- Vashon Rotary, PO Box 1742, Vashon WA 98070, United States
- vashonrotary@gmail.com
VASHON SUSTAINABILITY TOUR with Virtual Links
Sun 11- Mon 12 APRIL 2021, 10am-4pm unless stated otherwise
Sustainability is the ability to endure over very long periods of time, the capacity to support, maintain or endure; it is both a goal and a process. Sustainable systems do not exhaust their required inputs without the reuse or recycling of system output as input.
Future Generations thank you for all your sustainable actions!
Vashon Solar LLC, Harbor School
Harbor School Community Solar, 15920 Vashon Hwy SW- Vashon Solar LLC was the first community solar project to come on line in unincorporated King County. Our mission is to create solar industry in the state and demonstrate solar is a sustainable long term energy solution. “Community solar” allows people/businesses to pool their funds to build larger installations on a public property. Phase one (44 modules) started producing power in January 2014. Phase 2 (41 modules) went on line August, 2014. Together they total 18 kW of power.
Ober Park Recycling Station (Vashon Parks)
Ober Park Recycling Station (Vashon Parks), newly constructed by Vashon Makerspace and Zero Waste Vashon volunteers, funded by a King County CSA grant.
Vashon Library Green Roof & Rain Landscape
King County Vashon Library, 17210 Vashon Highway SW was designed with several green features, including a green roof to reduce stormwater runoff and help keep the building cool in the summer. To bring more light into the building, the roof above the reading room area is punctuated by three light monitors, which create an airy and open space to read and study. At night, the light monitors become beacons of light from the street, increasing the library’s visibility in the community. The library offers patrons a thoughtful place to read and interact, while connecting them gracefully to their surroundings with enhanced views of the surrounding park with rainwater friendly landscaping.
Village Green Recycling Station (Vashon Parks & VIGA)
Village Green Recycling Station (Vashon Parks & VIGA), newly constructed by Vashon Makerspace and Zero Waste Vashon volunteers, funded by a King County CSA grant.
Granny's Attic
Granny’s Attic, 17707 100th SW – contributes to health care for Vashon Island residents by fostering health-related charitable and educational needs of the community (funding over $2.2 million for projects and rent) by refurbishing and selling donated items at affordable prices, with a vibrant recycling program and a new partnership with Goodwill of Seattle. Over a hundred dedicated volunteers and staff fuel the Island’s centerpiece of the circular economy.
Vashon Adventures
- Vashon Adventures, 17816 Vashon Hwy SW- a great island source for electric bikes as transportation and recreation-mention the Sustainability Tour, and 10% of your e-bike rental will be donated to the Vashon Rotary Foundation; or if you don’t plan on renting a bike, pop in and learn about the power consumption and cost per mile for e-bikes and other forms of transportation.
Mukai Farm & Garden
Mukai Farm and Garden, 18017 107th Avenue SW: [attended Sunday 11AM-12 noon, grounds open access other times]. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the restored Mukai House and Japanese Garden offers a glimpse into the life of the Mukai family from 1926 to 1942. The restoration of the two ponds in the Japanese strolling garden was completed in 2019. The ponds are currently undergoing a Phase 2 renovation which aims to nudge them toward a more natural state, mimicking a closed ecosystem capable of sustaining itself with minimal external inputs.
Vashon Recycling & Transfer Station
King County Vashon Recycling & Transfer Station, 18900 Westside Hwy S.W. [attended , April 12 from noon to 2:00 p.m.] {Sustainability Features} To help meet its Zero Waste of Resources goal, King County offers recycling services at seven transfer stations, including Vashon Recycling & Transfer Station (VRTS). In addition to accepting garbage, VRTS accepts a wide variety of recyclable materials from Vashon residents and businesses, including yard waste. A staff member will be available to explain what recyclable materials are accepted at VRTS, how to sort materials, ways to prevent waste, to answer your questions and hear your ideas about VRTS recycling. While supplies last, tour participants will receive a durable tote bag featuring information about what recyclable materials are not accepted in garbage at VRTS.
Burn Design Lab & Meadow Creature, (Sheffield Bldg warehouse)
Burn Design Lab & Metal Creature, (Sheffield Bldg warehouse),18850 103rd Ave SW- [attended Monday 2-4PM] BURN Design Lab is a Vashon-based non-profit organization whose mission is to save lives and forests in the developing world through the design and local production of clean burning cookstoves. BURN designs customized biomass stoves to meet the diverse cooking needs of the developing world. Please visit the lab to learn about our design process and light up a few stoves! Metal Creature manufactures broad forks for keeping Vashon and other soils healthy & vibrant and has many process capabilities including Abrasive Waterjet Machining, Sheet Metal Forming, CNC machining, Welding and Fabrication, and tool making.
