How appropriate it was to ask Skyview Junior High eighth-graders Hailey Hunt and Jenna Hyppa to serve as emcees. The occasion was the groundbreaking last week of the $10-million Environmental Education and Community Center they and hundreds more school children will use to explore the wonders of the natural sciences and discover the need for a healthy and sustainable environment.
We should mark Sept. 10, 2009 on our calendar of potential historic events. Hailey and Jenna introduced a wave of speakers whose messages were direct and to the point. The next great challenge facing our region and our country is marshalling public support for facilities and funding for environmental education. New breakthroughs surely are on the national horizon on the very ground their teachers have staked out for the 14,400-square-foot center’s exhibit hall, community room and science labs.
I can envision these students returning for the 10th anniversary of this groundbreaking, secure in having received their environmental science college degrees. They will be embarking on challenging careers in the rigors of habitat preservation and restoration, researching the prospects for futuristic green jobs, and with the opportunity to teach others the value of clean water, clean air.
The ceremonies were sponsored by the Friends of the Hidden River and King County and were held on the 111-acre site of the Brightwater wastewater treatment plant off Highway 9 in Woodinville (also known to many as the township of Grace). A tour of the construction site followed the obligatory golden shovel spade work that represented hundreds and hundreds of planning hours and several million dollars in grants and mitigation fees that will make this center a reality within the next two years.
Seven years of planning hours by a dedicated band of science teachers led to the organization of the Friends of the Hidden River. They have been unrelenting in their advocacy to King and Snohomish county leaders, finally convincing policymakers of the importance of environmental education.
Educator Mike Town summarized the occasion beautifully, noting that those assembled had the opportunity to “revolutionize environmental education,” reminding skeptics and supporters alike that “the best form of mitigation is education.”
Indeed, it was a great day for the environment. In Hailey and Jenna, the next generation provided important symbols of the importance and possibilities for environmental stewardship right in our own back yard.
Off and running
For well more than a year now we have been following closely the development of “The Music Project” at the district’s Secondary Academy for Success (SAS). Some heartwarming personal achievement stories have been coming from that program. Just recently, we learned that two students at SAS, Jazmin and Sibley, have been accepted in the running start program at Cascadia Community College. They are but juniors!
San Juan discovery
Until introduced to them this warm summer by Yvonne Swanberg, I had very little knowledge of the Madeleine d’Angevine or Siegerrebe grapes or the delight of experiencing the wines they produce. I discovered them at Yvonne’s San Juan Vineyards, located near Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. These European-style grapes are a perfect fit for the relatively cool growing climate of the San Juan Islands. Yvonne welcomed us with a special tour of her vineyards, tasting room and production facilities. She has three acres planted in those two white grape varieties, as well as a few rows of pinot noir.
Widowed two years ago, Yvonne carries on the winery with the help of winemaker Chris Primus, an alum of Woodinville’s Columbia Winery, and a pair of former AmericaCorps and East Coast college graduates who wanted to experience life in the vineyards. They previously had worked in flood restoration projects in Iowa and Louisiana. Yvonne’s winery produces 4,000 cases a year, no small operation.
Picnicking on the deck of her historic renovated schoolhouse, we sampled the estate grown 2007 vintage of the d’Angevine and the 2008 bottling of Siegerrebe. Our companions found them crisp, fruity and just right for a summer spread of crab, salmon and salad. The wines are reasonably priced, surprisingly scarce inasmuch as both vintages are virtually sold out. Yvonne has a new distributor and is throwing her marketing net out a little farther so you may be able to find a bottle in our area. If not, the winery experience is worth a day trip to the islands. She has a very informative Web site at www.sanjuanvineyard.com.
John B. Hughes was owner-publisher of the Northshore Citizen from 1961 to 1988 and is active in local nonprofit organizations.
