Hidden in the outskirts of Renton, few miles southeast of the city’s suburban silhouette, is a mossy-green wonderland.
SHADOW (Save Habitat and Diversity of Wetlands) Lake Nature Preserve is a 92-acre preserve and home to one of Puget Sound’s last remaining peat bogs. SHADOW works towards ensuring the sustainability of the Shadow Lake’s habitations and preserving the 5,000 year-old bog — a type of wetland that accumulates peat and acid-loving moss — but also to educate kids and adults about the importance of preserving the ecology.
Before SHADOW existed and the land was protected, the area was used as a garbage dumping site. But in 1995, Max Prinsen and his wife Erin purchased 18 acres surrounding the lake in hopes to create a recreational area for underserved kids.
“Then we started to realize the significance of the peat bog and how it was one of the few left, we decided we needed to do more than that,” said Prinsen, who has a forestry education background.
Fueled with passion to restore the wasting wetland, the Prinsens formed a group, got their nonprofit status and started to buy parcels of land around the initial 18 acres. For the past 20 years, the Prinsens have tirelessly worked to restore the dump yard to an ecological treasure that’s open for the public to enjoy and learn.
The preserve’s most notable attraction is the half-mile boardwalk trail that navigates through native wetland plants, tress and 32 different kinds of moss.
“It gives a really neat opportunity to see the plant lives and different environments that exist out in the bog which is rare to see because it’s wet flooring and thickly forested,” said Isabelle Feraudo, operations and development manager.
The site also has several trails in its Upland area that’s controlled access. That means it’s accessible if you call ahead and let them know you’re heading for the trail.
Following one of the organization’s core value of education, SHADOW has partnered with school districts and homeschool programs to provide an outdoor education program. Each year, more than 1,500 kids show up to explore and learn about the bog. They also partner with local YMCAs and scout groups to complete volunteer-led projects within the preserve.
“You can feel, see and actually do education here,” said Prinsen. “But it also gives kids the concept of an ethic of protecting these plants. When they come here, they see a different enough place that they want to say, ‘That’s significant enough to protect.'”
SHADOW offers guided tours that are tailored based on age group and interests.
“We try to focus closer to home when it comes to our education and how you can do to be a land steward,” said Feraudo. “What has been done here is an example of a successful stewardship that has occurred.”
According to Prinsen, in King County only 3 percent of peatland areas remain and SHADOW constitutes of 1 percent of that.
For the future, Prinsen is hoping purchase more land parcels, continue with its maintenance and expand their educational programs.
All the land that is acquired by SHADOW is put under permanent protection to ensure the wetland’s safety and health. This means that even 100 years from now, the land will remain untouched.
“The message we try to impart with people is that they are the stewards of the land and its future,” said Prinsen. “It’s the ethic of the land. We as a society have this thing that we own something. But we don’t own anything; we borrow it from the future. When you as a community get together and realize that you’re not owning it and you’re stewarding it for the future, that makes a huge difference.”
