A water droplet, running off the cedar we all hunched under, relentlessly plinked against one of the big brown bags at our feet. While the rain dripped around us, GPC stewardship coordinator Micaela Petrini coached the assembled crew from the Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) who were planting in this corner of the Filucy Bay Preserve.…
Great Peninsula Conservancy Expands Filucy Bay Preserve by 55 Acres
Filucy Bay Preserve continues to grow. An anonymous donor has given Great Peninsula Conservancy, the nonprofit land trust that owns the preserve, four parcels totaling 55 acres. The preserve now totals 170 acres. While past additions focused on protecting the shoreline forests of Filucy Bay’s north cove, the new parcels extend the preserve across Mahncke…
Community campaign receives match to expand Hansville Greenway
Another conservation win is in the books for the Hansville Greenway. A new 10-acre expansion to the 345-acre greenspace in North Kitsap closed at the end of 2023 thanks to a community-led campaign and public-private collaboration. Great Peninsula Conservancy and volunteers from the Hansville Greenway Association raised over $100,000, which leveraged supplemental funding OK’d by…
Conservancy group buys 183 acres along Tahuya River for restoration, salmon habitat
For decades, a piece land along the Tahuya River in Mason County was used as a pasture to raise horses. Since a Gabion wall — a steel mesh cage filled with rocks — was built along the river to secure the farm and its horse racing tracks, the river couldn’t flood. Preventing the river from…
GPC Legacy Member Highlight: John L. Nichols
“With a simple act, there will be preservation of some portion of the northwest habitat that I love so much.” Great Peninsula Conservancy is thrilled to celebrate John L. Nichols, the newest member of GPC’s Legacy Society. John, a Key Peninsula resident and GPC forage fish survey volunteer, had previously made GPC a beneficiary of…
A Seventh Grader’s Letter to GPC
What inspires you to get outside? What’s special about the outdoors? How is GPC able to protect so much land!? These were questions answered by GPC’s AmeriCorps VISTA member Ben Crooke in response to a thoughtful letter written to GPC from a Fairhaven Middle School student in Bellingham. Tessa, a 7th grader, was performing a…
Thank you, Jaime!
On February 13th, 2024, GPC’s Conservation Education Fellow Jaime Webb completed his second year of AmeriCorps VISTA service with GPC. During that time, Jaime helped to build capacity for GPC’s Land Labs, a conservation education program designed to empower the next generation of environmental decision makers. Because of Jaime’s efforts, nearly 800 school students were…
Seven Projects and 300 acres – Land Protected by GPC in 2023
Land trusts measure their success in a variety of ways, but completing projects that permanently protect land is always an important metric. Thanks to generous donors, community partnerships, and dedication from everyone involved, 2023 was an exceptional year and saw 300 more acres added to land GPC now stewards. Read on to learn about these…
GPC Legacy Member Highlight: Byron & Sara Kane
The stillness and renewal that being in nature provides is so important for the well-being of each one of us. It’s reassuring to know that conservancies, like GPC, are here to see that not every forest and stream will face development and will be here — not just for us but for future generations to…
Filucy Bay Preserve Restoration in Progress
GPC’s Filucy Bay Preserve has expanded in recent years through four additional land acquisitions, resulting in a combined 170-acre preserve with over 3,500 feet of protected shoreline in the northern cove of Filucy Bay. This area protects important upland forest, shoreline, and estuarine nearshore habitat for Coho salmon, cutthroat trout, ESA-listed Chinook, black bear, coyote,…