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With his signature long black beard and cap,
Ken Shaw is easy to spot in a crowd. Ken first joined up
with FOSP around
1995. At that time he was involved with restoration work at Cormorant Cove
on Beach
Drive. One day, a fellow volunteer invited him to help out in
Schmitz Park Preserve. Finding the cool
shaded forest a most agreeable
workplace, he has been an active member ever since then.
Ken cares greatly about the preservation of Schmitz Park as a natural area.
He believes there will always
be a need for volunteer maintenance and litter
control. He is dedicated to educating others about
stewardship of the park.
Jefferson Saunders grew up along the banks of
the Columbia River, near the mouth of the Yakima River.
Life was a
storybook not unlike the Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Later he moved to
the big city of Seattle and eventually wound up living
near Alki Beach. One of his adventurous wanderings
lead him down a steep dirt trail through the pleasant shade of a beautiful
forest. There he discovered an unknown creek. The green smells and
delightful sounds were a warp back
into a time long forgotten by most city
dwellers. It was in essence a new river bank for a now much older
boy who
still enjoyed exploration. He has since discovered many others playing out
their adventures as
they explore and enjoy their emerald green surroundings.
Jefferson foresees FOSP forming groups that adopt specific areas for
stewardship. Others will choose to
maintain trails, propagate & salvage new
plants, focus on restoration or work on educational projects. He
envisions
more community involvement from local schools and families that live near
the park boundaries.
Challenges will come in many forms. There will always
be concerns about erosion and non-native invasive
plants. However, it is
the vandals, who litter and deface the park with graffiti that pose an even
greater
challenge. In the future he hopes to
find a beautiful mural under the Admiral Bridge depicting native tribes in a
lush virgin forest. A small, sturdy footbridge will cross the creek to a
gathering area. A new trailhead will wind
through the outer unexplored edges
of the park and cross old deer and Indian paths. He would love to see
an
extension of the park leading to Whale Tail Park and Alki Beach … a creek
released from its
underground pipe, free to support fish and feel the
daylight as it flows onto the beach at low tide. |
