Kwiaht

@kwiaht.org

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Your local laboratory in the San Juan Islands for the science to support good stewardship. Posts by @arbutocrat.bsky.social

A school of grey fish swirl in shallow water and rush towards the beach.
A book held in a hand over green strawberry leaves. There is a drawing of a soapberry shrub on the cover. The cover says "Naming and knowing Indigenous Plants of the San Juan Islands. Russel Barsh and Madrona Murphy with illustrations by Amanda Konishi." There is a blue, green, red, and grey logo in the lower right corner that says Kwiaht.
Poster for a moth and butterfly lecture. It has the logos for Kwiaht and the San Juan Island Library, a picture of a white and brown moth on a white flower, and a man in a plaid shirt smiling and holding a sample container while surrounded by tall green leaves. He is labeled Russel Barsh, KWIAHT director. The rest of the poster reads "Colorful, Rare, and Mysterious: Butterflies and Moths of the San Juan Islands. Come learn more about the dozens of butterflies and hundreds of moths that can [sic] the San Juan Islands home, many of which are regionally rare and threatened by habitat loss and climate change. Saturday, May 23 3-5 pm Library Main Salon."
A bucket of butter and little neck clams covered in water. A hand is holding one of the butter clams to show it off.
Pink apple buds surrounded by green leaves with lichen in the background.
Bright purple shore lupines with silvery foliage blooming along a rocky shoreline. There is a large black and yellow bumble bee in the middle of the photo.
A poster with a picture of orange ochre sea stars on a seaweed covered rock. It reads: "Summer on the Beach! We are seeking an exceptional middle or high-school student to work part-time as an ecosystem steward alongside adult volunteers and Kwiaht scientists at: Indian Island, Eastsound. Successful applicants will be organized, reliable, enjoy speaking to strangers, and working in a cooperative team. Interest in ecology and marine biology is an advantage but not required. Help inform and educate visitors to Indian Island on 30 low-tide days in June, July, and August (about 100 hours total). Your reward is a summer of seabirds, sea stars, and science, plus a $3,300 stipend. May be compatible with other part-time summer employment. Interested? Write to info@kwiaht.org to schedule an interview. Robyn Lowe Fund. Indian Island Marine Health Observatory, Kwiaht. Supported by generous private donors on Orcas Island."
Poster for a grafting workshop. At the center is a photos of a dense cluster of red striped apples on a tree. The poster reads: "Celebrate the 1st day of Spring with Apples! Grafting workshop and scion exchange. Free rootstock and heritage varieties from the islands. San Juan Island Grange. Saturday March 21 Noon to 2pm. Supported by the San Juan Island Community Foundation." There is a Kwiaht 20th anniversary logo at the bottom left.
Poster for a talk. In the middle is a photo of a brown woodland skipper with its long tongue in a pink thistle inflorescence. The poster says "Kwiaht ecologist Russel Barsh at Orcas Odd Fellows Hall. Colorful, Rare, & Mysterious Butterflies & Moths of the San Juan Islands. Sunday, February 22--2:00-3:30pm"
Poster for Kwiaht's Marine Matinee. A close up of a herring head with the big eye centered. A bubble above reads "Marine Matinee" and below it says "Kwiaht. Lopez Center. Sunday January 25, 3-5pm. Free. Refreshments."
The cover of a book with an illustration of an orange tip butterfly on a mustard stalk. The cover says "Butterflies of the San Juan Islands and some important moths, Kwiaht"
Orange poster with a picture of a fuzzy orange Elegant sheep moth showing his face and focusing in on the large feathered black antennae. The poster reads: "Shining a Light on Local Moths. Lecture by Russel Barsh of Kwiaht. Thurs, Nov. 13 @ 6 pm. Join us for the last in this three part series: BAM! Bats, Apples, & Moths. www.lopezlibrary.org"
A great camas (Camasssia leichtlinii) inflorescence. The flowers are deep purple.
