Snohomish County is for the birds – and for those who value them
Local bakeries offer many delicious options, as well as places to hang out
PATIENCE REWARDED Artist travels worldwide to bring his watercolors – and towels – to life
Where do youth go when there are no other options? The Cocoon House in Everett. One success story is Tanya Ocampo, who, after leaving, returned to help others.
Craving a tasty pastry? Warm sourdough bread? Bakeries are a staple in American life, and south Snohomish County is lucky to have some delicious options.
Joel Patience has traveled around the world to create his expressive art. His watercolors reflect artisan design styles. He also creates towels? Yes you can take his masterpieces to the beach.
Not just anybody can gain the prestige of being called a Master Gardener. But if you have a desire to learn and a commitment to volunteerism, you might just join the almost 300 members locally.
School bus drivers are an essential cog in every school district. We follow one dedicated driver – who gains great satisfaction from his job – on his route.
Birders are a hearty bunch. In addition to their favorite hobby, many are making a difference during the Pilchuck Audubon Society’s annual bird counts.
By Lauren Salcedo
Fourteen-year-old Tanya Ocampo found herself struggling with challenges at her home in Maltby. She approached her school counselor, who offered a business card for a Cocoon House teen advocate. When an incident with her older sister turned violent, she called the advocate, who quickly came to help.
Ocampo was one of many youth and young adults living at Cocoon House, an Everett-based nonprofit founded in 1991 by Sarri Gilman as an eight-bed emergency shelter for homeless teens. It has expanded to include several sites and programs focused on ending youth homelessness throughout Snohomish County.
“They had a vacancy at Cocoon House, and I thought it would be a good idea if I left home for a bit,” Ocampo said. She received permission from her mom, fighting cancer at the time and reliant on the older sister Ocampo had conflicts with. She arrived at the original Cocoon House on Cedar Street in Everett, at that time simply an emergency shelter.
Her first impressions of Cocoon House? It was clean and safe.
“There were a lot of rules in place, which was intimidating to me because I wasn’t used to that. It was clean and the most orderly system I had been exposed to, other than school. It was the healthy break I needed from the issues I had going on at home.”
Over time, a teenage Ocampo struggled with the rules at Cocoon House and would leave, but frequently seemed drawn back.
“I stayed on the streets for a while. I befriended people who were homeless teenagers like me and stayed with them, so I was never alone. I tried going home, but it was the same thing over and over, and I felt like I had to be independent. If I was on the streets, I would try to go to Cocoon House. If I felt unsafe and needed a break from whichever group of kids I was with, I would go back to Cocoon House for respite if they had a bed open.”
At one point, Ocampo moved into Cocoon House’s long-term housing facility, then located on Pine Street in Everett. She would sometimes leave – she said up to 16 times – but always found her way back to Cocoon House when she needed it.
“Cocoon House was always there for me when I was ready, even when it took that many times of coming back and leaving,” she said. “Those people were my family.”
A stereotype
“T here is a lot of myth, stigma, and stereotype about what drives a youth into becoming unhoused,” said Cocoon
‘There are countless stories of kids moving into Cocoon House and carrying their belongings in a garbage bag. It’s all they have.’
House CEO Joseph Alonzo. “There’s really no typical story. We see a lot of family and generational poverty, where the family is underhoused and the youth is now old enough to kind of fend for themselves. But they are still teens, and they still need support.”
While some of the factors contributing to adult homelessness, such as poverty and unaffordable housing, can also affect teens and young adults, there are often more complicated issues at play.
“Kids become homeless for very different reasons than adults,” said Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, Cocoon House’s former CEO. “For kids, they have usually experienced trauma, domestic violence, drug and alcohol addiction, have untreated behavioral health concerns, or it could even be that parents aren’t accepting of a youth’s identity. And then when they become homeless, they are immediately exposed to trauma on the street.
security.”
“T here were a lot of rules in place, which was intimidating to me because I wasn’t used to that. It was clean and the most orderly system I had been exposed to, other than school. It was the healthy break I needed from the issues I had going on at home.”
Eventually, Ocampo joined the Cocoon House board of directors, at the encouragement of Franklin, who she has known since she was 16.
“There are countless stories of kids moving into Cocoon House and carrying their belongings in a garbage bag. It’s all they have.”
