Hundreds of students and families poured into Railroad Bridge Park last week for the 21st annual Dungeness River Festival.
Per tradition, various local stakeholders/agencies with and near the Dungeness River provided activities and information about how to support the river’s health on Sept. 27.
Students from third, fourth and fifth grades grade visited from Sequim’s Greywolf and Helen Haller Elementary schools, along with students from Five Acre School, Olympic Peninsula Academy and Chimacum Elementary.
Powell Jones, executive director of the Dungeness River Audubon Center, said it was Chimacum’s first time participating, and that organizers are considering offering invites to other Olympic Peninsula schools, too.
Hours were reduced at this year’s festival, as organizers said the event catered mostly to families and students and wasn’t well-attended after schools hours in previous years, Jones said.
Some of the activities included learning about local animals, trail safety and care, and creating messages about how visitors can preserve the Dungeness River.
For more information on the festival and/or Dungeness River Railroad Bridge Park, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road, visit dungenessrivercenter.org, or contact 360-681-4076 or River Center@olympus.net.
Isla Frisby provides a treat for Murphy the donkey as Kaitlyn Carpenter reacts after he quickly ate a treat from her hand. Murphy was one of the many four-legged friends on-hand with the Back Country Horsemen Peninsula Chapter during the Dungeness River Festival. Kaitlyn and Isla said it was their first time feeding a donkey before.
Haylee Noel, 10, a Greywolf fifth grader, pets a cougar inside the Department of Fish and Wildlife booth during the Dungeness River Festival. Haylee said it was the first time she touched a cougar. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
Aliyah Siemion and Lily Tjemsland play marimbas during a performance for Five Acre School’s Soundwaves during the Dungeness River Festival. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
Bayleigh Rollins with Chimacum Elementary listens in on a demonstration from the State Department of Health – Shellfish division about how shellfish absorb items found in the water including glitter that represents pollution. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
At Olympic Nature Experience’s booth, Helen Haller Elementary fourth graders, from left, Garrett Eldredge, Kaden Miller and Ethan Smith guess what items they’re holding. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
Above, Haylee Noel, 10, a Greywolf fifth grader, pets a cougar inside the Department of Fish and Wildlife booth during the Dungeness River Festival. Haylee said it was the first time she touched a cougar. Left, from left, Myles Taylor, Noah Green, Logan Prendergast, Dakota Domning, Jesse Reeves and Sawyer Tomco, make it to the end of Clallam County Environmental Health’s model of a septic tank.
Marie Grad, a River Center volunteer and Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society board member, discusses salmon eggs with Coletyn Hull, 11, a fifth grader at Greywolf Elementary. Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash
