Love your neighbor!

Posted by Francesca Lyman | Oct 27, 2012 | Denny Fest, Events, News & Highlights |

America’s got ‘no’ talent? Up here where we live, our neighborhood has tons of it! At DennyFest, our annual bash, every year we hold a chili cook-off and a pie bake-off, with gourmet samplings to enchant our taste buds, a barbeque feast, and a stage of continuous all-local live musical entertainment. We love where we live so much that every year we come down to the banks of Lake Washington with kids and dogs in tow, to celebrate the beautiful place we call home. If you missed it, here’s a special look at our annual ‘swan song’ to...

DennyFest is this Sunday from 12 to 4!

Posted by Francesca Lyman | Aug 3, 2012 | Denny Fest, Events |

Live music, a dog show, and the ever-popular Chili cookoff and Pie bakeoff are all on the menu of DennyFest this fall. So mark your calendars and make plans to stop by and join in. The date is Sunday, September 9th, rain or shine, for the Finn Hill Neighborhood Alliance’s annual September “swan song to summer” festival. What else can you look forward to? As in past years, there will be kids’ activities, guided nature hikes, and a barbeque. Also in store may be tours for kids of a few of the fire engines. An eclectic variety of other...

Saving the Juanita Woodlands

Posted by Francesca Lyman | Jul 21, 2012 | FHNA History, Juanita Woodlands |

In 2001, DCNA turned to another important challenge: Saving what became known as the “Juanita Woodlands,” a 40-acre island of forest amid the rapidly expanding residential and commercial development of Kirkland’s Juanita area. The state had made known its possible intention to sell this parcel of woodlands along Juanita Drive. Held as School Trust Land by the State of Washington as a potential revenue source for the construction of public schools, the land was at risk of being sold to private developers, who would likely clear cut the forest for new housing. DCNA led an effort to convince King...

Restoring Soils and Streams

Posted by Francesca Lyman | Jul 20, 2012 | FHNA History |

Having witnessed windstorms and landslides, as well as eroding streams, over the years, members of DCNA dedicated themselves first to two big challenges: soil and salmon restoration. After studying the terrain, and learning about the fragile soil structure deposited long ago by the movements of glaciers, and recognizing the role of tree roots in helping stabilize the soil, DCNA worked with King County staff to create laws that would protect mature trees and native vegetation. The Significant District Overlay (SDO) zoning rules was adopted by King County Council in 1999, and later incorporated into Kirkland’s municipal code when the...

Protecting the Denny Creek Watershed

Posted by Francesca Lyman | Jul 3, 2012 | FHNA History, Surface Water Mgmt |

In 2007, a team of DCNA volunteers–George Ploudre, Kurt Seiffert, and Jim Sproull–completed a three-year study of Denny Creek and the 860-acre watershed surrounding it to assess the creek’s health and identify reasons why salmon and cutthroat trout were absent from it. Through extensive scientific testing and observation, the team concluded that housing developments above the creek were impeding the watershed’s ability to supply a controlled flow of water to Denny Creek, and also that King County drainage plans were moving water to other watersheds, leading to a loss of wetlands and wetland buffers. Their watershed survey offered several...

Author: Francesca Lyman