Please mark your calendar for Friday, April 12 at 5:00 pm in the Commons, Fort Worden to help us celebrate another year of supporting Fort Worden State Park! We are pleased to have Author, Street Smart Naturalist, and Geoduck Enthusiast David B. Williams as our special guest for the evening. David will be presenting a fascinating and hopeful narrative of the intersection between the people and places of our beloved Puget Sound from the Ice Age to the present.
- Delectable appetizers and cash bar (beer and wine) - Gloves and work boots optional :-)

Are you coming to our annual celebration? RSVP HERE

Some of you regular scotch broom pickers must miss working on the older, larger plants, right? Well, here's an offer you might like.

Saturday, Feb 17, 9:30 am, meet at the Artillery Hill parking area (Discover Passs required).

We will walk to the Glamping area to tackle some larger broom as well as the small stuff.

Bring gloves and a lopper. We will have extra loppers.

Hope to see you there!

Join our Scotch broom and blackberry work party this Saturday, February 3rd.

Meet at the parking area near Artillery Hill Gate, Discover Pass required

9-9:30 Coffee and snacks

9:30 to 12:00 Work!

We’ll be working on two tasks:

• Scotch broom removal - bring gloves, loppers and small shovels if you have them. Friends will provide the rest.

• Blackberry removal - You’ll need puncture proof gloves, safety goggles and long, heavy sleeves. 

Love to see you!

State Parks ecology specialist Stella Waxwing invites you to join her and a Washington Conservation Corps crew working on the dune grass and other invasive species located "inside" Knapp Circle. This crew will be working there all day Mon -Thurs.

 Volunteers are invited to join this rewarding project at any time between 9am-4pm. Parking available near the Lighthouse or on the paved  "hangar pads" located between the Beach Campground and Harbor Defense Way. The entrance is just past the bath house (Building 602) located on the right past the Kitchen Shelter. Discover Pass required. Walk toward the Lighthouse. You can't miss the worksite.

Bring your trusty garden fork or shovel.

Stella has been working on this area for a couple of years and, for those paying attention to this area, the results are dramatic!

Jan 29. Monday through Feb 1, Thursday. 9:00am. State Parks ecology specialist Stella Waxwing will be leading a Washington Conservation Corps crew working on the dune grass and other invasive species located "inside" Knapp Circle. This crew will be working there all day Mon -Thurs.

 Volunteers are invited to join this rewarding project at any time between 9am-4pm. Parking available near the Lighthouse or on the paved  "hangar pads" located between the Beach Campground and Harbor Defense Way. The entrance is just past the bath house (Building 602) located on the right past the Kitchen Shelter. Discover Pass required. Walk toward the Lighthouse. You can't miss the worksite.

Bring your trusty garden fork or shovel.

Stella has been working on this area for a couple of years and, for those paying attention to this area, the results are dramatic!

Jan 29. Monday through Feb 1, Thursday. 9:00am. State Parks ecology specialist Stella Waxwing will be leading a WCC crew working on the dune grass and other invasive species located "inside" Knapp Circle. This crew will be working there all day Mon -Thurs.

 Volunteers are invited to join this rewarding project at any time between 9am-4pm. Parking available near the Lighthouse or on the paved  "hangar pads" located between the Beach Campground and Harbor Defense Way. The entrance is just past the bath house (Building 602) located on the right past the Kitchen Shelter. Discover Pass required. Walk toward the Lighthouse. You can't miss the worksite.

This will be a continuation of the MLK Day work, just in a different part of Pt Wilson. So bring your trusty garden fork or shovel.

Stella has been working on this area for a couple of years and, for those paying attention to this area, the results are dramatic.

Hope you can make it to one, some, or all of these parties. Your work makes a difference!

We've rescheduled the MLK Day of Service Beachgrass Pull!

Join the PT Marine Science Center and help restore the Salish Sea shoreline habitat for native plants and animals by pulling out invasive beachgrass.

All ages are welcome!

Meet at the PTMSC Museum portico in Fort Worden State Park.

Bring work gloves if you want them, and make sure to dress for the weather!
We have limited tools, so please bring your own shovels of pitchforks if you have them.
Snacks will be provided!

RSVPs are appreciated! Go to bit.ly/MLK2024_RSVP.

