The Octopus Tree
Some of the trees here at SHADOW are hundreds of years old. Standing tall, sharing nutrients, weathering storms. These beings were growing tall while the original inhabitants of the wetland harvested Bog Tea, settlers changed the landscape, and when the land received...
2018 SHADOW in the Community
2018 held some memorable community events that we will cherish for years to come. In May, we kicked off strong with Art in the Open Air. Local artists came to be inspired by the beauty that is SHADOW, creating varied forms of art right on the grounds! The...
2018 Overview
This year with the help and support of our grassroots community, SHADOW Lake Nature Preserve... Received a Natural Heritage Designation from the Department of Natural Resources. Became a research site for an EPA funded study on bogs. Broke ground on a 17-acre...
SHADOW Office Closure
SHADOW Lake Nature Preserve's Office will be closed for the last two weeks of December and first week of January. (12/16/18 - 1/7/19) The Nature Preserve's grounds remain open to the public from 9 am - 6 pm, Monday - Saturday during this closure. SHADOW Lake Nature...
SHADOW is Hiring
Are you passionate about Preserving green spaces, Restoring wildlife habitat, and providing inclusive environmental education? Do you want to work in a beautiful, woodland office, just outside of Renton? Development Manager SHADOW Lake Nature Preserve is...
Goodbye Ali!
SHADOW's Restoration & Education Manager, Ali Yeates, has accepted a new position and is moving on from the Nature Preserve. She will be working on Forterra's Green City partnerships in South King County. We are sad to see her go but excited to see her grow her...
Katie’s SHADOW Story
It has been 1 year since I first visited SHADOW Lake Nature Preserve. My husband and I had recently moved to Renton and I was looking for a way to get involved in the community. The Volunteer Match website let me select my interests and found a few opportunities very...
Native Plant of the Month: Labrador Tea
Labrador Tea - Ledum groenlandicum Highly valued for its numerous medicinal uses, Labrador tea is an especially bog-loving species. It can tolerate standing water and stresses like low nutrients and acidic soils. Ledum groenlandicumresponds to...
Animals in Winter: Rough-skinned Newt
Rough-skinned Newt - Taricha granulosa The rough-skinned newt, named for its rough granular skin, is a medium to large-sized newt with a rounded snout and bright orange underside. The rough-skinned newt is the most common salamander found in the Pacific Northwest and...
Native Plant of the Month: Sword Fern
Sword Fern - Polystichum munitum Another classic plant in the Pacific Northwest is the sword fern. These ferns are extremely versatile and resilient. They thrive in moist soil and almost full shade, but can also survive in full shade and low nutrient soils. The...
Natural Heritage Registry
At the end of October, the Natural Heritage Advisory Council voted to include the Shadow Lake bog in the Washington Register of Natural Areas, in recognition of the high conservation value of the bog and Shadow Lake Nature Preserve's efforts to protect the site!...
Exciting Match Opportunity Available, NOW!
Here is a special opportunity for you! An anonymous donor has offered to match your year-end gift to SHADOW Lake Nature Preserve! For every dollar you donate during the last two months of 2018, SHADOW will receive DOUBLE the funds. Don't miss this...
Native Animal of the Month: Peregrine falcon
Peregrine falcons - Falco peregrinus Peregrine falcons are found all over the world. Adult peregrines are blue-gray above with barred underparts and a dark head with thick dark sideburns resembling a helmet. Juveniles are heavily marked, with vertical streaks...
New Rules of Access
At SHADOW Lake Nature Preserve we are mission driven to provide critical habitat for wildlife and access to green spaces. We strive to be continuously mindful of how best to achieve these two, occasionally contradictory, ends. In the coming weeks you may notice...
Nothing is scarier than forgetting to vote!
It's hard to imagine that we could make any difference at all on something as immense as climate change, but there's great news! Your 2018 Washington vote will change the course of history. Keep an eye out for Initiative 1631 this November. If passed, this initiative...
Halloween in the Haunted Peat Bog
Come celebrate the Halloween weekend at SHADOW Lake Nature Preserve! Here are some Spooky Bog Facts: 1. Archaeologists have discovered human remains in peat bogs across Europe. These bodies are mummified cadavers that have been tanned and preserved...
Native Animal of the Month: Little Brown Bat
Little Brown Bat - Myotis lucifugus Although often considered pests, bats are essential species of ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. The little brown bat Myotis lucifugus is the most commonly observed bat in Washington state. Next time you see a bat, look to...
Native Plant of the Month: Scarlet Elderberry
Scarlet Elderberry - Sambucus racemosa To identify a scarlet elderberry, try to find shrubs that have downy green leaves with strong, distinctive odor. They have half-ball mound of small white flowers in conical or pyramidal shaped clusters that appear in March and...
Frog Frolic Wrap Up 2018
Thank you! Thank you! The Frog Frolic was so much fun! We hope you enjoyed the fabulous music, games, prizes, and auction. Thank you to our volunteers, donors, and participants at the unfrogettable 22nd Annual Frog Frolic. We raised over $6,000 to continuing our...
September Volunteer Spotlight
Adam Spears donated over 100 hours of his summer vacation from Green River College to SHADOW Lake Nature Preserve in the form of a Restoration Internship. During these past few months, Adam was hard at work removing invasive species from SHADOW's grounds. He also...
Bog Restoration Abroad
Could a drainage ditch once again be a bog? Bogs and mires are viewed as places of mystery and peace in Estonian heritage. Estonia is home to some of the world's oldest bogs and peatlands and they make up a fifth of this country's mainland. About a quarter of...
