Great Peninsula Conservancy

06/04/2026

Check out the summer issue of Tideland Magazine, where GPC is featured in a recent spread! The article highlights our ecological forestry work, with a special focus on The Divide and Grovers Creek. Thank you to Tideland Magazine for sharing our story and helping spotlight the importance of sustainable forest stewardship!💚

The summer issue is here! Featuring Bainbridge Island Rowing’s 25-year legacy, the promise of residential solar, summer shooting stars, and the wonder of bats after dark. Packed with stories rooted in movement, nature, and the people shaping the West Sound, this issue is made for long summer days and slow porch mornings.

Find a copy in your mailbox or select locations across Kitsap County.

Cover photo: Andrew Block /

06/03/2026

Join us for our monthly work party on the Clear Creek Trail June 13th, 9am-12pm! Together, we’ll tackle trail maintenance tasks like removing invasive species, repairing boardwalks, cleaning up litter, and more. It’s a great opportunity to connect with fellow trail lovers, give back to your community, and help preserve this natural sanctuary that stretches through the heart of Silverdale!

Visit our website to learn more or sign up! greatpeninsula.org/events/june-clear-creek-trail-work-party-2026

06/01/2026

Join GPC this Wednesday, June 3rd from 5:30-7pm at the Clear Creek Sa’qad Interpretive Center and learn how to search for and identify crab molts as part of Washington's growing effort to track invasive European green crabs.🦀

European green crabs pose a serious threat to local marine ecosystems. They prey on native shellfish, compete with native crab species, and can damage eelgrass beds that provide important habitat for fish and other wildlife. Because only a small fraction of Washington's shoreline is actively monitored, volunteers play a critical role in helping detect their spread.

At this training, you'll learn how to identify crab molts, document your findings, and submit observations through the MyCoast app. Whether you want to participate in organized surveys or conduct your own independent molt searches, this training will give you the tools to get started. See you there!🦀

Visit our website to learn more or sign up! greatpeninsula.org/events/european-green-crab-molt-search-training-june-2026

05/28/2026

Introducing…Bookworms: A Nature and Environment Book Club! We’re excited to announce that GPC is starting a book club reading nature-focused non-fiction. Last week at our interest meeting, we had a great time seeing both familiar faces and new friends. Thank you to everyone who came out and shared your excitement for reading – along with an absolute mountain of book recommendations!

In case you missed it, the group chose Homewaters by David B. Williams as our first read. The club will meet again on July 15th at the Clear Creek Interpretive Center to discuss the book, learn from each other, and hang out with our fellow Bookworms – all are welcome!

Thank you to our friends at Kitsap Environmental Coalition, Kitsap Regional Library, and Ballast Book Co for your support!

Visit our events page to stay up to date on all upcoming events! greatpeninsula.org/event-calendar

05/27/2026

Did you know banana slug slime is packed with chemicals that can numb their attackers mouth and throat if they try and get a bite? 🐌🍌 One bad taste is usually enough to keep them off the menu.

That same slime has inspired scientists with its consistency, technically not a conventional liquid or a solid, instead, a liquid crystal. Some architects and designers have also been inspired by banana slugs, building a greenhouse with silicone features to capture and release water, inspired by banana slug mucus secretion.

These weird and wonderful forest creatures are full of surprises, and you can learn more about them at our upcoming slug talk and trivia night at Clear Creek Interpretive Center! From banana slug biology to invasive species on Clear Creek Trail, we’ll dive into the fascinating world of PNW ecology, then test your knowledge with wildlife and conservation trivia.

Join us for a fun night of learning, laughter, and slimy facts! Visit our website to learn more or sign up! greatpeninsula.org/events/slugs-and-stumpers-banana-slug-trivia-night

05/26/2026

Last call for this year’s Conservation Celebration registration, which closes TODAY, May 26th! We'd hate for you to miss it!🫨

Join us to celebrate our lands, our waters, and the people dedicated to protecting them. We're gathering at the waterfront event space at Suquamish Clearwater Casino Resort, overlooking Agate Pass. The evening begins with a social hour on the terrace, complete with cocktails and seasonal bites, followed by a plated dinner, live auction, program, and paddle raise. We will also be celebrating this year’s award recipients: Judy and Don Willott and Tim Bell. To close the night, guests will gather around a shared dessert spread featuring Grounds for Change coffee. ☕

Elsewhere in the evening, try your luck for the "Morning in Nature" raffle, and sit for a portrait with our on-site artist, who paints guests as their animal counterpart. Catch a glimpse of her in the zone in the photos below!

Get tickets for GPC’s event of the year today! Registration closes in five days. https://greatpeninsula.org/event-calendar/conservation-celebration/

Want to purchase tickets by mail or phone? Call Development Manager Katherine Tacke at 360-373-3500 x 107.