Vashon Bioenergy Farm, Impact Bioenergy, park at O-Space
Vashon Bioenergy Farm, Impact Bioenergy (park at O-Space 18870 103rd Ave SW and walk to the east) converts organic waste from the colocated Island Springs Tofu (okara waste so far) with a modular Nautilus anaerobic digestion system into renewable energy for our CNG-fueled vehicles and organic fertilizers (with zero waste, and drawing down hundreds of tons of CO2 each year. We aim to power the island’s circular economy on a distributed, truly local scale for farms and the communit
Open Space & Vashon Tool Library
Open Space for Arts and Community, 18870 103rd Ave SW- (attended Sunday 11April 10am-4pm only) has incorporated sustainability from the start by repurposing a factory into a space for our island community. Open Space is an event venue unlike any other on Vashon Island. We offer 23,000 square feet to create affordable events and have raised over 2 million dollars under our roof for Vashon causes. Improving well-being through social sustainability is baked into our mission to “co-create extraordinary artistic, community-building experiences that enrich and inspire all involved.” Come see “The Mural Project,” part of our !Attention! Artists at Work program, which has generated work for over 80 Vashon artisans financially impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Vashon Tool Library and Fix-It Cafe, 18870 103rd Ave SW- (attended Sunday 11April 10am-4pm only) are community resources designed to support and promote shared use of tools and expertise in educational events increasing Vashon resilience. All tools and furnishings were donated by islanders to benefit the community, and staffing is entirely done by volunteers. Authorized members can borrow any tool from the inventory of over 1500 tools to use in their own projects; Fix-It events increase the lives of items and keep them out of the landfill. We will also be holding a tool sale for surplus items to raise funds for the program.
VNC Heron Meadow & VCA Rain System
VNC Heron Meadow/VCA Rain Roof, 19600 Vashon Hwy SW [attended Sunday 12-4pm, otherwise self-guided] The VCA Katherine L White Hall building (completed 2016, LEED Silver certification), was designed by LMN Architects to collect and manage rainwater to achieve sustainability goals. Rainwater is collected for toilet flushing and excess collected rainwater moves through rain gardens before flowing into and recharging the adjacent wetlands in Heron Meadow. A water diagram poster and handout will be available. Heron Meadow is a wetland at the headwaters of Judd Creek. It is being restored through a partnership with Vashon Nature Center to provide wildlife habitat and slow run-off during storms. Learn about the project and partnership by reading the signs on the milkbarn, gaze at the new bird mural, explore the meadow and view the 7 interpretive signs, or grab a scavenger hunt card and try to find the different featured native plants!
Vashon Fruit Club Dr. Bob Norton Orchard with Ken Miller Biochar Demo, Sunrise Ridge
Vashon Fruit Club Dr. Bob Norton Orchard with Ken Miller Biochar Demo, on Sunrise Ridge, 10030 SW 210th St- The Fruit Club recently honored the late Dr. Bob Norton with the naming of this wonderful demonstration fruit orchard complete with dozens of new educational signs where you can learn more about sustainable gardening. And Island BioChar Grand Wizard, Ken Miller, will be demonstrating his ingenious methods of making a great solid amendment BioChar that sequesters carbon, provides a home for beneficial microbes and fungi and stores moisture and nutrients for healthy root systems. Vashon Food Bank Garden on Sunrise Ridge, 10030 SW 210th St- At the Food Bank, we have dedicated plots of land and raised beds to grow a variety of healthy, sustainable, and cost effective home grown fruits and vegetables. It’s a great way to engage and educate the public as well! We are in the process of upgrading our aerobic compost bin system.
Matsuda Farm, and pollinator garden, Vashon Maury Island Land Trust
Matsuda Farm, Vashon Maury Island Land Trust, take 105th north from W Cemetery Rd and park at gate– [attended Sunday & Monday 10AM-2PM] The Pollinator Garden at Matsuda begins its second year with perennials and re-seeded flowers. The row stretching 250 feet boasts spectacular summer and fall blooms from groundcovers to 14 feet high. Planting flowers for pollinators anywhere in our yards boosts food production and feeds local insects, which are unfortunately declining. Check out org to certify your yard as wildlife habitat.
Don and Stacey Wolczko, Solar and Geothermal
Don and Stacey Wolczko Solar and Geothermal, 8819 SW 198th St.- [Sunday only 10AM-4PM]. Observing the vast potential energy available on the Pacific, we use a wind generator and PV solar panels to provide a significant portion of energy needs on our sailboat. Here on Vashon, we reduced home energy loss by using Insulated Concrete Form blocks for all walls, and use renewable energy to directly heat the interior and domestic hot water with a ground-source heat pump system and a roof-mounted flat plate solar pre-heater, and generate the vast majority of our electricity through use of a dual-axis PV array. Since incorporating these systems over 7 years ago, they have mostly eliminated our reliance on energy produced many miles away from non-renewable sources, in favor of the energy that comes from the sun and lands on our property.
Vashon Island Golf & Country Club
Vashon-Maury Golf & Country Club, 24615 75th Ave SW– see how the Club is working towards a more sustainable model with its beautiful location and views, unique plantings of unusual trees, birds and pond life. There is a move towards replacing all diesel mowers with hybrid mowers — one will be on display. An emphasis on minimizing artificial fertilizing of the greens in favor of aeration and encouraging worm activity, the limited application of fungicide in winter and none in warm months, and the elimination of Roundup from the property, all demonstrate a more responsible stewardship of the ecosystem. The privately leased Sandpiper Restaurant also has a sustainable mission.
Dockton Park beach restoration bulkhead removal
Dockton Park, 9500 SW Dock St- Beach Restoration and Bulkhead removal, Bulkhead removal improves shoreline habitat by allowing for movement and supply of sediment, invertebrates, leaf litter, and wood. Restoration of natural beach processes results in improved beach quality for forage fish spawning, increased food production for fish and reduced predation risk due to increased cover and shallow water refuge areas.