Hood CanalI live in a stunning place. Hood Canal in Washington State.
I feel like I grew up here, regardless of having lived in other places throughout my childhood. I am so lucky to live here in my retirement. Besides the beauty of the water and mountains, I get to hike, swim, kayak, garden, bird, take photographs, welcome family and friends, and enjoy the love of a great dog, Luna. |
A view of the Olympic Mountains across Hood Canal. Here's a piece I wrote about them... Hiking in the Olympics
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The health of Hood Canal is important to me... its physical/environmental health, its economic health, its community health. We are blessed to have many organizations working toward these goals. I have found ways to volunteer with several. Here are three important ones:
The Hood Canal Coordinating Council is a group of governments, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Mason Counties, and the Port Gamble S’Klallam and Skokomish Tribes, formed in response to community concerns about water quality and natural resource issues in the Hood Canal watershed. In 2020, I took part in developing the Hood Canal Shellfish Initiative, a collaborative and inclusive process to identify coordinated strategies and prioritized actions to:
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The Shellfish Growers Climate Coalition is an initiative of The Nature Conservancy, bringing together shellfish growers from coast to coast—and up and down the shellfish supply chain—growers, wholesalers, restaurateurs, caterers and vendors. The Coalition members are working together to advocate for sound climate policy and secure a low-carbon future to benefit the shellfish we love and the waters that sustain them.
I have been able to meet growers from across the country in this effort and also submitted a story with my brother Dan about our oyster business and how we see climate change and its impacts for its online publication of Heard on the Shellfish. Read more about the Coalition and its work here. |
Through research, outreach and education for nearly 50 years, Washington Sea Grant helps people understand and address the challenges facing Washington’s ocean and coasts.
I joined the effort to develop the content and agenda for the 2020 annual Sea Grant conference. Sadly, it was delayed due to COVID. We met again to update and resurrect the event for 2021. And again in 2022. A wonderful event to bring this community together. See more of their work here. |
Hood Canal is fortunate to have many beautiful places to visit and some historic sites. I also volunteer at one of them, McReavy House, the 1890-built home of John McReavy, the founder of Union City who owned a logging and sawmill operation on the Union River. He was a school superintendent, postmaster, hotel and store owner, and a real estate agent. He also was a member of the 1889 Washington State Constitutional Convention and a senator in the first legislature of the state. Check out the website: https://mcreavyhouseofhoodcanal.weebly.com