page_title: UW Bothell Wetland Restoration Project
section_title: Education
hierarchical_section_title: UW Bothell Wetland Restoration Project / Current status / Education
caption_attribution_description: English: boardwald
context_page_description: The UW Bothell/Cascadia College Wetland Restoration Project is a 58-acre forested floodplain restoration site at the delta of North Creek in King County, Washington, USA. The State of Washington bought the site in 1994 from the Truly family, and dedicated the land to the construction of the Bothel regional campus of the University of Washington and Cascadia College. Construction began in 1998, as did the stream and floodplain restoration. Two years later, in 2000, classes opened for students, and in 2001 the main phase of the restoration was completed. Today the site is an ongoing area of restoration education.
context_section_description: Because the Wetland Restoration Project at UWB was one of the largest floodplain restorations in the region, it is an educational resource to researchers and teachers. Over 30 classes, from the CUSP (Center for University Studies and Programs), Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Programs at UWB visit the campus wetlands. Research projects have studied bats, crows, stream invertebrates, beaver-plant interaction, and others. Professional education, such as wetland mitigation regulation, is also taught in the wetland, using this restoration as a very successful example. The continued research in the UWB Wetland Restoration Project will afford a basis of information for future research in ecological restoration.
  Research in the wetlands allows for the continual monitoring of the restoration growth. UWB encourages students, staff, and other scientists to research the restoration as long as it involves a minimal impact to the wetland ecosystems. Low-impact, observational studies are encouraged in the wetlands, but experimental proposals will be carefully considered, especially the potential impacts of the research. Some research projects that have been conducted in the wetland include:
  The behavioral study of bats
  Survey of terrestrial insects
  Stream macroinvertebrates as measures of stream health in North Creek
  The impacts of beaver activity on canopy development
  The impacts of tent caterpillar outbreaks on the pace and trajectory of ecological restoration
  Water quality of floodplain depressions thorough time and space – and links to the water quality of North Creek
  Water quality
  Fecal Coliform Bacteria (FCB), including E. coli, in North Creek tributaries has been monitored by the City of Bothell. In 2010, the City developed a ‘Bacteria Pollution Control Plan’ which involving picking up pet waste in effort to reduce Fecal Coliform Bacteria in surface waters. A study conducted later concluded that the source of Fecal Coliform Bacteria in North Creek tributaries is diffuse, or spread out. FCB that originates from sources within the wetland, such as waterfowl, are considered to be the ‘background’ levels and according to The DOE, “will not be addressed by water cleanup activities associated with [TMDL]”.
caption: The Wetland boardwalk, photographed by Warren Gold, provides a space for viewing wetland wildlife and North Creek.
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