Vashon Center for the Arts and Vashon Nature Center have announced a partnership that will give the nature center a home base directly in the shadow of the new arts center.
The nature center — which received nonprofit status last year, after previously operating as an LLC for about six years — will now move some of its operations to an area with a meadow and wetlands owned by VCA, to the east of its building.
Initially, VNC will put a small movable field station on the north end of the meadow, where its volunteers and staff can launch projects and store field gear, said VNC director Bianca Perla. The nature center has signed a three-year lease with VCA to occupy the property, at the rate of $1 per year.
A picturesque old milk barn will remain on the property, said Perla, who added that she eventually hopes to add another mobile building to the meadow that could serve as an office and site of a small, interpretive exhibit by the nature center.
Her vision for the meadow also includes its use by the public as a picnic spot or a place to contemplate nature. Another goal, Perla said, is for the meadow to serve as the site of art and science workshops, presented jointly by both the nature and arts centers. Classes for adults and children, she said, could focus on nature journaling, wetland restoration, biological illustrations and other subjects.
Most immediately, she said, VNC will help develop stewardship plans for the meadow and wetlands and do field studies on the site.
“Partnering with VCA gives us the opportunity to physically land someplace we can help care for, right in the center of the island and right near the schools, where we do a lot of work,” Perla said.
The meadow, she said, has an important spot in the island’s ecosystem — all the water that runs off the field goes into Judd Creek, and restoring VCA’s property will have a ripple effect extending to the overall health of the creek. Ultimately, she hopes VNC’s work will also beautify the meadow with more canopy cover, trees, blooming native plants and bird and insect life.
“It will just look more complex than it does now in terms of vegetation,” she said.
There’s also another compelling benefit to the partnership, according to Kevin Hoffberg, executive director of VCA. Restoration of the meadow, he said, is required as part of a wetlands mitigation process stipulated by King County for the site. After the restoration of the meadow meets the county’s approval, the arts center will be able to reclaim approximately $30,000 in bonds that were put up by VCA as part of the permitting process to build its new building, which opened in 2016. Work specified as needed by the county includes the clearing of invasives and new plantings, said a county spokesperson.
Hoffberg also described the partnership with Vashon Nature Center as a way to expand VCA’s programming and reach into the community.
“We are bringing increased focus and energy to how art helps us explore, understand and advocate for our shared humanity and our shared need to steward and care for our island and planet,” he said.
The nature center currently runs field research programs in various local parks and preserves. It has an advisory group of 27 local scientists and naturalists that lend expertise to its work and involves students, families and adults in collecting field data that helps people learn more about the islands’ wildlife and habitats. VNC also creates publications, blog articles and exhibits to share and interpret the scientific information it collects.
The care and restoration of the meadow and wetlands has already begun, Hoffberg and Perla said, and will continue with a workday on April 28. VNC’s first official “open house” at its new island home will be during the annual VCA Garden Tour, June 22 and 23.
