Introduction to Island Living

If you’ve just moved to the Island, you probably want to do something with your property, whether it’s a small yard in a neighborhood or large acreage along the road. The prospect of getting out there and doing something in a natural setting is often why people move here in the first place.

But that doesn’t mean they, or you, know what to do, especially since, if you’re a typical islander, you want your place to be environmentally appropriate and contribute to the island’s rural vibe.

For instance, you can’t necessarily rely on your previous experience with Vashon or some other semi-rural place to come up with a plan for your place.  Maybe back then, you were only just visiting or had other priorities like kids or careers.  And trying to get ideas from the media (The Rural Life!  Island Living!) can get ridiculous pretty quickly. Media coverage of anything rural romanticizes every aspect of it, and since the “advice” on offer isn’t localized, it won’t fit Vashon anyway.  No, you’d be better off finding out first what’s really here, and what really belongs here.

Most important of all, channel your first burst of land-improvement energy away from the chainsaw or herbicide sprayer or a guy with an excavator you want to hire, and toward learning some things. Easy, reliable places to find info are out there.

One is the Land Trust, which—as time allows—will come to your property and give you ideas for creating a healthy landscape benefiting you and the whole Island.  King Conservation District is another professional resource.  KCD staff will also come to your place free of charge and help you develop a plan to make your property ecologically healthy as well as attractive.  They even offer money to help you get the work done.  Or consider the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a branch of the USDA.  They’ll send consultants your way too, also for free.  And, like KCD, they offer funding to implement a plan.