Little Kids, Big City
On Tuesday, May 27, at noon, the Seattle Parks and Recreational Department's registration opens for their fact-packed nature programs. If you haven't been before, the Environmental Learning Centers' classes aren't snore-inducing biology lectures. Instead, the hikes and walks are more like a hands-on PBS nature show, without the gory bits.
By Lora Shinn | May 26, 2008
Daily Find
A recent search for a field guide on the birds of Northern India led me to the charming new digs of Flora & Fauna Books. Last April, the Seattle institution moved from its subterranean space in Pioneer Square to an adorable cottage just outside Discovery Park in Magnolia.
By Kathy Schultz | January 8, 2008
Daily Find
From the antlers and crows showing up on artist Brian McGuffey's canvas at Square Room to the aviary candles at Burnt Sugar, Seattle home décor is going to the birds. And the deer. And the squirrels.
By Natalie Bow | February 28, 2007
Seattle Style File
The trio of owners has transformed the petite boutique for fall. A pair of antlers hangs outside the shop. The exterior and interior walls are now a deep plum color, an oversized gilt framed mirror gives the illusion of spaciousness, a faux raven sits atop a pair of stag horns adorned with necklaces, and a black "crystal" chandelier is squarely centered on the ceiling. While it doesn't replicate the intensity of Norman Bates' taxidermy decor, it certainly gives a nod in that direction with an emphasis on organic and entomologically influenced accessories.
By Kathy Schultz | September 15, 2006
BOW, Skagit County -- Patricia Lott and Ann Marie Wood may not be able to run or climb mountains anymore, but they've found something that's given them wings to soar above their troubles.
And they want to share it.
Birding, they say, has given them back their lives.
By Greg Johnston | February 24, 2005
For young children, any journey through Carkeek Park is a treasure hunt: They might unearth starfish and geoducks while walking on the beach at low tide; or find salmon fry in the river as they hike on a forested trail; or shriek with excitement as trains roar under the overpass where they cross from beach to playground.
Imagine, though, how much more they could discover with a guide.
That's the role naturalist Brian Gay is taking on for his "tyke hikes" at 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays, when he leads young children through outdoor activities at the North Seattle park.
By Rebekah Denn | February 3, 2005
VICTORIA, B.C. What can you say about Liberty Excedera St. Louis except that she's out to bug you?
Excedera, as she prefers to be known, interprets creepy-crawler behavior at the Victoria Bug Zoo for kids who sit enthralled at her beetle-tattooed ankles to hear her tales of bug love and potty habits.
"I'm also well-known for putting bugs on kids faces," she threatened visitors one day last fall.
"Oooh, that's disgusting," someone sneered.
Exactly.
By Sally Macdonald and John Macdonald | April 1, 2004
Take a Walk
Location: Anacortes.
Length: One-mile loop (with plans for additional trails).
Level of difficulty: Level-to-moderate dirt/gravel trail.
By Cathy McDonald | March 18, 2004
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK I've driven to Hurricane Ridge before, but never like this, never with traveling companions of this caliber: an anthropologist, a naturalist and poet, a couple of park rangers and two Native American storytellers.
By Connie McDougall | September 11, 2003
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND When husband-and-wife philanthropists Paul and Debbi Brainerd founded Puget Sound Environmental Learning Center, publicity focused on the wooded campus's mission to inspire schoolchildren about nature. But as the center is finding its feet a process including a significant name change it's also luring adults, with classes on everything from cooking to passive solar energy.
Actually, the $52 million, 255-acre compound, now known officially as IslandWood, also appeals to curious adults who want to see what the kids get, and what they're missing.
By Gordon Black | November 28, 2002
