve is the property of the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. All of the Vashon Bird Alliance’s activities on the preserve are planned out in consultation with land trust stewardship staff and in accordance with the Paradise Valley Preserve management plan.

This week, the Stew Crew is heading out to the Kneeshaw property to handle invasive yellow iris (we’ve been fighting this particular foe for quite a while, as seen by this photo of interns from four seasons past) around the pond, and ivy and holly along the trail.

Meet up at the main Judd Creek Preserve Parking lot; we’ll walk over from there.

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

The Stew Crew are heading back out to the Judd Creek Loop this week to continue their battle against invasive climbing nightshade along the creek! Bring your wadeable boots this week; we’re tackling some hard-to-reach spots 💪

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

VBA volunteers partner with the Land Trust every week to help maintain and restore habitat in Paradise Valley.  They remove invasive plants, prepare new areas for planting, and plant native trees and shrubs that capture and store carbon and provide food and shelter for the whole array of local wildlife.  And they have a great time doing it together!  Come join the fun!

Meeting place: Judd Creek Loop Trail trailhead, on the east side of 111th Ave. S.W. in Paradise Valley. Parking is along the road. Note: This is not the Kneeshaw Trailhead parking lot, which is further north and on the west side of 111th. If you arrive late, follow the signs to the worksite.

Tools needed: Bring your own shovels and loppers, if possible. A few extra tools will be on hand, but bringing your own helps assure we have enough for everybody!

 Attire: Please bring your own work gloves. Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts are strongly recommended.

Questions? Contact Jim Evans at frangula54@gmail.com.

The Paradise Valley Preserve is the property of the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. All of the Vashon Bird Alliance’s activities on the preserve are planned out in consultation with land trust stewardship staff and in accordance with the Paradise Valley Preserve management plan.

We are thrilled to partner with Vashon Film Institute for a showing of "Silent Friend" on July 7th at the Vashon Theatre!

On the grounds of a medieval German university town looms an imposing Ginkgo biloba, a tree whose longevity stands in marked contrast to three intimate, human-scaled stories. Three epochs, three personalities, three sometimes clumsy but sincere attempts to free themselves and to create links with the plants and the world of the garden.

Silent Friend is a film described as "beautiful, elusive, and peppered with provocative nuggets about the nature of life and our place in it" and has received widespread critical acclaim. It recently screened at the Seattle International Film Festival and festivals across the globe, including Cannes, Venice, and Toronto. 

The film starts at 7:15 pm, and VFI is graciously accepting donations for the Land Trust at the screening. This is a great way to support the Land Trust's work and ground oneself in nature through the power of storytelling!

The Stew Crew is back from Land Camp and ready to get back to the woods! Care to join us for a work party at Matsuda Farm? We have some cleanup to do in the Mary Matsuda Gruenwald Forest in support of our summer thinning project.

Please enter the farm via Cemetery Rd and park in the parking area near the farm gate. We will head into the planting area from there. Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9PcakxD4WEZ9ziEL8

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

VBA volunteers partner with the Land Trust every week to help maintain and restore habitat in Paradise Valley.  They remove invasive plants, prepare new areas for planting, and plant native trees and shrubs that capture and store carbon and provide food and shelter for the whole array of local wildlife.  And they have a great time doing it together!  Come join the fun!

Meeting place: Judd Creek Loop Trail trailhead, on the east side of 111th Ave. S.W. in Paradise Valley. Parking is along the road. Note: This is not the Kneeshaw Trailhead parking lot, which is further north and on the west side of 111th. If you arrive late, follow the signs to the worksite.

Tools needed: Bring your own shovels and loppers, if possible. A few extra tools will be on hand, but bringing your own helps assure we have enough for everybody!

 Attire: Please bring your own work gloves. Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts are strongly recommended.

Questions? Contact Jim Evans at frangula54@gmail.com.

The Paradise Valley Preserve is the property of the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. All of the Vashon Bird Alliance’s activities on the preserve are planned out in consultation with land trust stewardship staff and in accordance with the Paradise Valley Preserve management plan.

