Low Tide Celebration

The ninth annual Low Tide Celebration will bring beachwatchers, information booths, food and fun to Point Robinson on Saturday, June 14, from 10 to 3.  As the water recedes to an exceptionally low -3.3 feet, the Vashon Beach Naturalists, Puget Sound Corps folks, and other knowledgeable volunteers will help everyone celebrate the diversity and remarkable adaptations of the many species of plants and animals who form the communities of life along the shoreline. Meanwhile, from his lighthouse tower, Captain Joe Wubbold, chief of the Keepers of Point Robinson, will preside over tours of the historic red-roofed building that has warned water craft away from the steep point for nearly 100 years.

At the foot of the tower, a circle of information booths will offer information on the species being observed, on the quality of water in the Maury Island Aquatic Reserve, on currents and algal blooms in the South Sound, and on the wildlife and native plants of the area.  Once again Jessica DeWire will set up her beach kitchen and sell delicious food, while at the neighboring booths Pam Coello-Bond will tell occasional stories at the Blue Heron craft sale booth, and Odin Lonning will talk about native uses of beach plants and animals at the Vashon Hydrophone Project booth.
    On the beach there will be a sprinkling of signs to point out some of the less mobile species, such as anemones, sea stars, Turkish towel seaweed, sugar kelp, and rocks adorned with limpets and chitons. To encourage people to report their sightings, the Low Tide Celebration Information booth will put up a large species list, and the booth volunteers will mark down all reports they receive.  Please stop in and share your discoveries, so that we can begin to keep track of what’s common and what is rare at our annual celebrations.

For further information, contact Erin Durrett at 463-0303 or Rayna Holtz at 463-3153. We appreciate the sponsors who make this event possible: Keepers of Point Robinson, King County Water and Land Resources, Washington Environmental Council, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, Vashon Watersports, Vashon Park District, Vashon Watersports, Americorps, Vashon Hydrophone Project, Vashon-Maury Island Audubon Society, Vashon Beach Naturalists, Vashon College, and Vashon Park District.