You love them both — your pets and houseplants — but it can be challenging to safely raise them together in the same house. Reduce the risk by selecting pet-safe plants and safely managing houseplant pest problems. Avoid problems by selecting plants suited to your home’s growing conditions and gardening style. Then narrow the list further […]
wildlife
Posted inCommunity News
Wild and Scenic Film Fest Comes to Bremerton
Bremerton will be a stop on the Wild and Scenic Film Festival’s tour in December, thanks to Great Peninsula Conservancy (GPC). In its 17th year, the Wild and Scenic Film Festival event was started by watershed advocacy group the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) and focuses on sharing films that speak to the environmental […]
Posted inAround West Sound
The Salmon Are Coming! Come See Them at Kitsap Salmon Tours
It’s that time of year again — time to see Pacific salmon make their way home to the Kitsap streams, where their lives began. Not only does their migration offer a unique opportunity for people to observe this iconic species, but their journey brings essential marine nutrients to our streams. We are fortunate to be […]
Posted inThe Garden
West Sound’s ‘Blue Jays’ Aren’t Blue Jays
Every West Sound birder has heard it. Someone claiming to have seen a blue jay. Yes, the individual saw a “blue jay,” but it was likely not a bona fide blue jay, a common species in the central and eastern United States and southern Canada, but a rarity in Washington. Occasionally, an actual blue jay […]
Posted inPeople & Places
A Visit to the Amazon Rainforest
Visiting the Amazon Rainforest is akin to being a teeny insect in the greatest biodiverse area on the planet. It’s humongous and you will never see it all — 2.1 million square miles. One-fifth of the freshwater flowing into the Earth’s oceans comes from the Amazon River. The Amazon has more than 40,000 different kinds […]
Posted inCommunity News
Two Local Groups Partner to Preserve Scenic Shoreline and Forest
Great Peninsula Conservancy has partnered with Friends of Miller Bay to save 13 acres of critical forest and shoreline habitat on Miller Bay in north Kitsap County. The preserve connects conserved lands in the Grovers Creek Watershed. Great Peninsula Conservancy (GPC) — a land trust working in Kitsap, north Mason, and west Pierce counties — […]
Posted inThe Garden
It’s the Season to Tern, Tern, Tern
The summer months bring numerous visitors to West Sound’s shorelines. Some enjoy beach walks, while others prefer a picnic. Boats abound and kites fly high. The wintering waterfowl have long since departed and are raising their families in the sunny Arctic. Marine birds that winter in the South are here for the summer. Among the […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Keep Your Pets Safe from Poisonous Plants
If you have pets, you probably know that lilies are poisonous for cats, but did you know that tulips are dangerous for dogs? Some toxic plants don’t just cause gastric irritation — they can cause death. As you’re planning to add more plants to your garden, you may want to avoid those that are harmful […]
Posted inThe Garden
This Forest Icon is the Last of its Kind
When it comes to majestic birds, people often think of bald eagles and trumpeter swans. But would anyone call a woodpecker majestic? The 1800s and early 1900s were a period of unprecedented destruction across North America. Colossal forests were completely decimated to harvest timber and farm the land. Having lost their habitat, the world’s two […]