Measuring Hope in Thurston County

Above: A crisp Saturday afternoon brought walkers to Capitol Lake in downtown Olympia. 

A community survey is being conducted to assess the level of hope in Thurston County. The Hope Thurston survey process began in June 2018. 

By Janine Gates

Little Hollywood

https:/janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

At the beginning of a new year, many people reflect on the past, present and future. 

Opportunities are explored and new goals are set. It’s often a time full of anticipation and renewal.

But sometimes, the death of a loved one or challenges with one’s health, finances, employment, or housing makes some of these life course changes for us.

Regardless of the situation, we often hope things will get better, right? Not always.

Although research shows that hope is instinctive, some people feel hopeless. Manifesting itself as apathy, some see no vision for the future. Mental illness is a barrier to hope. Hopelessness can lead to depression, addiction, and suicide.

What does it mean to hope? How hopeful are you?

Working closely with children who have suffered abuse, trauma and neglect, Thurston County Prosecutor Jon Tunheim has seen the impact of adverse childhood experiences.

Discovering the concept of hope theory while attending a domestic violence conference several years ago, he has become a student of its principles and has since delivered over 100 “hope talks” throughout the South Sound community.

Last week, he spoke at the Hawks Prairie Rotary monthly meeting in Lacey.

“Hope is the belief that the future can be better than the present and the ability to make it so,” said Tunheim.

“Hope contemplates that we have the ability to influence our future: one, to set goals and create a vision of goals and success; two: to have the ability to create strategies and pathways to achieve goals, anticipate barriers, and see alternatives; and three, to have the willpower to achieve goals. That’s what moves you forward – goals and strategies,” he said.

Research indicates that hope is the single best predictor of a person’s ability to thrive and flourish.

“Hope is a way of thinking, not feeling. It’s cognitive, not emotional. It’s figuring out the strategy to get there. It’s contagious, taught, learned, and measurable,” said Tunheim.

Above: A little girl catches sight of a great blue heron taking flight at Capitol Lake in downtown Olympia. Applying the science of hope can help facilitate positive community change.

Measuring Hope in Thurston County - Hope Thurston

Separate from his role as prosecutor, Tunheim is the public safety and justice chair with Thurston Thrives, a public-private community council with action groups that examine the root causes undermining public health.

Through a county wide survey of residents, Tunheim is assessing hope in Thurston County. Applying the science of hope can help facilitate positive community change, he says.

Communities are starting to measure hope at an individual, organizational, and community levels.  

Hope Thurston is modeled after the work of Dr. Chan Hellman at the University of Oklahoma –Tulsa who created a community map of hope called, “How Hopeful is Tulsa?” 

Hellman will measure and analyze the survey data to establish Thurston County’s “Hope Score.”

Hellman is also involved in analyzing hope survey data gathered by Kitsap Strong, a community-based organization similar to Thurston Thrives based in Kitsap County.

The Thurston County survey is at www.thurstonthrives.org/hope-thurston. Written in plain language, it takes about 10 minutes to complete and does not require your name.

What It Means to Build a Hopeful Culture

The Hope Thurston survey process began in June in partnership with Saint Martin’s University, The Evergreen State College, South Puget Sound Community College, Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, and the Thurston Chamber Foundation.

The project’s work is funded through a grant from the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound. 

A variety of methods are being used to conduct the survey. Nonprofit organizations are engaging with their clients to survey their level of hope.

To reach out to the population they are serving, the Family Support Center has already incorporated an index of “hope language” questions about their client’s goals and pathways, Tunheim said. This will help determine their clients’ “hope score.”

Tunheim says the idea is to identify why someone is feeling hopeless and target resources in the community where there is less hope.

The report produced by the survey will help direct Thurston Thrive partners for three to five years.

“We want to make Thurston County more hopeful and figure out how to reduce those barriers to feeling more hopeful,” said Tunheim.

What would it mean for Thurston County to have a higher “hope score?”

“A higher hope county is a safer county. One is more productive at work and less vulnerable to stress. Hope is the best predictor of college, higher grade point averages, healthy, lower rates of depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome. 

“In the justice system, it means a lower risk of recidivism. It’s about making the community better,” Tunheim responded.

The survey will close soon and a final report is expected by the end of 2019.

The survey is downloadable and printable as a PDF. For more information about the survey, contact Jesse Knudson, Community Engagement Specialist, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Thurston County, at (360) 786-5540, ext. 4272.

For more information about Thurston Thrives, go to www.thurstonthrives.org

For crisis intervention, resources or referrals, contact The Crisis Clinic at (360) 586-2800 or 1(800) 627-2211, 24 hours a day. A list of community resources is available at www.crisis-clinic.org.

The National Suicide Hotline is 1 (800) 273-TALK. Veterans, press 1

Above:  Walkers at Capitol Lake in downtown Olympia on Saturday afternoon.

