Bianca Perla says that having children helped her rediscover Vashon. Now she wants to help other families do the same.

Perla, a Vashon native, grew up exploring the Island’s beaches and forests. Since then her career as an ecologist has taken her to work at places such as Yosemite National Park and the Grand Canyon,   places where she learned to love long backcountry hikes with picturesque views.

After returning to Vashon, Perla took own children, now 3 and 6, to the places she loved as a child and watched them discover flowers, eat berries, stomp in puddles and gaze at bugs and birds.

“There’s a lot here that fascinates (on Vashon) that’s not big mountain views or wilderness, but that’s still beautiful. … Those little things are the things that move life forward,” she said

Last summer Perla, who now has a doctorate in ecology and is president of the Vashon Maury Island Land Trust board, quietly released a guide to walks on Vashon. Called “Family Walks on Vashon Island,” the nearly 250-page book gives information about 55 forest trails, paved-road loops and beach walks, ranging from well-worn routes such as the Burton Acres trails to lesser-known spots such as the Ellis Creek Natural area.

Perla describes the paths themselves, suggesting what ages they may be appropriate for, and tells readers what makes the walks appealing to families — maybe a sunny meadow for picnics, a stream to play in, hummingbirds in the summer or tide pools at low tide. Her “naturalist notes” tell about the plant and animal life that can be found in the area.

“You can explore and see those things that might be missed if you didn’t know about them,” Perla said. “Those are things that kids like.”

And they’re things that Perla believes moms and dads will appreciate as well.

“I tried to write it for the parents that are reading it as well. … If parents are in that mindset and do appreciate the small things, they’ll get a lot out of it,” she said.

Though the self-published book is available at Vashon bookstores as well as the Country Store, Perla hasn’t done much to promote it. She said she may do a slideshow and book signing closer to the holidays, but so far the copies have been selling steadily.

“The Island is a small place. I thought word of mouth might work just as well,” she said

It worked for Gabrielle Burgess, who purchased the book this summer after she saw a friend post something about it on Facebook.

Since then, Burgess has used the guide for walks both with and without her five Island grandchildren.

“It was like having someone (along) who knows not only where these walks are, but what to discover on the walks,” she said.

Burgess, who has lived on Vashon for more than 20 years, said the book has even encouraged her to explore parts of the Island she has never seen, such as Christensen Pond.

“Many of the trails she talks about are totally unknown to people,” she said.

John Candy, a professional gardener who helped Perla incorporate information on trees into her book, agreed.

“Most people I know who have lived here 15 or 20 years have only done half of these walks. … I think it should be a great encouragement for people to try to visit all these places,” he said.

And though Candy no longer has children at home, he said the book has encouraged him and his wife to revisit some Vashon spots. He believes the information contained in Perla’s guide can be just as interesting to adults.

“I think she strikes a good balance between the study aspect and getting knowledge, and having the experience, the beauty and the spiritual nature there,” he said. “It brings information and it inspires.”

Rayna Holtz, a local naturalist who helped add some details to Perla’s book, compared it to a similar guide, “Walks, Trails and Parks on Vashon Island,” a slim volume recently re-released as a fourth edition.

She said the first book features more strenuous walks and information of interest to adults.

“Bianca’s book is more about the experience of immersing one’s own family in nature and the kinds of things that can make visits outdoors successful,” she said. “They both have little revelations sprinkled through them.”

Holtz is also excited about Perla’s latest project: a new nature website focused on Vashon.

Though it’s still in its early stages, Perla hopes the Vashon Nature Center website will one day be the go-to place for information and research results about wildlife and habitats on Vashon.

The Island has several active nature organizations, Perla noted, such as the Vashon Beach Naturalists and the Audubon Society, but no formal place for them to compile what they know. She added that many communities have museum-like nature centers where naturalist information is housed.

“I feel like it’s not really useful to know all this stuff unless everyone knows it and it creates an extra connection to the place we live,” she said.

Perla added that information hasn’t been formally gathered about many of the Island’s natural areas, and she hopes that eventually the Vashon Nature Center will be a place to publish results of surveys completed by community volunteers.

“We don’t know a lot about what lives on different preserves,” she said. “I’d like to start our research with a basic inventory.”

“Family Walks on Vashon Island” can be purchased at Vashon Bookshop, Books by the Way, The Country Store and Gardens and online at www.vashonenaturecenter.org.