On Satuday May 12th Middle Green River Coalition (MGRC) and King County organized a volunteer event at Cedar Creek Park. Cedar Creek Park is located between Covington to the west, Maple Valley to the east, and the Pipe Lake neighborhood to the south, Not only did we luck out on beautiful weather on Saturday May 12th but we had 40 hardworking volunteers show up to get a major portion of the trail work on the main trail finished. Duane Evans, King County Park Maintenance Coordinator, said that basically we finished taking care of the major drainage issues and the removal of the large debris off the trail. Volunteers also rerouted areas of trail that were in low spots with poor drainage to higher ground. This work has made the main trail at Cedar Creek Park a great place to take a walk. In fact we ran into two groups of young kids taking a walk on the trail.

Sixteen students from Institute for Community Leadership came out. Many who live near the park. Fifteen hard workers from Washington Trails Association’s youth program participated. We also trail workers from last week return, the Smith family and ____.

Courtney Feeney, The park’s King County Ambassador, and Lisa Parsons, Executive Director of MGRC, were very pleased with the turnout and support for this relatively unknown park. All the new visitors were surprised that this kind of forest exists so close to the urban area. The Smith family, who lives on the west end of the park, hikes in the park frequently and were enthusiastic about giving back to the trails and participating in making the park into a draw for the greater community.

The next step is to develop a stewardship committee to work with King County on developing a stewardship plan for the park and provide input into how the park is developed for future use. If you are interested in participating in the committee please contact Lisa Parsons at: mgrc@mgrc.org

MGRC would like to thank the Cedar Downs and Timberlane Homeowners Associations for their support along with King County Parks, Recreational Equipment Inc, Washington Trails Association, and the Institute for Community Leadership.

For photos from both events visit: http://photobucket.com/ccp2012

Stay tuned for more trail work volunteer events and tours of the park. For more information about the park visitt: www.mgrc.org

Lisa Parsons
backyardadventuregirl@comcast.net

Come Join us on Saturday May 12th for another great day of family, fun, and discovering the park in your backyard.


Title: Cedar Creek Park Volunteer Event #2
Location: Between Covington and Maple Valley
Description: Cedar Creek Park between Covington and Maple Valley. One of the best kept secrets that we want to share. A 115 acre natural area with nature trails, Jenkins creek, ponds, wildlife, and a connector trail between the two cities.
2 Volunteer and Educational Events
Both days: 10 am to 3pm. Tours and kids hikes at 10am and 3pm
May 6th— Trail Maintenance
May 12th— Trail Maintenance, kids educational hike, and tours of the park.
Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2012-05-12
End Time: 15:00

A week ago a Cedar Downs homeowner I met at their board meeting wanted to show me a bird he photographed in the green belt (Cedar Creek Park) behind his house.  He wasn’t sure what kind of bird it was but thought maybe it was a Merlin.  I had him send me the photos and I sent it to a couple of bird experts who confirmed what I suspected.  It was a photo of a juvenile Northern Goshawk.

So now we have photo documentation of the another generation of Goshawks sixteen years later.  Here is a link to more info on these incredible birds.  As juveniles they have piercing yellow eyes that then become red as they become adults.  They are known to be aggressively predatory and stealth hunters.

“While Northern Goshawks have been expanding their range in some areas of the Northeast in recent decades, many populations are still considered threatened or endangered. Logging is the largest threat to Northern Goshawks in Washington. The Northern Goshawk is listed as a species of concern by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and is a candidate for listing by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.”

http://birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/northern_goshawk

The city of Kent is an important partner is protecting and restoring the Middle Green River watershed.  Support their efforts to steward their open space and parks on December 3rd

Volunteer with Kent and ForTerra!

Check out the next volunteer event for a fun, active way to give back to your community, and ensure that Kent’s urban environment is healthy and sustainable. No experience necessary. Gloves and tools provided.

Institute for Community Leadership in Kent celebrates completion of ocean going canoe

Covington Reporter
By TJ MARTINELL
Oct 03 2011

The Institute for Community Leadership recently celebrated the completion of an ocean going canoe as a part of its cultural celebration. On Sept. 24 more than 150 people gathered at the O’Dell Education Center in Kent to finish painting the 32-foot canoe. The event, which was also attended by representatives from the city of Kent, included a barbeque and organically grown food.

“(It was) very successful,” said Brice Phillips, community organizer at the Institute. “A lot of people got to participate in painting (the canoe).”

The canoe was built from a 1,000-year-old windfall cedar tree. It was first worked on in Taholah where Kent and Covington students would travel on weekends to help with its construction under the guidance of Quinault master carver Guy Capoeman. Other organizations such as the Muckelshoot Tribe and Cub Scout Troop 407 helped with the project as well. Nyla Rosen, who works for the Institute, explained the canoe’s primary purpose is education, both culturally and artistically. They intend to take the canoe to schools to display.

“We’ll be taking it out on some lakes,” Phillips said. “(We want) to show it to a lot of people.”

The event was also a tribute to Randy Capoeman, Guy Capoeman’s uncle, who was also on the Institute’s Board of Directors. The canoe is named “R.S. Capoeman” in his honor.

Randy Capoeman, who died from cancer several years ago, was directly responsible for the reintroduction of woodcrafts in the Quinault Tribe. The totem pole he carved for Institute, which is still there today, was the first one made in the tribe in 50 years.

Phillips attributes a variety of factors to the lack of woodworking, most of which was poverty. “(There was) a lot of depression,” he said. “They (totem poles) were pretty close to being lost.”

Phillips described Randy Capoeman as “Very friendly, very talkative, always had a story to tell. Very patient kind of person, very good parent to his kids. (He) had a great sense of humor.”

His strong spiritual and religious beliefs, Phillips added, was a part of what inspired him to carve. “He could see the value in giving people a sense of pride,” he said. “That was a big part of his message. Do good things with your time. Be productive.”

Before he died, Capoeman also made philosophical statements to the students. “You are what you get up in the morning thinking about,” Phillips said, quoting Capoeman.

Covington Reporter Reporter TJ Martinell can be reached at tmartinell@maplevalleyreporter.com.

Bring your cameras, appropriate clothing for the weather, and a sense of adventure.

For more info and to sign up please contact Lisa at: mgrc@mgrc.org or visit our website at www.mgrc.org
Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2011-10-16
End Time: 14:00