www.givebigwa.org/FRIENDSOFFORTWORDEN
Since my wife and I moved from Seattle to Port Townsend in 2015, one of our favorite places has been
Fort Worden
State Park. We enjoy reading and sunsets on the beach, walking along forest trails and gun batteries on Artillery Hill, taking photographs, wandering the new Chinese Gardens Interpretive Trail, attending concerts, workshops, and other events there, and getting espresso drinks at Reveille and other drinks at Taps.
To give back to the park, we also volunteer for several nonprofit organizations that operate there:
Centrum Foundation
(both of us), Port Townsend Marine Science Center
(Donna), and Friends of Fort Worden State Park
.I've been especially involved with the all-volunteer Friends of Fort Worden since 2019, becoming a board member and helping with communications, marketing, fundraising, and trail maintenance.
In just the past couple of years, Friends has launched a multiyear Habitat Restoration Initiative, restored a historic guard shack, installed trail steps and building handrails for public safety, installed the Chinese Garden Interpretive Trail, purchased landscape maintenance equipment, paid for trail, traffic, and directional signs, and funded two AmeriCorps service members for habitat restoration and public outreach for 10 months. And more -- including maintaining the trails and removing Scotch broom and invasive dune grass.
From May 4-5, Friends will take part in the annual statewide
GiveBIG
fundraising campaign. I've been supporting our planning for that important event. We're seeking to raise enough money during GiveBIG to fund two AmeriCorps members from fall 2021 to summer 2022. And we're hoping to raise funds for other projects, such as restoring a historic gas station and fulfilling other needs not funded by Washington State Parks.Fort Worden is a favorite destination not only for Port Townsend residents but also for visitors from across Washington and beyond. Please consider supporting Friends' mission to preserve and improve this wondrous state park as a recreational, historic, educational, and natural resource.
To make a onetime or recurring donation, please visit this website: www.givebigwa.org/FRIENDSOFFORTWORDEN.
