All posts by David Koon

Carkeek Park Earthkeepers Nature Day Camp is Back!

We’re Back! Earthkeepers Summer Nature Day Camp is back at Carkeek Park after two years. Registration begins Tuesday, April 19th. Space is limited.  Here are the dates and themes of the 8 weeks of camp this year:

  • July 5-8  Nature Detective
  • July 11-15 Tidepool Exploration
  • July 18-22 MicroWorlds
  • July 25-29 Carkeek Survivor
  • Aug 1-5 Passport to Puget Sound
  • Aug 8-12 PNW Time Travel
  • Aug 15-19 Outdoor Exploration
  • Aug 22-26 Fur and Feathers

For more information about the camp and scholarships as well as links to the registration site and scholarship sites, please visit our Earthkeepers page

Salmon Fry Release 3/19/2022

Saturday, 3/19/2020 at 6pm, Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project volunteers will release the first batch of 35,000 fry from the Les Malmgren Imprint Pond and into Venema Creek. We will gather at 6pm and pull the plug, releasing the fry at about 6:15pm. Come on down to wish the fry a safe journey to the Sound and eventually Alaska, and back to Piper’s Creek in 3 to 4 years.

For more information, visit the CWCAP website (Upcoming Salmon Fry Release 3/19/22 – Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project).

Salmon celebration 2019

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, 11/24 from 11am until 2pm, all ages are invited to Carkeek Park for activities to welcome the salmon home. Celebrate with food (donuts, coffee, cider, and mandarin oranges), music, an appearance by Bert the Salmon, Salmon Jeopardy, a kid-friendly salmon scavenger hunt through the park, a salmon dissection and other information tables. Volunteer Salmon Stewards and CWCAP volunteers will be on hand to answer questions.

47th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act

The Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project invites you to join us in celebration of World Water Day by helping collect Water Samples in our park!

When: Saturday October 19th                  Time: 10:00 AM -12:00 PM

Work with other volunteers to collect water samples at multiple sites throughout the park. After a brief tutorial, each team will be sent to a collection site to obtain a sample. After the sample has been obtained, we will perform water temperature, turbidity, pH, and dissolved oxygen tests with the kits that are provided. This is a great opportunity to interact with your local community and be an important part of the success of our beautiful park. It’s also an opportunity to see the start of the salmon returning to our creek.

Ages 8-Adult are welcome to participate in this event. It’s a great way to spend a couple hours with your family and friends and learn more about the importance of the water we all depend on. 

More information at: http://www.carkeekwatershed.org/ or http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org/

Please RSVP by sending an email to: CWCAP@carkeekwatershed.org

13th Annual Piper’s Orchard Festival of Fruit

The 13th Annual Piper’s Orchard Festival of Fruit will be held Saturday, October 5, 2019, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm.   This year’s festival will be held entirely in Piper’s Orchard. 

There will be orchard tours, apple juice pressing, apple variety identification—bring your apples, heritage apple tasting, apple tree planting, and tree pruning and orchard care demonstrations, children’s games, mason bee display, live music and a Master Gardener clinic with free consultation.

The Festival of Fruit is organized by the Friends of Piper’s Orchard, a group of dedicated volunteers who rescued the historic North Seattle orchard from invasive plants. Each year, the annual festival raises awareness and funds to help the volunteers ensure that the orchard, originally planted in the 1890s, will survive at least another 100 years.

Alongside the Friends of Piper’s Orchard, the Festival of Fruit is also sponsored by Seattle Parks and Recreation, Carkeek Park Advisory Council, Seattle Tree Fruit Society, and City Fruit.

Getting There: Metro bus lines D, 28 and 40 all travel near the McAbee entrance to Carkeek Park. From there it’s a ½ mile walk down the Piper’s Creek trail to Piper’s Orchard.

Parking: Parking is limited. If you park at the bottom of the hill along Carkeek Park Road, it is less than a 1/2 mile walk up Pipers Creek Trail to the orchard.

Make your way down to Piper’s Orchard between 11am and 2pm on Saturday, October 5th and join in the fun!

For more information
Email: pipersorchard@gmail.com
Visit: www.pipersorchard.org