Blue Heron Park is a small {.50} acre park at the edge of Lake Forest Park. McAleer Creek, which is a salmon spawning creek runs along the edge of the park as it crosses STR 522 and connects with Lake Washington. Originally privately owned, the park was purchased by the city wit Open Space bonds in 1989.
A pedestrian bridge was constructed to allow safe access from the park to the Town Center and was completed in 2010.
OVERALL GOAL OF THIS RESTORATION
The park will be restored to its natural beauty by focusing on native plants, pollinators and other plants that support natural wildlife. It will be an inviting place for the community to enjoy and to learn about how to create a similar habitat on their site.
CURRENT RESTORATION PLAN
The restoration has begun with the left side of the park which has been cleared of invasives and overgrown plants, invasive plants and several small trees not native to the area. In the spring the soil will be amended and planting will begin. At that time we will be installing a watering system to support the new planting. Once that has been established we will move to the other side of the park which is a somewhat different microclimate and has different requirements.
We will be creating new signage to enhance the educational experience. In the future classes will be offered to further assist the community in the knowledge of native and pollinator plants. We will be working along the creek to further support the successful return of the salmon.
COMMUNITY EFFORT
This project is supported by the city of Lake Forest Park Public Works, Community Development, the city arborist, Stormwater manager, Lake Forest Park Rotary, Interact students, LFP Stewardship Foundation and citizen volunteers. We will be active at city events during the year.
We are inviting other Rotary Clubs to visit us to see how this project works and are happy to provide any information we can to assist other clubs in such endeavors.
Contact Linda Holman lhholman@comcast.net
