Photos of April 29 mtg at Brightwater

     Woodinville Rotary Club's President Rick Pisani rang the bell 7am Tuesday morning, one week after Earth Day, off site, at King County's Brightwater Treatment Center, a waste water treatment facility located in Grace and hosted by the Greater Grace Provisional Rotary Club. Mayor for Life, Terry Jarvis and Police Chief, Don Fitzpatrick we're officially on duty for the introductions of our speakers from King County and the Friends of the Hidden River. In attendance were also members of the Grace municipality, in particular, Erv DeSmet, First Citizen of Grace. Honors were bestowed on visitors, members and guests.

     Opening in 2010 as a fundraising project from the Friends of the Hidden River, the Brightwater Environmental Education & Community Center will be a regional state of the art project from our area's prominent teachers and environmental educators and intended to be a national model. The team has worked since 2002 to develop a center for citizens to learn to balance our "wants" with the community's need to have a healthy environment. The future Center will house buildings, programs, exhibits, grounds, treatment plant and test beds used to highlight the many environmental issues our growing community is facing. The Center's major emphasis will be to put forth down to earth programs. The ultimate goal is to boost local and regional efforts to restore and sustain our Puget Sound community.

The Center will provide a 70-acre community park for members of the community to learn about critical issues such as water quality and energy independence and will create a hub for local discussions to identify, create and enact solutions to significant issues affecting local, regional, and national environmental quality and sustainability.

Gardens, creeks, wetland restoration, meadows, overlooks, ponds and boardwalks are all part of the grandiose plan for the Center just north of our Woodinville boundary in the greater state of Grace.

Friends of the Hidden River ask Woodinville Rotary Club to consider helping with this regional project through endorsements, fundraising, providing letters of support for public and private grant applications as well as choosing to support a discrete part of the Center. The overall goal: $3.8 million for the Regional Community Environmental Education Center.

For more information: http://dnr.kingcounty.gov/WTD/brightwater/

                                                                                Respectfully submitted, Susan Webster

Photo highlights of meeting at Brightwater


Michael Popiwny outlined status of overall Brightwater project	Don Fitzpatrick compared notes with science teacher John Schmied on the work of Hidden River organization

Tana Baumler and Egon Molbak were among those taking the tour, guided by John Schmied through the more than 40 acres being restored as natural habitat and trails.

Michael Popiwyn (in safety vest) tell Steve Dolan and Ken Kirkpatrick that two more cranes will dot the skyline next week as construction momentum continues to build on the Brightwater site.

Note Grace Mountain in the distance, the high ground forestation under protective cover.

Below, members take tour, see location
for community environmental education center.