Shoreline’s 1st Annual Wildlife Habitat Tour: A Sneak Peak

By Jennifer Rotermund

Shoreline’s 1st Annual “Where Our Wild Things Are” Habitat Tour is just over one week away. The tour will be on Saturday, July 10 from 10 am - 4 pm. There will be mini-learning experiences at each of the eight habitats on the tour, which are designed to demonstrate how easy and fun it is to create a beautiful sanctuary for wildlife in your own yard.

The tour is free of charge, open to the public and begins at Calvin Presbyterian Church, 18826 3rd Ave NW, Shoreline 98177, where maps and directions for the tour will be available. For more information, visit WOWTA’s website or search WOWTA on Facebook.

To give you a small taste of the habitats open to the public on July 10, the following list is a run-down of the name given to each habitat on the tour and a few of the special features you’ll see when you visit:

• Gaiaceous Gardens: Combines a wildlife habitat with an urban farm

• Potpourri Garden: Combines a native plant garden, a fern garden and a special water feature

• Bog House: Combines a bog and rain garden with a cistern reusing gray water 

• Flicker Garden: Includes a tree snag, a bird-lovers garden, and well-loved pollinators 

• Tall Trees and Towhees: Features the use of mature native trees as a backyard habitat 

• Garden Oasis: Boasts a year-round garden oasis with water features for wildlife and people

• Low Impact Design: Utilizes extensive gray water and rainwater catchment systems incorporating a bog garden with Permaculture design concepts, native plants & tree snags

• The Verdant Stump Urbanstead: The official home of “Stumpie” (a very special tree snag), an extensive collections of bird houses, a large compost system and worm bin, bog garden, flicker bark feeder, native plants and edible food, rain garden, soil soup and keyhole raised bed.

 A modern wildlife habitat can include many different features. The WOWTA Habitat Tour team would like you to experience just how easily a wildlife habitat can be incorporated into your yard – no matter what your interests or priorities are.

The WOWTA team says, "Please come out and join us in the launch of a new legacy in Shoreline by attending this inaugural event."

Photos by Pearl Portraits