Olympia Heron Preservation Group Becomes Land Trust

Above: With the donation of two land parcels on Olympia’s westside by Alicia Elliott, the Olympia Coalition for Ecosystems Preservation (OlyEcoSystems) organization is now applying for certification as a land trust. The Pacific Great Blue Heron makes nests in these trees during the breeding season of February through August and visit at other times. The nests, seen here, make the trees look like the Truffula trees in the Dr. Seuss book, The Lorax. Daniel Einstein, chair of OlyEcoSystems provided Little Hollywood a tour of the property on Wednesday. 

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The powerful story of a few dedicated community members with the Olympia Coalition for EcoSystems Preservation (OlyEcoSystems), a group on a mission to save and restore a local heron rookery on Olympia’s westside, continues to unfold.

Alicia Elliott, Olympia, recently donated to the group two parcels, totaling 4.7 acres, that she acquired last year to protect Olympia's lone colony of Pacific Great Blue Heron. 

With her donation, made in early December, OlyEcoSystems announced this week that it is becoming a land trust, thus protecting the woods in perpetuity. Elliott is a board member of the group.

The rookery parcel is about 1.9 acres, and the adjoining parcel, which will act as a buffer for the rookery, is about 2.8 acres.

In two years’ time, when the group is eligible to do so, it will apply for certification from the Land Trust Alliance, said Daniel Einstein, chair of OlyEcoSystems, on Wednesday as he gave Little Hollywood a tour of the property.

“Certification is going to be good for us…it will hopefully invite more donors, and we can turn those donations into land transactions. To be eligible for certification, we need to hold two or more parcels for two years,” said Einstein.

Land trusts enhance the economic, environmental and social values of their communities, and the support of the Land Trust Alliance will be crucial to the local organization for fundraising, legal support, and other benefits.

Founded in 1982, the Washington D.C. based Land Trust Alliance represents more than 1,100 member land trusts nationwide.

According to a 2010 survey by the Alliance, Washington State has 37 state and local land trusts, owning a combined 32,852 acres. The Alliance will conduct another survey in early January, the results of which will be available in Fall of 2016.

Above: Daniel Einstein today on the property adjacent to the rookery near Dickinson Avenue on Olympia’s westside. The property provides a critical buffer habitat in an urban setting for Pacific Great Blue Herons, and is also home to Cooper’s hawks, peregrine falcons, coyotes, red fox, deer, and many small mammals and reptiles.

Grants Focus on Restoration, Water Quality

Rounding out a successful year for the group, mature alders on the rookery property are now freed of 100,000 tons of ivy, thanks to teams of volunteers at regular work parties, who have also replanted the area with ferns, Oregon grape, and vine maple. 

The property also used to be a holly farm, and about 40 mature holly trees have been taken out because it too is an invasive species.

“The holly trunks are so big, it looks like we’re logging, but we’re not….It’s going to take some years to get it where we want it, but it’s really important to get it out now,”  said Einstein.

With a $10,000 grant from the Rose Foundation, they will be putting in 5,000 additional plants on the property.

Einstein pointed out the direct, stunning view of Mt. Rainier and explained that the group will be placing a picnic table and benches here for the public.

Einstein said the organization is also looking forward to creating a rain garden and planting 2,000 Pacific Willows and vine maples around it that will line rock-lined swales for untreated stormwater from Dickinson and Hays Avenues.

“In our neighborhood, all stormwater goes into Budd Inlet. None of it goes to LOTT - not a drop…most of it just runs off through the woods, or is dumped there by the city through a pipe. The woods act as a filter for the whole system as it moves through to Budd Inlet…. so our grants focus on water quality,” said Einstein.

The LOTT Clean Water Alliance is the regional wastewater system comprised of the cities of Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater, and Thurston County.

Besides stormwater issues, legacy dioxins from Olympia’s industrial past are known factors along West Bay Drive. The OlyEcoSystems property is directly upland of the former Reliable Steel on Budd Inlet, and property owned by local architect Glenn Wells. 

Einstein says that for now, the organization is focused on restoring and maintaining what it has, but if purchased by the group, the Wells property could provide neighborhood connectivity to and from West Bay Drive. Wells is asking a price that is double its assessed value of $100,000, says Einstein.

OlyEcoSystems currently pays about $1,500 in property taxes on the rookery parcel and received a conservation easement on it from Thurston County. 

“We were able to get that because of the heron’s nests. That reduced our property tax by 70 percent on this parcel. We could have gotten more of a property tax reduction, but we don’t allow year round public access because of the rookery….If it were a city owned property, there would be no way to close it, so that’s one reason we prefer to hold onto the property ourselves,” said Einstein.

Herons are sensitive to disruptions, and their breeding season starts in February and runs through August. The public is not allowed at the site during those months. The site has been used by herons for about 35 years, and thirty herons came back this past February during the breeding season. The herons also visit in the off breeding season.