You’re invited to the first in our Restoration Roundtable series!

The Land Trust has been hard at work restoring our Island Creeks for over two decades and is currently developing watershed restoration plans for Judd and Shinglemill Creeks, with a vision of whole watershed health. We have seen the positive effects of restoration: from returning salmon runs to a more diverse riparian ecosystem and now it’s time for more concerted efforts to ensure our projects function over time – for the long term health of our Island’s streams and shorelines.

Please join us for our first Restoration Roundtable. Land Trust staff will share updates on our planning process to date and outline some of the possible restoration strategies for our two largest Island creeks.  Bring your questions, insights, and creek stories – we are looking forward to sharing this exciting work with you! 

If you can’t make the roundtable, but still want to contribute, please email info@vashonlandtrust.org to submit a question or share a story. Hope to see you there!

The interns are here, the interns are here!

This fantastic foursome will be working hard over the next six months to steward the forests, streams, and shorelines of this land we call home. 

Care to come meet these lovely folks? You should join them this Tuesday for a morning of invasive grubbing out at the Judd Creek Loop!

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

Join the Land Trust and our partner organization for the 18th Annual Low Tide Festival at Pt. Robinson Park. There are tidal creatures to meet, activities for the whole family, and lessons to learn from our partner organizations about our island's most colorful ecosystem.

VBA volunteers partner with the Land Trust every week to help maintain and restore habitat in Paradise Valley.  They remove invasive plants, prepare new areas for planting, and plant native trees and shrubs that capture and store carbon and provide food and shelter for the whole array of local wildlife.  And they have a great time doing it together!  Come join the fun!

Meeting place: Judd Creek Loop Trail trailhead, on the east side of 111th Ave. S.W. in Paradise Valley. Parking is along the road. Note: This is not the Kneeshaw Trailhead parking lot, which is further north and on the west side of 111th. If you arrive late, follow the signs to the worksite.

Tools needed: Bring your own shovels and loppers, if possible. A few extra tools will be on hand, but bringing your own helps assure we have enough for everybody!

 Attire: Please bring your own work gloves. Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts are strongly recommended.

Questions? Contact Jim Evans at frangula54@gmail.com.

The Paradise Valley Preserve is the property of the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. All of the Vashon Bird Alliance’s activities on the preserve are planned out in consultation with land trust stewardship staff and in accordance with the Paradise Valley Preserve management plan.

Does an intact taproot being pulled from the earth bring you a special joy?

Well, does our Stew Crew have a place for you! They’re heading back out to the Judd Creek Loop to take care of newly sprouted invasives in our newest planting area, and they will welcome with open arms any and all invasive plant eradication enthusiasts.

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

Looking for a Sunday afternoon excursion and love restoration?

Do we have a film for you! Join us at the Vashon Theatre for a movie about our most industrious conservation neighbors, the beavers!

Our very own Stewardship Director, Abel Eckhardt, will be joining for the Q&A portion to share his knowledge about our very own Island beavers. (Yes, we have beavers )

The glorious mix of sunshine and rain of the past few weeks is really making all of the plants happy! Unfortunately, this means that weeds are also thriving…

The Stew Crew is heading out to the Judd Creek Loop this week to revisit last year’s restoration area to handle any blackberry resprouts that are poking up beside the new plantings.

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need

VBA volunteers partner with the Land Trust every week to help maintain and restore habitat in Paradise Valley.  They remove invasive plants, prepare new areas for planting, and plant native trees and shrubs that capture and store carbon and provide food and shelter for the whole array of local wildlife.  And they have a great time doing it together!  Come join the fun!

Meeting place: Judd Creek Loop Trail trailhead, on the east side of 111th Ave. S.W. in Paradise Valley. Parking is along the road. Note: This is not the Kneeshaw Trailhead parking lot, which is further north and on the west side of 111th. If you arrive late, follow the signs to the worksite.

Tools needed: Bring your own shovels and loppers, if possible. A few extra tools will be on hand, but bringing your own helps assure we have enough for everybody!

 Attire: Please bring your own work gloves. Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts are strongly recommended.