Whether kids are fleeing trauma or just arriving from families struggling to get by, Cocoon House is there to help. Its headquarters, a building known as the HUB, offers long-term transitional housing for kids aged 16-17, as well as young adult housing for those aged 1824. “We have 20 units of what we call the ‘micro-studios,’ but they are very similar to dormitory-style housing,” said Alonzo. “Each unit has their own bedroom and living space, sink, microwave, small dormstyle refrigerator, and each has their own restroom and shower.”
Outside of those individual rooms, there are larger communal living rooms and residential-style kitchens. Youth and young adult housing areas are on two separate floors, with security measures in place to prevent unauthorized access.
The creation of the HUB is almost 10 years in the making – the capital campaign that provided funding for construction of the site began in 2016 – and the facility opened its doors in the summer of 2019. While Cocoon House continues to offer emergency shelter for those aged 12-17 at its Monroe location, the larger building in Everett has allowed for expanded programming and consolidation of other sites. Emancipated
F ormer resident Ocampo, now 34, is glad that Cocoon House has been able to expand into young adult housing. She was 17 when her mother died, and became an emancipated minor. She earned her GED, went to school for medical assisting, and joined the workforce. But she still struggled to find stable housing.
“That’s a need (Cocoon House was) aware they had to address,” she said. “They just didn’t have resources for my age group.”
After leaving Cocoon House, she moved into transitional housing through another organization. That lasted 18 months. “After that, it took me a few years to be financially stable and to have housing
“(Franklin) was adamant about getting a youth perspective on the board,” said Ocampo, who served on the board for nine years. “It gave me the opportunity to say thank you to my community, and it also gave me the opportunity to think bigger – past what I’m capable of as an individual to how I can work with others to create something greater.” She also worked on the capital campaign that led to the eventual creation of the HUB.
Today, a popular HUB feature is a drop-in center known as U-Turn, open daily on the first floor. The warm and inviting space resembles a living room with cozy couches, video games, and well-stocked bookshelves. A hot meal is served every night. Kids can access restrooms, showers, and laundry facilities, as well as on-site staff to help them navigate any resources they might need.
The drop-in center also includes a medical clinic space, Nurse practitioners from Community Health Center are available multiple times a week to help those who may feel uncomfortable in other health-care settings.
Cocoon House has a mission to break the cycle of youth homelessness – not only through outreach and housing, but also through prevention, which is a key pillar of its work.
“We believe that we are going to end homelessness eventually by preventing it from happening in the first place,” said Alonzo. “When families call us and want to get a youth into the shelter, we really dig into why, and we try to keep that family intact. We do community-based work, we go into homes, and work with families that are in crisis. We try to figure out what’s the root cause, provide services, education,
The original Cocoon House on Everett’s Cedar Street now serves as a family and engagement resource center. “We set that up to be welcoming to families to come by during open house hours and just be able to talk to the teen about what they might be experiencing,” Alonzo said.
Youth and young adults who identify as LGBTQ+ may be at increased risk of becoming unhoused. “We see lots and lots of young people who identify as LGBTQ and leave the home because they don’t feel that coming out is safe, or they have come out and get asked to leave,” said Alonzo, who also noted that 40-45% of the youth that Cocoon House serves identify as LGBTQ. “A lot of our parenting classes and our parent work is around trying to help families navigate that phenomenon.”
In addition to outreach, housing, and prevention services, recent growth has allowed Cocoon House to expand its education and employment offerings. It currently partners with Workforce Snohomish, Seattle Jobs Initiative, and Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest to provide employment services and engage young people in job readiness development.
“We have paid internships that we are able to provide in different placements around the community, and lots of training, lots of assessment, just helping young people get the skills needed to become employable or maintain employment,” Alonzo said. There is also a classroom space and technology center to host educational courses.
As one of the only local resources available to address youth homelessness in the area, Cocoon House receives requests for its services to expand in Snohomish County. While it is looking to expand into south Snohomish County in the near future, Alonzo said one of the most exciting new programs, Connections Host Homes, was developed from a desire to address growing needs in the most cost-effective way.
“It’s an idea of engaging members of our community who might have an extra room in their house. In a partnership with Cocoon House and a young person that is in need, they would basically host them, similar to how a family might host a foreign exchange student.”
These homes allow children to stay within their own communities.
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“These are youth that are typically new to homelessness, so they are not our street-dependent young people, but they are youth that are identified as needing a quick environment that is homelike and safe,” