Why your Volunteer Service is Important
Forests need to have diversity in order to be healthy and thrive. When forests are thriving, they can they can provide many benefits to our community like filtering pollution, mitigating erosion and storm damage and providing habitat for wildlife and green spaces where people can connect with nature and the outdoors. Aggressive noxious weeds like English Ivy and Himalayan Blackberry were brought to this area and planted by for their desirable characteristics of staying green all year round or tasty fruits. These plants have upset the balance that our forests need to survive and thrive. Removing these aggressive plants and planting native plants can help restore the balance to a damaged ecosystem.
Big Finn Hill Park is 220-acre multi-use park. It is an active recreation site and a wooded urban oasis along Juanita Drive. To the east of the road, the park offers recreation facilities including ballfields, a play area, a rustic picnic shelter (no water/power) and) multi-use trails; to the west of the road, trails loop through the forest. The trails are frequented by mountain bikers, dog walkers, and hikers. Trails at Big Finn Hill Park connect with trails at St. Edwards State Park to the north. Steep climbs in the north and south combine with moderate rolling terrain on the ridge tops. With its variety of flora and terrain, visitors occasionally spot deer, owls, hawks and eagles.
What to Expect
Event will begin with a discussion that includes information about King County Parks, the park that you are serving in, why this work is important and tool use and safety. King County will supply work gloves, a jug of water, light snacks, all instruction and tools. Young people under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Any minors under the age of 18 attending the event without a parent or legal guardian must also bring a signed youth waiver to event in order to participate. Please plan to arrive on time for the start of the event and allow extra time to find parking. Valuable information about the park and instruction on the project is given at the start of the event and it is important for all volunteers to be present. Our project for the day is to plant native trees and shrubs in an area formerly filled with Himalayan blackberry.
What to Bring
- Layers of warm clothing that can get dirty. Jeans, thick pants or dress/skirt with leggings underneath, any outfit that covers legs is appropriate
- Shorts or capris are not recommended
- Rain jacket and rain pants (or sunblock and a sun hat!)
- Closed –toed shoes are essential. Sturdy sneakers, rain boots or hiking boots are ideal
- Full water bottle, LUNCH and snacks
Please do not use GPS or Google Maps alone to navigate to parks. If you use GPS, please double check against this map and/or these directions to ensure the GPS is sending you to the correct meeting spot.
Big Finn Hill – Directions to West Entrance* - from 405 N.
- Exit 405 at 20A, for NE 116th St.
- Keep left at the fork to continue toward NE 116th St.
- Turn left onto NE 116th St.
- NE 116th St. turns slightly right and becomes NE Juanita Dr. then becomes Juanita Dr. NE
- Continue on Juanita Dr. NE
- Turn right (east) onto NE 138th St. into park
- Drive through first parking area, turn left into second parking area and look for our registration table near the shelter.
*Note that there are several entrances to the park, please follow these directions to reach the correct meeting spot