Glamp it up with the Friends of Fort Worden Trail Team! We’re cleaning up Scotch broom, English holly, poison hemlock and blackberry in the Glamping Tent area. But first we need to haul out the downed brush that currently covers much of the invasives.

Please join Mitch and Vince at the Glamping area on Saturday Jan 27, 9:30 am. Make your way to the Glamping area and look around for someone working. Bring your most glamorous gloves and lopper!

Glamp it up with the Friends of Fort Worden Trail Team! We’re cleaning up Scotch broom, English holly, poison hemlock and blackberry in the Glamping Tent area. But first we need to haul out the downed brush that currently covers much of the invasives.

Please join Mitch and Vince at the Glamping area on Tuesday Jan 23, 9:30 am. Make your way to the Glamping area and look around for someone working. Bring your most glamorous gloves and lopper!

Due to the extreme cold, the Martin Luther King Day Beachgrass Pull has been canceled. Please check back for more work parties at Fort Worden State Park.

How about a good old fashioned Scotch broom work party?

Saturday, December 16, 9-noon, we’re tackling older growth broom at Batteries Powell and Brannon on Artillery Hill. Meet at the parking area (Discover Pass required), by Artillery Hill Gate. Bring loppers, or use one of the few we will provide, sturdy boots, gloves, etc.

The work area is steep, and the access trail is steep, but past work parties here have had no trouble, provided you are ok with steep. We will just be cutting 1/2" diameter and larger stalks and hand-pulling the pencil size and smaller plants. One group of volunteers will be cutting broom and throwing it downslope. Did I mention steep?

Another group will be working on flat ground, collecting plants that have been tossed from above, and carrying them to the Big Red Truck for loading.

We hope to have a pickup truck available to carry the tools, and maybe a few folks who need to conserve energy, up the hill to worksite. The rest of us will walk up Powerhouse Trail or Battery Way West or East to the mortar batteries.

Hope you can join us the last large work party of '23!

Will Barrett

FFWSP Trail Team

Bingo Night at Hilltop Tavern to Benefit the Friends of Fort Worden!

A dollar a game! Great pub food! Cheap beer and wine! World-famous baked potatoes with all the fixin’s!

It's fun, prizes for the winners, and the thrill of victory for you and the Friends!

$1 per round or $10 to play all 10 rounds.

All proceeds go to the Friends, so invite YOUR friends and neighbors.

Hilltop Tavern, Port Townsend’s favorite watering hole, 2510 W Sims Way.

Leave your gloves and loppers at home! See you on Sept 6

Intrepid volunteers, we’re not going to let those pesky ivy and blackberries reestablish themselves in the newly re-planted area of Battery Way!!! NOW’s the time to nip those little devils in the re-growing bud! 

You’ll need heavy gloves (even young blackberries can bite), a small digging device (hori-hori or hand trowel), water and sturdy shoes (a bit of an incline may need to be navigated). There will be a short walk to the location and some stairs to be navigated.

Date: Monday, June 5th

Time: 9:00 to 11:30.

Meeting place: Artillery Hill Gate 

Discover Pass Required

Questions? Email me!

The Friends Of Fort Worden are in-TENTsly excited to clear pathways to a number of the tent sites in the Glamping Area! We will cut grass and weeds around 11 of the sites, using weed trimmers, to be provided.

For those of you who would rather do battle with Scotch Broom, you’re more than welcome!

We’ll meet at 9:30 am at the parking area at the east end of Glamping. 

Directions to this meeting place: at the first stop sign go right on Eisenhower Ave. Take a left on Battery Way just past Building 200, aka "Camper Check In". (Consult the new map or go to fwfriends.org.) Take the second right, on Alexander's Loop, but bear straight up the hill instead of going right to A's Castle. Go straight until you see the parking area on the left where we'll meet.

Bring gloves, and water. If you have loppers for broom, or a trimmer, that would be awesome.

Hope you can join us!

Questions? Email me!

A good old-Fashioned Scotch Broom Party!  A great deal of broom along parts of Upper Gunline Road, the Cistern, and the Mortar Batteries needs to be removed before going to seed. There is something for everybody here: plants on steep slopes for the adventuresome, trophy specimens guarded by rose thickets, plants easy to get at along the Gunline.

Coffee and snacks at the Artillery Hill Gate at 9am (Discover Pass required to park). We'll head up the hill at 9:30. We will provide pullers and tarps.

Bring gloves, water, and loppers for cutting.

