Silliman Preserve Through the Seasons

Silliman Preserve after snowfall in February, 2019. The tubes protect young native trees and shrubs planted as part of ongoing restoration at the site. Photo by Colleen Skinner.

Volunteer site steward captures beauty, change at Whidbey preserve

Note: Colleen Skinner, a dedicated volunteer and site steward at Silliman Preserve, beautifully captured the change of seasons at the South Whidbey preserve by taking a photograph from the same spot every month for the past year. She shared the photographs and her experience in this guest blog post.

As we go about our daily lives, we may notice the changes of the seasons, the rising and setting of the sun and certainly the weather. We may celebrate when the daylight hours start to get longer or when we can stop mowing the lawn. We each have our own ways of marking the earth’s trip around the sun.

Starting in February 2019 during a snow storm, I decided to track that journey by taking a picture in the same spot each time I visited Silliman Preserve. Although I made observations and recorded changes as part of my stewardship duties, it wasn’t until I looked back through my pictures that I realized how dramatic the land changes throughout a year. Everything – the trees, grass, new plantings, the sky and the position of the sun – demonstrates the amazing cycle of life.

The opportunity to be a steward of this preserve has given me new insight on the gift of life and how special our planet truly is. I will continue to watch over Silliman and I have already chosen a new spot to mark the trip around the sun.