Poster for Apple Tasting. It reads: "Annual Apple Tasting hosted by Kwiaht and the Orcas Island Historical Museums. Saturday, October 4th 12:30-2:30pm. Orcas Island Historical Museum 181 North Beach Rd. Free Event! Enjoy fresh-pressed cider! Community is welcome to come and sip, or bring their own apples to press! *Press until 3:30pm. Dozens of local varieties of apples to sample! Supported by Girl Meets Dirt and Orcas Isle Cider." There is a photo of an apple tasting display, a striped apple on a tree, and at the bottom the logos for Kwiaht, Girl Meets Dirt, Orcas Isle Cider, and the Orcas Island Historical Museums.
A fuzzy bee with a black head, pale hairs, and a bright yellow patch showing on the underside of her abdomen taking flight from a pale purple thistle flower. The background is green thistle leaves and beige grass stalks.
A gallon ziplock bag full of ripe salal berries still on their racemes (the stems are pale green, the bracts are red, and the berries are black).
Hummel Lake fishing derby poster. It says: "2nd annual Hummel Lake Fishing Derby June 28. Register at Hummel Lake Boat Launch on the Day of the Derby. Entry fee adult $30 youth $15. Your entry fee goes into the prize pot! The more Anglers participate, the bigger the pot! Prizes will be awarded for the biggest fish caught of each species (Rainbow Trout, Bluegill, Largemouth Bass)--Focus on one or try for the Grand Slam! Cash prizes awarded for first place, tackle kits awarded to the runners-up. Separate prizes for youth. Official derby start @ 8am, weigh-in ends @ 4:30pm. Prizes awarded @ 5pm. Hosted by Kwiaht. Thanks to our sponsor Islands Marine Center! Contact brett@kwiaht.orh with questions."
A hover fly with black and yellow patterned abdomen on a white strawberry flower.
Aerial drone photo of a beach seine. A net is gathered on the beach with people on the inside and outside of it, the middle of the net is still in the water. A floating net pen is just outside the net. In the upper left you can see the drone operator.
Patches of vibrant orange in the water along the shoreline at low tide.
A white oval clam with concentric ridges displayed on a hand. The background is blurry sand.
A greyish blue butterfly with speckles on its underwing, a dark edge with a white fringe on its upperwing, and striped black and white antennae on top of a purple bluebell flower. The background is blurred green.
Purple and white lupine flowers among green lupine foliage.
Purple and white lupine flowers among green lupine foliage.
A greyish blue butterfly with speckles on its underwing, a dark edge with a white fringe on its upperwing, and striped black and white antennae on top of a purple bluebell flower. The background is blurred green.
Two small furry bees with golden hair and dark abdomens mating on new maple leaves, another bee lurks just below the leaf, its eyes and antennae visible.
Part of a poster. There is a picnic table with tools and people around it. In the foreground are buckets of rootstock and some apple prunings. Below the photo it reads: "Kwiaht botanist Madrona Murphy demonstrating grafting techniques, scionwood in foreground." Below that it reads: "Second Annual Heritage Fruit Tree Grafting Workshop & Scion Exchange."
Tree Grafting Workshop poster showing cleft grafts in the background. Text: "Tree Grafting Workshop. Saturday, April 5, from 12:30-2:20 at the stage area of the Farmers Market. Madrona Murphy of Kwiaht, Lori Brakken of the Home Orchard Society, and Greg Meyer of Planted Pantry will teach how to graft trees, have rootstock & scion wood available, and tools to buy. Feel free to bring your own scion wood and grafting tools."
A colorful pink and orange poster with an image of an alligator lizard, a black-legged tick, and a microscope. It reads "Lil Labs and Kwiaht Present Tick Talk Mullis Center Sat 3/22 1-2 pm. Join us for a free hands-on workshop on ticks and tick-borne disease on the islands. Foldscope identification workshop!" The alligator lizard is labeled "Alligator lizard (Elgaria coerulea)" and the tick is labeled "Black-legged tick (Ixodes pacificus)". There are logos for Lil Labs (a mini lab that looks like a mini library) and Kwiaht (a clamshell containing a water molecule and flanked by coniferous trees).
