Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Nisqually Reach Nature Center educator Jessica Andreoletti looks for sea slugs on a piling at the facility.

Facility is offering summer camps Nisqually nature center beckons

JOHN DODGE, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published July 7

THURSTON COUNTY -- Bolstered with its first paid employee, the Nisqually Reach Nature Center is reaching out to the public like never before.

The center, perched on the west side of the Nisqually River delta at the mouth of McAllister Creek, is offering summer camps in July and August for third- to sixth- grade students.

"Education is one of a number of ways to fight pollution and awaken children's senses to the natural world," said Jessica Andreoletti, the fulltime employee who has developed the estuary ecology curriculum for the summer camps.

The nature center has been operated on a shoestring budget by a private, nonprofit group whose 200 members have volunteered their time since 1985 to create exhibits, offer education programs and keep the center open to the public.

"So many people don't even know we are here," said Doug Myers, vice president of the center's board of directors. "If we can get folks to come here one time, it's amazing how often they return."

What the center lacks in money it makes up for with ingenuity and a spectacular natural setting.

From the center at Luhr Beach 10 miles northeast of Olympia, South Sound's Nisqually Reach and Nisqually River delta stretch out in a marine environment that changes dramatically with the tidal cycle.

A tidal timetable

The fish and wildlife on display change with the tides, Andreoletti said.

At high tide, visitors might see Caspian terns, seals and jellyfish. At low tide, blue herons, bald eagles and crabs are on display.

"Out here you go by the tides, not the clock," the 25-year-old Evergreen State College graduate said.

Indoor attractions at the nature center include three simulated tidal aquariums that are fed saltwater through pipes and pumps positioned near the mouth of McAllister Creek.

The aquariums actually rise and fall with the tides, sending tiny sea creatures, plankton and barnacles from the sea to the aquariums -- and sometimes back again.

Other exhibits in the 1,000 square-foot center show how crabs molt and help visitors identify dabbling ducks.

Viewing scopes and lab equipment are available for observing sea life or conducting simple scientific experiments.

Future projects

By this fall, Andreoletti and nature center members expect to develop a timeline, complete with historic photos and facts, showing the natural history of the Nisqually delta.

The nature center sits on property owned by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The complex includes a fishing pier -- temporarily closed for repairs -- a boat launch and beach access.

The nature center is leased from the state agency and is open to the public Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

"We're serving kind of a recurring audience -- people who launch a boat, fish from the pier or bird watch, especially in the winter," Myers said.

The latest public outreach and education effort is designed to make people more aware of one of South Sound's best kept secrets.

"It's one of the few places in South Sound where you can get a real focus on the marine environment, both in the classroom and out on the beach," Myers said.

Getting there, getting involved

To visit the Nisqually Reach Nature Center, take Meridian Road Northwest north to 46th Avenue Northwest. Turn right, then left on D'Milluhr Road Northwest. Follow D'Milluhr to the end.

To volunteer or join the Nisqually Reach Nature Center, or to reserve a spot in one of the center's environmental education summer camps for children, call 360-459-0387.

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