Trees Archives | Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation

Friends of STO fund supports greenway tree work

Friends of STO fund supports greenway tree work

Underperforming trees marked for thinning on the STO Winslow Connector.

Tree thinning on the Sound To Olympics Trail heralds a healthier greenway for Winslow’s “linear park.”

Spindly, underperforming and dying trees are being removed along a stretch of the STO’s Winslow Connector, between Winslow Way and the ravine bridge south of Vineyard Lane.

Those remaining trees will enjoy healthier long-term growth, and native shrubs below will thrive better.

“Hotter and drier summers are testing the health of island forests,” says Barb Trafton, Parks Foundation Projects Director. “The thinning of overcrowded stands of trees by removing spindly, shaded ones allows more air and water circulation for the remaining trees, boosting opportunities for biodiversity along the STO greenway.’

The select thinning was approved by the City of Bainbridge Island. The project is funded through the Parks Foundation’s Friends of the STO Trail Fund, which supports greenway stewardship in […]

Friends of STO fund supports greenway tree workDouglas2022-01-21T09:48:00-08:00

Podcast: The Future of the Grand Forest in a Changing Climate

Podcast: The Future of the Grand Forest in a Changing Climate

Host Barb Trafton, Executive Director of the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation leads a group conversation of specialists regarding the popular Grand Forest in a changing climate environment. Participants include Dan Hamlin, Park Services Director at the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Rec District; Jared Moravec, Deputy Chief at the Bainbridge Island Fire Department and Stuart Johnson, Landscape designer at AHBL, a multi-disciplinary Landscape Architecture Firm, and a researcher at the Grand Forest.

The conversation invites the listener to participate in thinking about what does forest health mean and to become actively involved in this much beloved open-space park in the heart of the island. Each contributor offers their unique perspectives, reflecting values and concerns all contributing to a deeper understanding of this magnificent treasure.

Podcast credits: BCB host, Barb Trafton; audio editor, Keith Doughty; and publisher, Bob Ross. Register for the Environmental Conference

Podcast: The Future of the Grand Forest in a Changing ClimateDouglas2021-04-16T07:28:18-07:00

Kathleen Wolf and the ‘soft fascination’ of forests

Kathleen Wolf and the ‘soft fascination’ of forests

Years before strolling among beautiful trees yet staring fixedly, blankly, into a tiny electronic device wouldn’t seem all that weird – which is to say, long before the world would dearly need it – researchers at the University of Michigan coined the term “soft fascination.”

It describes nature’s subtle power to draw our attention to the delight of birdsong, the caress of wind in treetops, the idle drift of clouds overhead. Calming sounds and sensations, so quietly inviting, so different from the hypnotic screen or insistent digital chirp.

“We don’t have to intentionally focus in nature,” Kathleen Wolf says, but simply open ourselves to the wonders of the natural world and their gentle tug. “Nature brings us to it.”

Spreading the gospel of forests’ restorative properties has become the focus of Wolf’s work as a research social scientist in the University of Washington’s College of the Environment. The Rolling […]

Kathleen Wolf and the ‘soft fascination’ of forestsDouglas2021-04-16T07:29:18-07:00

Podcast: Creating a Climate-Resilient Forest at Moritani Preserve

Podcast: Creating a Climate-Resilient Forest at Moritani Preserve

Barb Trafton, Executive Director of the Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation, leads a group of inspired experts to discuss the new management plan for the Moritani Preserve in this episode of What’s Up Bainbridge.

Maryann Kirkby, landscape designer and chair of the Friends of Moritani Preserve, Malloree Weinheimer, CEO of Chickadee Forestry, and Jay Kinney, Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District commissioner, discuss the Moritani Preserve “pocket forest,” including its history and goals of the new management plan and community engagement, supporting a climate-resilient forest in this beloved Winslow open-space.

This podcast is part of the community conversation for the Associated Bainbridge Communities 2021 Environmental Conference: The Future of Our Forests, Bainbridge island and the Climate Crisis, Sundays in March.

Podcast credits: BCB host, Barb Trafton; audio editor, Keith Doughty; and publisher, Bob Ross. Register for the Environmental Conference

Podcast: Creating a Climate-Resilient Forest at Moritani PreserveDouglas2021-04-22T09:27:03-07:00