While many Bloedel Reserve visitors know the Bainbridge Island beauty for its lush gardens and serene trails, fewer are aware of the dense forest dominating half the 140-acre property.
While the forest has been left largely unmanaged over recent decades, that has changed as the Reserve undertakes a forest management plan, prepared with a forestry consultant, explains Kaslin Daniels, Bloedel Reserve’s Director of Horticulture & Design and co-lead of the forest management project with Haley Wiggins.
Planned activities to help the forest thrive long into the future include removing invasive species – already well underway – thinning thoughtfully, to ensure species aren’t competing for limited resources like light and nutrients, and ensuring native species are in locations that will let them thrive in a changing climate and provide habitat for wildlife.
The Reserve’s vision also includes sharing their forest management experience and engaging the community in this vital local treasure – especially where that can support these practical goals. A perfect example is the recent partnership with the Washington Youth Challenge Academy, a program for teens who have dropped out of high school or are at risk of dropping out.
Cadets with the Washington Youth Challenge Academy helped pull invasive ivy from the forest at Bloedel Reserve as part of the Reserve’s forest management plan. Martha Rogers photo / courtesy Bloedel Reserve
Last fall, the academy’s Major Pat Cruz approached the reserve about options for community service and brought a platoon of about 50 teens from across the state who enthusiastically set about pulling English ivy, which can strangle trees and swallow up native species.
“It was remarkable how much they accomplished – it has honestly made forest management feel feasible to me,” Daniels says, appreciating both their enthusiasm and the energy they bring to the reserve. “They just inject a really powerful energy into the environment.”
And the benefits go both ways. One youth told Daniels that he didn’t know places like the Reserve existed in the world. “It’s been incredible to see how impactful the experience was for them.”
That first partnership was such a success that they expanded this spring and welcomed two new platoons for more ivy pulling.
“We appreciate the opportunity Bloedel Reserve provided for our cadets to give back to our community,” Cruz says. “Experiential learning is vital in the development of good values and is something that we embrace here at WYCA. This would not happen without the help of service partners like you.”
Native flowers dance in the sunshine at Bloedel Reserve. Erin Fisher photo / courtesy Bloedel Reserve
Looking forward, Bloedel Reserve’s summer internship program will continue the forest management work, tackling more invasive species removal, regenerative planting of native species and supporting wildlife habitat.
Daniels also looks forward to sharing their efforts and successes with others, and engaging both neighbors and the local Indigenous community on the land.
“The greatest impact we can have is sharing what we’re doing, being an inspiration to others and listening to our community about what they need and would like to see,” Daniels says. “It feels like a really exciting moment in time.”
Anyone wanting to learn more about similar forest management partnerships for their group can email Kaslin Daniels at kdaniels@BloedelReserve.org.
Plan your visit to the reserve at bloedelreserve.org, where you can learn about the property, events and membership, and book your timed tickets.