Questions? Contact Jim Evans at frangula54@gmail.com.

The Paradise Valley Preserve is the property of the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. All of the Vashon Bird Alliance’s activities on the preserve are planned out in consultation with land trust stewardship staff and in accordance with the Paradise Valley Preserve management plan.

Hey Stew Crew! 

We’re picking up where we left off last Tuesday at the Mary Matsuda Gruenewald Forest. Turns out we have more cleanup to do in preparation for this summer’s thinning project. Hope to see your smiling faces there!

 Please enter the farm via Cemetery Rd and park in the parking area near the farm gate. We will head into the planting area from there. Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9PcakxD4WEZ9ziEL8

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

Stew Crew volunteers, assemble!

We’re heading under the shady boughs for some good ole fashioned forest maintenance at the Mary Matsuda Gruenewald Forest. We have a little cleanup to do before this summer’s thinning project!

Please enter the farm via Cemetery Rd and park in the parking area near the farm gate.

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

VBA volunteers partner with the Land Trust every week to help maintain and restore habitat in Paradise Valley.  They remove invasive plants, prepare new areas for planting, and plant native trees and shrubs that capture and store carbon and provide food and shelter for the whole array of local wildlife.  And they have a great time doing it together!  Come join the fun!

Meeting place: Judd Creek Loop Trail trailhead, on the east side of 111th Ave. S.W. in Paradise Valley. Parking is along the road. Note: This is not the Kneeshaw Trailhead parking lot, which is further north and on the west side of 111th. If you arrive late, follow the signs to the worksite.

Tools needed: Bring your own shovels and loppers, if possible. A few extra tools will be on hand, but bringing your own helps assure we have enough for everybody!

 Attire: Please bring your own work gloves. Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts are strongly recommended.

Questions? Contact Jim Evans at frangula54@gmail.com.

The Paradise Valley Preserve is the property of the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. All of the Vashon Bird Alliance’s activities on the preserve are planned out in consultation with land trust stewardship staff and in accordance with the Paradise Valley Preserve management plan.

The Stew Crew is back in action at Johnson Pond, doing what they do best: tackling invasives and maintaining native plantings! Join them for a morning of fun and cathartic weed pulling.

Parking along 115th Ave SW, just N from where the Fisher Pond trail crosses the road. You’ll see the LT @ work sign next to our truck by the road

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

VBA volunteers partner with the Land Trust every week to help maintain and restore habitat in Paradise Valley.  They remove invasive plants, prepare new areas for planting, and plant native trees and shrubs that capture and store carbon and provide food and shelter for the whole array of local wildlife.  And they have a great time doing it together!  Come join the fun!

Meeting place: Judd Creek Loop Trail trailhead, on the east side of 111th Ave. S.W. in Paradise Valley. Parking is along the road. Note: This is not the Kneeshaw Trailhead parking lot, which is further north and on the west side of 111th. If you arrive late, follow the signs to the worksite.

Tools needed: Bring your own shovels and loppers, if possible. A few extra tools will be on hand, but bringing your own helps assure we have enough for everybody!

 Attire: Please bring your own work gloves. Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather. Long pants and long-sleeved shirts are strongly recommended.

Questions? Contact Jim Evans at frangula54@gmail.com.

The Paradise Valley Preserve is the property of the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. All of the Vashon Bird Alliance’s activities on the preserve are planned out in consultation with land trust stewardship staff and in accordance with the Paradise Valley Preserve management plan.

The best darn volunteer crew out there cordially invites you to Matsuda Farm this Tuesday! We will be battling invasive plants around the farm and having a great time while we’re at it!

Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/QhTBNn6iHaDNMmhi7

Please enter the farm via Cemetery Rd and park in the parking area near the farm gate. We will head into the planting area from there. 

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪

Ready to spread some joy?

Well, joy and mulch. Mulch brings joy.

The Stew Crew is heading out to the Judd Creep Loop to tend to some young plantings. There are also always invasives to pull, for those who need that particular cathartic release.

Be sure to dress for the weather and bring hydration. We'll have gloves, tools, and everything else you need 🍪