The Office of Connected Learning

Field Sites

The following are regional environmental field sites to support environmental research and teaching. This list was compiled by the 2018-2019 Fieldwork faculty and staff learning community.

View an interactive field sites map (Google maps).

Click below to learn more about each field site:

  1. Big Finn Hill Park
  2. Brightwater Treatment Plant
  3. Centennial Park
  4. Cotton Hill Park
  5. Everest Park
  6. Federation Forest State Park
  7. Hamlin Park
  8. McCollum Pioneer Park
  9. Mercer Slough Nature Park
  10. North Creek Forest Park
  11. North Creek Park
  12. Paradise Valley Conservation Area
  13. Richmond Beach Saltwater Park
  14. Redmond Watershed Preserve
  15. Rotary Community Park
  16. Saint Edward State Park
  17. UW Bothell Wetlands

Big Finn Hill Park

A 220-acre forested King County Park within the Kirkland city limits south of Saint Edward State Park. The southern unit of the park contains a legacy stand of Pacific madrone.

Brightwater Treatment Plant

The 43 acres of grounds at the King County Brightwater Treatment Plant contain a mix of upland, wetland, and aquatic habitats that were created in the landscpating of the treatment palnt grounds – opening in 2011. An environmental education center with laboratory and classroom facilities is located on site.

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Centennial Park

A 54-acre City of Bothell Park that contains a mix of floodplain wetlands along the North Creek and disturbed upland areas dominated by a mosaic of forest patches and open grasslands with trails and historic structures. The wetland has no trails at present and access is difficult.

Cotton Hill Park

A 4-acre city of Kirkland forested park along the cross Kirkland Corridor. Seven UW Restoration Ecology Capstone restoration projects were done here over 6 years from Fall 2007 to Spring 2013, restoring nearly 3 acres of the park. It is dominated by upland forest with a small pocket wetland in the north end.

Everest Park

A 21.5-acre city of Kirkland park that contains large active recreation facilities and some upland forest natural area along with a seasonal stream. Three UW Restoration Ecology capstone projects were completed here from Fall 2014 to Spring 2017.

Federation Forest State Park

A 574-acre state park that contains elements of old growth forest and river terraces along the White River east of Enumclaw. This is an excellent place to see old growth forest ecology just 80 minutes (60 miles) from UW Bothell.

Hamlin Park

An 80–acre city of Shoreline park that contains both active recreation facilities and 49 acres of upland coniferous-dominated forest habitat (plus another 10 acres of non-forested natural habitat).

McCollum Pioneer Park

A 78-acre Snohomish County Park that contains mid-aged diverse upland coniferous forest and a forested / scrub-shrub wetland with a 0.5-mile interpretive boardwalk. The Northwest Stream Center is located here.

Mercer Slough Nature Park

A 320-acre city of Bellevue park dominated by lakeshore wetlands along Lake Washington. There are more than 7 miles of trails that wind through a variety of wetland types and small patches of upland hillslope forest. The Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center operated by the Pacific Science Center is located along the east edge of the park.

North Creek Forest Park

A 64-acre city of Bothell park that is dominated by second-growth mature forest (mixed evergreen and deciduous stands), located just a half mile north of UW Bothell. The Friends of North Creek Forest worked with the city of Bothell to purchase the forest from 2011 to 2016. Eight UW Restoration Ecology capstone projects were completed here from Fall 2011 to Spring 2019.

North Creek Park

A 96-acre Snohomish County park just south of Mill Creek that encompasses emergent herbaceous and scrub-shrub wetlands as well as a narrow strip of floodplain forest along North Creek on the western edge of the park. There is an interpretive boardwalk through the wetland and it is an excellent place to see open freshwater wetlands as well as former peat mining locations just 15 minutes from UW Bothell.

Paradise Valley Conservation Area

A 793-acre forest reserve managed by Snohomish County Parks. The accessible portion of this natural area contains multi-use trails for bicycles, walkers, runners, and horses. There are a variety of early-successional forests, both evergreen and deciduous in the accessible unit, as well as more mature evergreen forested wetlands off limits to most users in the northern and eastern areas of the park. The Farmer Frog agriculture and nature conservation education facility sits adjacent to the main parking area off of Paradise Valley Road.

Redmond Watershed Preserve

An 800-acre city of Redmond forested park that contains streams, open-water habitats, forested wetlands, upland forests, and disturbed shrub-dominated hillslopes. There are fragments of more mature forest interspersed with younger growth woodlands.

Richmond Beach Saltwater Park

A 32–acre city of Shoreline park along the shore of Puget Sound. The park land is dominated by extensive stands of invasive Scotch Broom on the slopes of a former gravel quarry, some of which have undergone ecological restoration. Eleven UW Restoration Ecology capstone projects were completed here between the Fall of 2006 and Spring 2019. The western portion of the park contain freshwater wetlands and shoreline beach habitats.

  • Master plan (2007)

Rotary Community Park

An 18-acre city of Woodinville park containing active recreation facilities and a natural area along Little Bear Creek. There is a loop trail through this botanically-diverse natural area that explores a variety of floodplain wetlands and upland forests with some mature vegetative elements. Among a few restoration efforts in the park, the UW Restoration Ecology capstone completed one project there in 2003-4.

Saint Edward State Park

A 326-acre state park that contains elements of second growth, mature upland evergreen and deciduous forests along with streams along the shoreline of Lake Washington (3,000 feet of shoreline) in the city of Kenmore.

UW Bothell Wetland

A 58-acre restored floodplain wetland on the campus of UW Bothell and Cascadia College. The wetland was restored from 1998 to 2002 from a former farm / pastureland and contains a variety of forested and scrub shrub wetlands along North Creek as well as open water habitats.