05/25/2026

Interested in learning more about shoreline restoration and bulkhead removal resources? Sign up for the upcoming Shore Friendly workshop and property tour on May 28! 🌿

About 30% of Puget Sound’s shoreline is armored, but research shows bulkheads can harm salmon habitat, reduce biodiversity, and increase erosion over time. Healthy shorelines support forage fish, which help sustain threatened Chinook salmon and endangered Southern Resident orcas. 🌊

Through the Shore Friendly program, Gig Harbor landowners restored 750 feet of natural shoreline habitat along Puget Sound with support from Washington State’s Estuary and Salmon Restoration Program (ESRP) who, partnered with Pierce Conservation District, provided funding, technical assistance, and stewardship support for the project.

Read the full story on our blog and see how conservation partnerships are making a difference in shoreline health: greatpeninsula.org/2026/05/07/gig-harbor-landowners-restore-a-natural-beach-along-puget-sound/

Register now at: https://forms.zohopublic.com/pierceconservationdistrict/form/WorkshopHendersonBayShorelineArmorRemovalProject/formperma/jTAPNfpB6OvcUGUWm2e7S23mmM2LcI9hvLr-A04Oac0?utm_source=chatgpt.com

In a powerful example of community-driven conservation, Gig Harbor landowners Pam Boyles, Roger “Rocky” Johnson, and James Boyles have completed a major shoreline restoration project, removing 750 feet of shoreline armor from their property along Puget Sound. Completed in partnership with Pierce...

05/24/2026

🦎IT’S NATURE QUIZ TIME! 🦎

This week we are playing…guess that amphibian!

In the photo above, you’ll see a tiny young creature swimming through the water with feathery gills sticking out from the sides of its head. These fluffy-looking gills help it breathe underwater while it is still in its juvenile stage!

As they grow, many of these amphibians go through dramatic transformations, changing both how they look and how they live. Most eventually lose their external gills and spend more time on land, while others remain aquatic for most or all of their lives! These guys are also good bioindicators for the health of the environment around them because they are sensitive to pollution and habitat changes.

You may notice this young amphibian has a long tail and smooth permeable skin, meaning it can absorb water and oxygen directly through its body, which is why these creatures need moist environments to survive. 💦

✨Last hint! ✨ Some amphibians in this group have incredible regenerative abilities and can regrow lost tails, limbs, and even parts of their heart and brain! They also have a fracture plane in their tail, which is essentially there to help the tail break off when it’s grabbed by a predator. In those cases, the tail will continue to move even after being detached to help distract the predator for a safe get away!

Give us your guesses in the comments below👇 The answer will be revealed tomorrow!

If you want to learn more fun nature facts to impress your friends, check in each Sunday for a new nature quiz!

05/23/2026

We just finished up a very successful Spring Land Labs module! This season we got students into Curly Creek for some hands-on research collection🔍Students geared up, learned about various collection methods, and found some amazing stuff! Catches included sculpin, small lamprays, a very large crawfish, and many caddisflies, mayflies, and stoneflies.

Our young scholars then got the chance to visit a research station, where they compared their findings from an on-site pond with those they collected from the creek running through the area. They learned how to use microscopes, dichotomous keys, and other indicators to identify their findings. This process, along with digital water quality testing tools, teaches students about the various ways bioindicators can be used to understand stream health.

After a social lunch in the sun, students learned more about salmon life cycles in the PNW through a series of exciting, immersive games, like Rock, Paper, Scissors: Salmon Stages and Salmon Run. The last portion of the day was adventure time, which could include camouflage, a nature walk, a sit-spot, or stewardship work.

Lastly, we ended the day with a big picture debrief conversation. We hope to empower students to be knowledgeable stewards of their environment, and to understand that they have the power to make real changes in the health of our local ecosystems.

Thank you to all the volunteers who made this experience possible! And if you missed it this time, tune in soon for Summer Land Labs training!

Visit our website to learn more about our Land Labs programming: greatpeninsula.org/what-we-do/community-engagement/land-labs

05/22/2026

Join GPC staff and volunteers at the Clear Creek Interpretive Center on Wednesday, June 3rd from 5:30-7pm to learn how to conduct your own green crab molt searches in Washington.

WSU Extension and Washington Sea Grant have launched the Molt Search program—a citizen science initiative aimed at protecting Washington’s marine waters from the invasive European green crab. This species threatens local ecosystems, but only a small fraction of suitable nearshore habitats are monitored through existing trapping efforts.

Molt Search empowers you to help by conducting timed surveys for crab molts along Salish Sea shorelines and reporting your findings using the MyCoast mobile app. Great Peninsula Conservancy is excited to offer a training for you to get involved and learn how to conduct molt searches yourself or with a group. At this training you will learn how to identify and document crab molts, contributing to the protection of local marine waters.

Please note that terrain may be uneven while walking on the beach and shoreline near the Clear Creek Interpretive Center.

Visit our website to learn more or sign up! greatpeninsula.org/events/european-green-crab-molt-search-training-june-2026