Hope you can join us!

Questions? Email me!

Join our local chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society to help them re-set and re-string parts of the earth anchor/cable system that's been damaged by winter storms.

We are looking for 8 volunteers for a small work party on Tuesday, April 25, for probably 2 hours max. We'll meet by the MSC Pier at 9:30 am. The work should be moderately strenuous.

The Native Plant Society will provide tools. Please email me if you can come!

Join us for an evening of Fun, Food, and FRIENDship to celebrate the Friends of Fort Worden’s 30th Birthday Party! As a special treat, Northwest birding icon Dennis Paulson will fascinate us with a presentation on the seabirds of Admiralty Inlet.

The annual gathering, our first since 2019, will highlight the Friends’ achievements, acknowledge our incredible volunteers, and feature Dennis Paulson’s presentation on the seabirds of Admiralty Inlet. The inlet, which serves as the entrance to Puget Sound and begins near Point Wilson, has long been known as a rich area for seabirds. As the current flows in and out through the inlet, it creates upwellings of nutrients and leads to a complex food web of invertebrates and fishes. Birds of all kinds take advantage of this, and Dennis will talk about these birds and what they are doing here.

Delectable appetizers and cash bar (beer and wine)

Fort Wordens Commons

Are you coming to our annual celebration? RSVP here.

Join us at Fort Worden's JFK Hall for a treasure hunt, prizes, painting, and a day of giving that will benefit Washington State Parks.

Fort Worden is the third Washington state parks stop in the Kula Abundance Tour (or KAT) sponsored by Kula Cloth. It will include a treasure hunt, prizes, painting, and a day of giving to benefit Fort Worden and projects supported by the Friends of Fort Worden.

"KAT is Kula Cloth’s way of saying thank you, AND it’s our way of spreading abundance throughout the Kulaverse. It’s our way of giving and to be honest… it’s just a really good excuse to throw a party to benefit Washington State Parks." Big thanks to Kula Cloth!

More details here.

This Saturday’s work party has something for everybody! On top of Artillery Hill, we have  several options for different levels of exertion.

Easy jobs (promise!):

Removing the heavy electrical cable from the Switchboard Post

Raking up ivy near the Cistern

Smoothing out the rough patches

More difficult: Removing old wood and ivy from the slope on Switchboard

Please join us for coffee at 9am at the parking area by Artillery Hill. At 9:30 we'll walk up the hill and go to work.

Bring: Loppers, stout steel rakes, gloves, and a Discover Pass for parking.

This will be, hopefully, the last work party here before hydroseeding in April.

 Hope you can make it! Questions? VickiLegman@gmail.com

Come help us prepare the cistern area for planting native grasses! We’ve cleared the bulk of the ivy, now it’s time for some cleanup. Next month is planting time.

Meet at 9:00 a.m. for coffee, tea and snacks at the parking area by the Artillery Hill gate on Battery Way. Work starts at 9:30. Bring gloves, rakes, loppers and your Discovery Pass. Friends of Fort Worden stickers to all who attend!

Trail Team Work Party - Saturday March 11

9:00 AM  12:00 PM

Questions? https://www.fwfriends.org/contact-us

On February 18 we are leading a scotch broom pulling/cutting work party to finish up the broom between Battery Way West and Mule Barn Rd, and, if we have time, work on the area know as the "berm". Remember, Oregon State U recommends cutting broom 1/2" in diameter and over BELOW ground level and pulling the smaller stems.

We will provide coffee, tea and snacks at the parking area by the Artillery Hill gate on Battery Way beginning at 9:00 AM, with work starting at 9:30. Bring gloves, loppers and your Discovery Pass. Friends of Fort Worden stickers to those who attend!

Will Barrett

Friends of Fort Worden Trail Team Coordinator

On February 11, Trail Team member Todd Hutton will be leading a scotch broom pulling/cutting work party in the Chinese Gardens area. Remember, Oregon State U recommends cutting broom 1/2" and over in diameter BELOW ground level and pulling the smaller stems.

Todd will provide coffee, tea and snacks at the North Beach parking area beginning at 9:00 AM, with work starting at 9:30. Bring gloves and loppers. Friends of Fort Worden stickers to those who attend!

Will Barrett

Friends of Fort Worden Trail Team Coordinator

The Jan 16 event will meet at the Marine Science Center Museum at 12:00. We will be assisting Americorps with guidance and logistical support in removing invasive dune grass along the beach.

