By Kim Cantrell, Little Bird Gardens April is National Native Plant Appreciation Month. It began in 2003 as a weeklong observance, sparked by a conversation between Fred Weinmann, President of the Washington Native Plant Society (WNPS), and Bill Brookreson, a state board member. “Native Plant Appreciation Month celebrates all the individuals and groups who have…
Island Resilience, May 2025, Recipes
Mayo is Magic
By Marc J. Elzenbeck For decades I thought mayo was the province of professionals and was too intimidated to try my hand. But looking at store shelves full of white stuff made with industrial oils at $10 a jar provided the final oomph. (What is a canola? Where does it grow?) Turns out, mayonnaise is…
April 2025, Island Resilience
Tax Game Time
By Stephen Buller Benjamin Franklin wrote, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” Perhaps one of his less inspiring quotes, but the sentiment holds true today, arguably more so than in 1789. In case you’d forgotten, your federal taxes are due on the 15th of this month. If…
April 2025, Island Resilience
Island to Island, Forest to Forests: Part 1
By Jane Valencia Vashon-born and raised and a 2024 University of British Columbia graduate, Mabel Moses, has worked with “The Mother Tree Project.” With a mission to practice forestry in a way that better preserves biodiversity and carbon storage, MTP was started by Dr. Suzanne Simard who many forest-loving Vashonites know for her work with…
Island Resilience, Island Voices, March 2025
The Case of the Fortunate Sheepdog
By Marc J. Elzenbeck On Monday, February 10th on Wax Orchard, the road was still dark at 6:47 AM. Something had knocked over a big Murrey’s blue bin near 249th, plastic and metal recycling was blocking southbound lane. I steered around and my kid said, “If you ran over that, it might’ve popped a tire.”…
February 2025, Island Resilience
Terribly Terrific Tariffs
By Stephen Buller Tariffs are a tax imposed on imports into a country. They have two main effects: First, like all taxes, they raise revenue for the government; second, they discourage imports from the relevant country by increasing the price of goods. Are they good or bad? In short, they’re bad, just like every other…
Children, Island Resilience, January 2025
Herbs with Kids – Winter Wonder and Vitality
By Jane Valencia Author’s Note: For plant safety basics when foraging, read “Herbs With Kids – Plant Safety Basics and a Few Summertime Remedies” – published August 2023 and available on vashonloop.com With the rain, cold, mud, and leafless trees, winter seems a bleak landscape for herbal adventure. But nature never leaves us bereft. For…
December 2024, Island Resilience
Development is Coming. Let’s Make it Work for Us.
By March Twisdale Over the past few weeks, Islanders have heard about a new residential development planned for the open acreage behind the IGA. Reaction was mixed, with some red flags flapping wildly in the social media wind. Of the reactions put forth by Islanders, on Facebook, the following sentiments should concern us all. –…
December 2024, Island Resilience
The Money Party
By Stephen Buller It’s been more than a month since the 47th President of the United States was elected, and nobody living today can remember a time when our country didn’t operate on a two-party system. Although the party holding various positions influences laws, court rulings, and other governance, I’ll argue that your daily life is…
Island Resilience, November 2024
Managing Mother Nature
By Jo Ann Herbert If all of us died the earth would heal itself. Calling a plant a “weed” is like calling a human a racial slur. Every plant has a name and a purpose on earth. Are we to pull out all these plants we call “invasives?” We need more information about each. That…