Two pinkish purple flowers coming off of straight green leaves in a background of gray-green reindeer lichen.
Bright green nettle shoots meeting from brown leaf litter.
Photo of blooming great camas with "Meadow-making Workshop Sunday March 2" written across it. The camas flowers are pale purple and there are abundant green leaves. The text is similar color to the flowers.
Poster showing an orange false ochre starfish under water against a background of green seaweed and gray rocks. The text reads "Tides of March. Marine science on the half-shell. March 15, 2025 3:30-5:30. Episcopal Parish Hall, Eastsound. Free admission. Sponsored by Kwiaht and the Indian Island Marine Health Observatory."
A small reddish brown snake coiled in such a way that both her head and her tail are nearly hidden underneath the rest of her body. She is lying on twigs and there is a Douglas fir cone behind her; coiled she is less than half the size of the cone.
The USPS Lunar New Year stamp for 2024. It has scalloped edges and shows a green snake that looks like it is cut from paper, adorned with orange flowers and purple beads. The tail is at the top and the head at the bottom. At the bottom is says "Lunar New Year. Forever. USA". The word forever is crossed out to indicate that the picture is not a valid stamp.
Watercolor painting of a round yellow apple with red stripes. The apple is shown twice, first as a whole apple and then cut from step to sepals to show the core and core line. The core line is wide and two brown seeds can be seen. Handwriting on the lower left says 79607 Wagener H.S. Bird Portland Oregon. Handwriting on the lower right includes a signature Mary D. Arnold under which is written the word copy and a short illegible bit of cursive. The painting is from the USDA Pomelogical Watercolor Collection.
Fishing Friday poster. On top is a line drawing of a bass with "Fishing Fridays!" across it in large orange type. Below it says "at Hummel Lake Friday September 13 6:00 pm to dark. Friday September 20 6:00 pm to dark. Friday September 27 6:00 pm to dark. Learn to fish (or improve yoru freshwater fishing game) with host Brett Jensen. Loaner fishing gear provided by Kwiaht. If you are 16 years or older, please be sure you have a current WDFW freshwater fishing license, available from Islands Marine Center (IMC)."
Missing poster for the Northern Rubber Boa. At the top of the poster is a photo of a very smooth brown snake coiled on a dry wood surface with the word missing across it in white. Below the text reads "Northern Rubber Boa aka Charina bottae. Unconfirmed sporadic reports. Northern Rubber Boa historically reported on San Juan Island where it fed on voles, shrews, mice and occasional small birds and eggs of other reptiles. Smallest, northernmost, and most cold-tolerant member of the Boidae family; also notably docile and non-venomous. A nocturnal hunter of meadow and woodland habitats. Reasons for its disappearance are unclear." At the bottom right the poster reads "Kwiaht 2024"
Missing poster for the Northwestern Pond Turtle. At the top there is a picture of a pond turtle with the word missing diagonally across it in white. Below is the text "Northwestern Pond Turtle aka Actinemys marmorata Last seen c. 1994. Northwestern Pond Turtle was historically reported in lakes on San Juan Island and Blakely where it fed on aquatic insects, fish, frogs, algae, and cattails. In May-June, eggs were laid in shallow nests dug in sandy lakesides. Spent its winters buried in lake-bottom mud ("brumation"). It is believed to be the victim of invasive bullfrogs as well as habitat loss." The lower right corner says Kwiaht 2024.
A brown alligator lizard sits on top of a green deer fern, it is facing right, and its tail curves towards the bottom of the picture. The tail is as long as the rest of the lizard.
A cluster of squid eggs (which are long translucent sacs, the cluster contains dozens) held in the water by a pair of hands.