The work: the photo on the left shows tools that work well on Ammophila (shovel, spade, digging fork). One must loosen a deep-seated root system and carefully pull out the plants, shake off the sand (important!) and deposit on a tarp.

Will Barrett

FFWSP Trail Team Coordinator

We are planning a work party for Saturday, Jan 14, 9:30-12:00, at Point Wilson. About halfway between bathroom Building 602 and the Lighthouse, behind the line of driftwood on the south side of Pt Wilson, is a still large patch of European dune grass aka Ammophila arenaria. Many of you have worked on this patch.

We will meet on the middle hangar pad which is across the road, on one's left heading toward the lighthouse, from bathroom Building 602. Discover Pass required to park here.

Coffee, tea, snacks will be served starting at 9 am.

I will bring many tarps which we will plan to load lightly and carry often.

The work: the photo on the left shows tools that work well on Ammophila (shovel, spade, digging fork). One must loosen a deep-seated root system and carefully pull out the plants, shake off the sand (important!) and deposit on a tarp.

Many of us think this is enjoyable work in one of the most beautiful parts of the park.

Please join us on Jan 14!

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season,

Will Barrett

Friends of FWSP

Trail Team Coordinator

Many of you have worked to cut and pull broom in the field just north of Building 398, the new maintenance building next to Mule Barn Road. This area gets a great deal of foot traffic, and it will be the new home for about 7 Garry oak trees so we need to remove as much broom as we can from one of the primary gateways to the Chinese Garden area. Please bring loppers, gloves, water. I will have some weed wrenches on hand for those who favor that technique.

We will meet at the parking area next to the main gate on Battery Way on Tuesday, Nov 12, 9:30 am. (Coffee and snacks for the early birds at 9.) Remember this area requires a Discover Pass for parking.

Hope to see you on the12th!

Will Barrett

FFWSP Trail Team Coordinator

Our next work party will be October 8 from 9:20 to 12:00. Early birds will get coffee and maybe a snack at 9:00. We will meet in the parking area near the Bliss Vista telescopes, just east of Building 225, the large structure on your left just before you get to the big anchor.

We will work on areas near Battery Stoddard and Bliss Cottage where poison hemlock was removed earlier in the year and prepare them for hydroseeding perennial grasses that will prevent re-establishment. This means removing the of dead canes and Canada thistle that litter the area . Please bring a sturdy garden rake if you can.

Hope to see you on the 8th

Will Barrett

FFWSP Trail Team Coordinator

We will be running a broom cutting work party on June 18, 9:30-12:00. We'll start where we left off along Mule Barn Road, finish clearing the field across the trail from Building 398, and then move west on Mule Barn to the open area close to Chinese Garden where the broom is coming back after being cut a couple of years ago.

Hope to see you on the 18th

Will Barrett

FFWSP Trail Team Coordinator

Happy May Everybody!

Surely you’ve noticed scotch broom in bloom, right? This is a great time to nip that stuff in the bud.

Please join other trail team folks and friends on Saturday, May 21, 9:30-12:00. We will meet in the field just south of the gate on Battery Way (Discover Pass required!).

We will begin with a brief seminar on the do’s and don’ts of proper broom cutting.

Please bring loppers, water, gloves and help us cut broom along Mule Barn Rd near maintenance building 398. We cleared this area a few years ago but the BROOM is BACK!

We will serve hot coffee to early birds beginning at 9:00am.

One last thing: please be prepared to sign in. New regulations from Washington State Parks require a signature from each volunteer at group events like this one.

Hope to see you on the 21st!

Will Barrett

FFWSP Trail Team Coordinator

As most of you are well aware a great deal of what the Trail Team does is cut and pull invasive species. Here is a chance to do something different! This Thursday, 9:30-11:30, Mitch Freeman will lead a work party on Battery Way East. We will be planting native species in areas that, until recently, were covered by English ivy.

All you need is a hand trowel or garden spade, gloves, and your own drinking water.

Mitch will be leaving the parking area near the gate on Battery Way (remember to show your Discover Pass) about 9:15 am. If you don’t see a group when you arrive just walk up Battery Way, hang a right at the first intersection and walk until you see people working.

ALL ARE WELCOME! Please join us Thursday morning.

Cheers,

Will Barrett

FFWSP Trail Team