The opening of the Cedar River trail

Opening of the Cedar River Trail

Glacier Park Green Team adopts the trail

This fall, the City of Maple Valley and King County working together made major improvements on the south end of the Cedar River Trail that winds through the forest near Glacier Park.  This trail stretches from the Cedar River in Renton beyond 280th street near Glacier Park.  A perfect place to walk the dog, bike with the family, or connect with nature, the trail winds its way through Maple Valley like a backbone; connecting neighborhoods, and providing a alternative  "green" mode of transportation.  

Prior to the opening of the trail, and in conjunction with Make A Difference Day, the Tahoma High School Green Team  members along with their advisor Mrs. Nance removed trash and debris. 
The Glacier Park Elementary School Green Team has adopted the trail and will walk the trail four times a year to clean up trash and report any needs for repair or other concerns.  Glacier Park Green Team was on hand for the ceremonial ribbon cutting and are looking forward to the opportunity to provide stewardship to this precious natural resource.  Maple Valley is a wonderful place to live and raise a family.  Our quality of life is enhanced because we have places in our city, like this trail, where we can relax, enjoy nature, and spend time with our families. 

Make a Diffence Day Success

On the 18th of October the large storage container was moved from in front of the Glacier Park Garden.  Make a Difference Day is Saturday and I have big plans for this space; but are overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done.  The Maple Valley Make a Difference committee has awarded us $250.00 to build 6 new boxes, Cedar Grove compost has donated compost to fill the boxes, P&D tree service will supply wood chips, and I am counting on a large crowd of Glacier Park families to provide the manpower.

On Saturday morning a rise extra early to give my son a ride to the airport; it's 4:30 a.m. and raining so hard that it is almost impossible to see the white lines on the road.  Each time I splash through one large puddle on the road  my heart sinks a little lower with the knowledge that our turn out will be small if at all in this wet, wet, wet weather. 

Once home, I load the lumber into the truck, the rain is has changed from pelting to a drizzle, and I head for Glacier Park. From the top of the hill; I catch my breath, Look at all the cars!  I drive around back, through the gate, and see many families have arrived.  Awesome!  Glacier Park Families rock!    Everyone is anxious to chip in; several dads start on the boxes and the garden is a beehive of activity. 
In the end, everything on the "To Do" list is done.  Glacier Park has a well organized garden with 14 raised beds ready to plant in the spring.  What an honor it is to work with families that have such a strong sense of community.  All of the produce grown in the garden is donated to the Maple Valley Food Bank.

Our Garden has become a great outdoor classroom.  The worm bin gives us the opportunity to show students decomposers, vermiculite, anatomy of a worm, and sustainability.  This year we plan to add Orchard bees to the garden.  Orchard bees are a non-stinging bee that does not colonize or create honey.  They are an early spring bee and are the primary pollinator of fruit trees.  This will naturally lead into pollination, plant life cycle, and photosynthesis.  Last year may class noticed that the fruit trees had little bugs that were causing the leaves to roll up. We used the computer to research and found that the trees had aphids; upon further observation we noticed that there were 1,000's of small ants all over the tree branches.  This was an opportunity to show how some insects have a symbiotic relationship.  The possibilities are endless. 

Thank you to Mr. Maryanski who could see the possibilities and helped to get the container moved. This wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for the parents and students who care for the community and volunteered their time to work in the garden.  Thank you to the support we received from the community; P&D tree service, Cedar Grove Compost, and Make a Difference Committee.