Brown Bag Lunch Lecture Series begins in January

Published 12:18 pm Monday, December 22, 2014

The Brown Bag Lunch Lecture Series, presented by the Bainbridge Island Land Trust and West Sound Wildlife Shelter, will begin Friday, Jan. 9 and is set to include five lectures by local experts on unique Bainbridge Island wildlife and landscape topics.

All lectures take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Waterfront Community Center, 370 Brien Drive NE. Attendees are encouraged to bring a sack lunch.

There is a suggested donation of $3 to support the land trust and the shelter. The class schedule includes:

Friday, Jan. 9: Jeff Adams of Washington Sea Grant discussing “Bainbridge’s Verdant Beach Beauties and the (Not-So) Big Bad Crab.”

A biologically special, attractive and geographically constrained group of plants grows around the sea’s upper margin. Most of these salt marsh or shoreline plants can’t be too far from saltwater, but they can’t be submerged for too long either. Many have special adaptations for such regular contact with salt water. Others are adapted to the very well-draining sands and gravels just beyond the high tides. Come take a digital tour of some of Bainbridge Island’s coolest and plants with their attractive forms, colorful flowers and their very limited habitat. The locations where these plants are found also make suitable habitat for the invasive European green crab, now known to be established near Victoria. There will be a brief talk about the crabs, their preferred habitats and a nascent monitoring program with examples for suitable habitat on Bainbridge Island.

Friday, Feb. 6: West Sound Wildlife Shelter representatives discuss “Become a Certified Back Yard Habitat.” Whether you have an apartment balcony or a 20-acre farm, you can create a garden that attracts beautiful wildlife and helps to restore habitat in commercial and residential areas. By providing food, water, cover and a place for wildlife to raise their young, you not only help wildlife, but you also qualify to become an official NWF Certified Community Wildlife Habitat and join the nearly 140,000 sites across the country.

Friday, March 13: John van den Meerendonk discussing “Native Plants and You!”

Come in for a special presentation on Bainbridge Island native plants by BILT board member John van den Meerendonk. He will share his knowledge of unique plant life of the Pacific Northwest. You might even get some ideas for plants in your own backyard in preparation for the land trust’s native plant sale in April. With a rich background in plant science and horticulture, including five years as the horticultural and grounds superintendent at the Bloedel Reserve, van den Meerendonk presently  works with Botanica, Inc., a landscape consulting, design and installation company he founded in 1990.

Friday, April 10: West Sound Wildlife Shelter presents “Leave Me Wild.”

As baby season approaches, what should you do if you find baby wild animals that appear to be abandoned? Most of the time the babies are not abandoned at all. Parents have left their babies to forage for food, and the babies know to stay put. Learn what to do if a baby animal appears to be injured or is in definite need of help.

Friday, May 8: Susan Marie Andersson talks about “Southern Resident Killer Whales in the Salish Sea.”

An extended clan of Orcinus Orca known as the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs) socialize and forage in inland waters of Washington and British Columbia.

Certified marine naturalist Susan Marie Andersson has watched this wonderful iconic mammal from the shores of Bainbridge Island and will be talking about why they are in danger and what needs to be done to help them recover so that they are here for our future generations to experience.

Visit www.bi-landtrust.org for more information.