“This year, they spent two to three months here, then were chased away by eagles to a location about 800 feet south of here. They were chased again and ultimately ended up on the other side of the inlet….that site is also part of their memory. They move around as needed based on safety and other reasons," said Einstein.

The OlyEcoSystems group has a solid vision and plan to continue their environmental efforts, with the community's help, for years to come.

“As we transition to a land trust, we also intend to remain a forceful advocate for habitat and water quality in our urban core,” said Einstein.

“The idea is that we need to preserve these trees and create a habitat for the herons that gives them flexibility to adapt, particularly as we change their landscape as we become more urbanized. That's why we don’t just want these two parcels, we want as much of the woods as we can get. We’d love to buy the woods on the other side (of the inlet), and work on the shoreline, where they can forage….There’s a connection between the fish and the birds….”

January Work Party

On Saturday, January 2nd, 2016, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., volunteers will be clearing ivy from the trees on the parcel in back of Hays Avenue, and clearing ivy off the remaining flat areas on the parcel at the east end of Dickinson Avenue NW. What to bring: gloves, a rain coat, hand saws, chain saws and clippers.

February Fundraiser

The OlyEcoSystems annual fundraiser will be on February 27th at 7:00 p.m. at the Abigail Stuart House (Women's Club), 1002 Washington St. SE, in downtown Olympia. There will be live music, refreshments, beverages, and a silent auction of works by Olympia artists. The event is open to the public. The group says that even if you cannot make a donation,“come and celebrate another year of successful advocacy for our environment.”

Above:  Olympia's westside as seen from the Fourth Avenue bridge today. The rookery is directly upland of the Reliable Steel site located on Budd Inlet at 1218 West Bay Drive, as illustrated by the vacant metal warehouse on the right. The site was originally developed as a lumber mill. From 1941-2009, the site was used for boat building, steel fabrication, and welding. From 2010 - 2013, the former owner and the Washington State Department of Ecology investigated the site and found contaminants above state cleanup levels. In 2014, Ecology held a public comment period on a draft partial cleanup plan for the site. Under the plan, Ecology will clean up some contaminated upland areas of the site.

OlyEcoSystems is committed to environmentally restoring its 4. 7 acre property, but also has other goals related to improving the water quality and health of Budd Inlet. “…The time is now. OlyEcoSystems is dedicated to affecting public policy and educating the community, but there is no ignoring the fact that our window of opportunity is closing.” – OlyEcoSystems website.

Past articles about Alicia Elliott, the rookery, and OlyEcoSystems can be found at Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com, by typing key words into the search engine.

For more information about the Olympia Coalition for EcoSystems Preservation, go to its website, www.OlyEcoSystems.org.

25th Nisqually Watershed Festival

Above: Cate Bellanca staffed a community information table for the Olympia Coalition for Ecosystem Preservation at the Nisqually Watershed Festival today.

 

Bellanca said she joined the three month old organization to help save the Great Blue Heron rookery endangered by a proposed development in her northwest Olympia neighborhood, and said she recently spent five hours gathering signatures on a petition to help save the rookery. For more information, go to www.olyecosystems.org.

 

By Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Starting as a glacier on Mt. Rainier, the Nisqually River flows 78 miles down the Nisqually River valley to meet Puget Sound. The freshwater of the Nisqually River mixes with the saltwater of Puget Sound and creates one of Washington’s largest undisturbed estuaries. The word “Nisqually” means “river of grasses,” or “flowing grasses.”

 

Located eight miles east of Olympia, this area, a former dairy farm and traditional land of the Nisqually Indian tribe, is now a spectacular national wildlife refuge. Every visit is different and provides rich learning opportunities and experiences.

 

A place of tranquility, September and October is an exciting time at Nisqually. Migrating waterfowl and wintering songbirds arrive. The entire food chain can be witnessed as peregrine falcons and American kestrels will also arrive, and feed on wintering birds. Bald eagles will hunt waterfowl flocks. Identifying species, watching behaviors and camouflaged activities, hearing songs and calls, and witnessing territorial movements is truly a treat.

 

Now in its 25th year, the Nisqually Watershed Festival today featured plenty of educational, hands-on activities, music, and of course, the opportunity to appreciate the history and environmental beauty of the Nisqually watershed. Today is also National Estuaries Day, established in 1988 as part of Coast Weeks.

 

Several hundred people parked at nearby River Ridge High School to take school bus shuttles to the festival.

 

Above: At the festival, Finn the Fish never disappoints, welcoming children small enough to explore the wonders featured inside. 

 

Above: A mother and son created a beaded salmon life cycle keychain. Each bead represents a part of the cycle: the first bead, a red bead, represents a redd, a salmon nest where salmon lay their eggs.

 

Above: The Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. One always comes home refreshed, flowing in mind and spirit. 

 

 For more information, go to www.fws.gov/nisqually