Students, faculty and staff collaborate to bring new signage and geocaching tours to O.O. Denny Park in Kirkland, Washington.
As any good outdoor enthusiast knows, the first rule of exploring nature is: 鈥淟eave no trace.鈥� There are, however, the occasional exceptions to this principle 鈥� such as when small, human-made additions to wild places raise awareness about conservation and other environmental issues.
When Ash Putzke spent their summers as a kid catching salmon fry at the mouth of Denny Creek in Kirkland, Washington, they never imagined they would someday leave their own mark on the park.
Now, as a senior double majoring in Earth System Science and in Biology at the 91探花 Bothell, Putzke recently played an instrumental role in developing several new features for Kirkland鈥檚 O.O. Denny Park 鈥� including signage to educate visitors about salmon as well as geocaching tours.
鈥淥.O. Denny Park is my favorite park in Kirkland. I鈥檝e spent so many hours wandering around there and catching fry there as a kid,鈥� Putzke said. 鈥淪almon work is so important, and I鈥檓 thrilled to be part of it. To have these signs here and know that I helped put them there is a really cool feeling.鈥