Tag Archives: Bainbridge park district

Island preschoolers help replant Meigs Park

Here’s Tad Sooter’s story about Island Cooperative Preschool’s effort to plant 50 fir trees at Meigs Park. The school is in the process of earning “Eco School” status from the National Wildlife Federation.

Bainbridge preschoolers replant island park
By Tad Sooter

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND – A few years from now the freshly planted Douglas fir seedlings at Meigs Park will be the size of Christmas trees. The children who planted them, meanwhile, will still be in elementary school.

Bundled up in fuzzy hats and rubber boots, students from Island Cooperative Preschool planted 50 firs at the park Nov. 19, with the help of their parents and tree specialist Jim Trainer.

The children were performing a community service by replanting a clearing recently stripped of invasive Scotch broom. But this was more than a work party. Parents and teachers also hope activities like the tree planting will help the children build an appreciation of the environment at a young age.

“It’s really important to get kids out and doing something real in nature, so they’ll grow up to be stewards of the earth,” teacher Ellen Carleson said.

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Results are in: Your off-leash dog should earn you a citation

The Bainbridge Conversation’s last poll asked readers to weigh in on how the park district should handle the growing number of dogs at island parks. See related story here.

With a sturdy 53 percent of the vote, the top answer was for the park district to hand out citations to violators of off-leash and poop clean-up rules.

Coming in at Number Two with a distant 24 percent was a desire for the district to build more off-leash areas.

Seventeen percent said off-leash hours should be allowed at certain parks that get little use.

Five percent suggested that specially-trained dogs be allowed to go off-leash at parks.

And coming in last with one vote was the idea for an expanded off-leash area at Eagledale Park.

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French street gymnastics on Bainbridge Island

Parkour’s growing exposure on TV, movies and the Internet is sparking a lot of interest beyond the streets of France, where the acrobatic sport was invented less than two decades ago. Kids all over the U.S. have been inspired to try parkour’s daredevil moves, albeit through trial-and-error mimicry on park benches, stairwells and picnic tables.

Only one place in Kitsap is offering classes on how to do parkour properly and safely.

Head over HERE to see my story about Bainbridge park district’s parkour class and the young men who are building a local parkour scene. The story includes a video and photo gallery shot by Brad Camp.

Look below for some of parkour’s more iconic videos.

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City gearing up to transfer Ft. Ward Parade Grounds to park district

Below is the city’s press release about plans to transfer the Fort Ward Parade Grounds to the Bainbridge park district. The public hearing is later this month.

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, April 15, 2010 – The City of Bainbridge Island will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, April 28, 2010, to consider whether to deem the Fort Ward Parade Grounds properties surplus to the needs of the City of Bainbridge Island and authorize their transfer to the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park & Recreation District.

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First levy-backed park purchase may make the Grand Forest grander

I got word this weekend that the Bainbridge Parkland Acquisition Committee has finally settled on a property.

The committee, which was tasked with deciding how to spend the park district’s new levy-backed property acquisition fund, has recommended the purchase of a large parcel that would connect the two largest Grand Forest Park properties.

The 31-acre property, referred to as the Hill Top Tree Farm, stretches between the Grand Forest’s east and west sections, and includes forest, trails and a 7-acre meadow with views of the Olympic Mountains. It also includes an unoccupied cottage and a large barn.

The park district would use $500,000 in levy funds to match a $500,000 state grant. The combined $1 million would help the Bainbridge Island Land Trust make the full $2.75 million purchase.

BILT plans to turn over all or most of the land to the park district.

The property’s meadow could be used for an off-leash dog park, community gardens or open play areas, according to committee members.

I’ll have more on this later.

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