Friends of Pritchard Beach Park
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Background InformationThe Friends Of Pritchard Beach Park (FOPBP) is a neighborhood volunteer organization with twenty full-time members, in partnership with the Seattle Department of Parks And Recreation’s (SDPR) South Division. Its purpose is the restoration and recreation of the wetlands at Pritchard Beach Park in South Seattle, which we call The Wetland At Pritchard Beach Park Wildlife Educational Center. Our partners in this project include The Starflower Foundation, The Mid-Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group, The Seattle Audubon Society, The Seattle Sierra Club, The University Of Washington/ Washington Park Arboretum, The Seattle School District (Dunlap Elementary, South Shore Magnet Middle School, and Rainier Beach High School), First Place School (a school for homeless and at-risk children), and others. The Wetland At Pritchard Beach Park is located on the south west shore of Lake Washington in Rainier Beach, three miles south of Seward Park. The Island is bordered on the south by Beer Sheva/Atlantic City Park, and on the north by Pritchard Beach. The area is unused by the community other than to walk dogs. No groups or individuals use the site for any type of recreational or other usage. Why? The neighborhood believes that greenspace is vital in an urban area. We feel that people should have the benefit of interaction and education within a natural and open learning environment. The other options for the land were a sport field/facility or an ornamental garden. Our schoolchildren have no facilities for truly learning and appreciating the natural beauty that surrounds us. This will be their introduction into a natural setting where they can learn to respect the environment and grow in understanding of man’s impact on the land. We wish to show that animals and people can coexist, encourage children and adults to respect the natural environment, and provide stewardship opportunities to build a feeling of ownership and pride in our community.What? A 4.3-acre wetland restoration and enhancement, incorporating pathways, a pond , overlook "piers", educational signage, an amphitheater, a stream reaching into Lake Washington, art done by children and community residents, wet meadows and marsh meadows, uplands and lowlands. The bathhouse, rebuilt in 1996 will be our "indoor" home for environmental education. The property is owned by SDPR and is located at 5500 South Grattan Street, Seattle, WA 98118.Our educational goals are our own. FOPBP wishes to assist the schools in providing not only an outdoor classroom, but to interact with the students and teachers. We believe our participation strengthens our neighborhood, our schools, and our community. We have been awarded educational grants toward that end and have made a firm commitment to ourselves, our community, and our grantors to follow through on what we perceive as a vital part of The Wetland. How? Grant funds (1998 Grants awarded: King County Water Quality Block Grant $50,000, City Of Seattle Dept. Of Neighborhoods Matching Fund Grant $85,000, King County Urban Reforestation and Habitat Restoration Grant $8,000.) and private fundraising, along with foundation support. SDPR the World Conservation Corps, and private contractors will supply major earth moving and large scale planting. Nationally known landscape architectural firm Anderson & Ray is providing architectural drawings and support, site and hydrology interpretation, etc. Over 1000 volunteers within various partner organizations are committed to the preparation and sustainability of the project.History: Before the Lake Washington Ship Canal was opened in 1917, there was a wetland/marshland between Pritchard Island and the shore called Dunlap Slough, for Joseph Dunlap, who settled there in 1870. The island first belonged to A.B. Youngs, who sold it to an Englishman named Alfred Pritchard – hence the name. Mr. Pritchard spanned the slough with a footbridge and developed the island into a forest estate.The Olmstead Brothers recommended that the Island, marshland and slough be acquired to enhance the new Lake Washington Boulevard for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. By 1910, the year after the Exposition, the area had become so popular that a petition was presented calling for the construction of a bathing beach. The opening of the Ship Canal lowered the level of the lake nine feet—effectively draining the slough, leaving more land for Park Nursery development and connecting Pritchard Island to the mainland.The remnants of the slough were culverted and now drain into the south end of the bathing beach, creating a soggy, unusable area. The marshland itself (now semi-dry land) had been leased by Seattle City Light as a nursery since 1954. City Light has returned the land to the Department of Parks and Recreation. The Pritchard Beach Neighborhood and SDPR have worked together on several projects to a successful conclusion and are very pleased to be working together again. Background: In October of 1996, The Pritchard Beach Community Council and SDPR held a meeting to decide on use for the area once it was returned to them. The community and SDPR agreed that a natural wetland/learning environment would be priority. FOPBP was formed and new members continue to join.The neighborhood and area businesses have joined to publicize, provide volunteers and funds for the successful completion and stewardship of The Reserve, and to meet our educational goals. The Seattle School District (SSD) is committed to integrating wetlands/environmental education into all learning disciplines to meet Essential Learning Requirements (ERLs) as outlined by SSD. This project will be a prototype for twenty other schools to follow in their efforts to meet ERLs. The neighborhood planning committee encourages community involvement and commitment and oversees the addition and role of partner groups. SDPR can supply volunteer coordination, Neighborhood assistance planning, construction and maintenance crews, but cannot fund capital projects. Their resources are limited, so they rely on community volunteerism to start new projects and coordinate the effort. FOPBP is totally committed to ensuring the success of all phases of The Reserve.The Future: Phase II of the wetland project is getting ready to start. In this phase, we plan to complete our pathways, install viewing piers, an amphitheater, boardwalks, benches, more plants, a wet meadow and other site amenities. An informational kiosk at the entrance to the wetland will contain in maps and site descriptions. The kiosk is being built by The Boy Scouts Troop #457, and supplies furnished by The Rainier Rotary Club and Eagle Hardware. We have received $6,000 through Seattle Public Utilities’ S.T.E.P. (Stewardship Through Environmental Partnerships) grant program. We have applied for funding through the Department of Neighborhoods. We will be writing other grants and looking for future partners in the continuation of this neighborhood and community project. We will continue working with our schools and partners to create an educational program the fits with the schools’ academic requirements, with the help of our partners at Seattle Public Utilities and The Alliance For Education. We are working with The Parks Department to create programs with South Seattle’s first naturalist dedicated to this area. We are very excited about the opportunities being given to our parks and Friends Of Parks groups. We have even formed an alliance of South Seattle Friends of Parks group, The South East Parks Advisory Council. This group is made up of Parks Friends groups from Coleman, Deadhorse Canyon, Bradner Gardens Park, Genesee, Seward Park, Martha Washington. This fledgling group of veteran parks volunteers hopes to inspire and support other parks groups and help create programs for our parks and share resources we have gathered.The Friends Of Pritchard Beach Park:
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Send mail to fopbp@slingshot.com
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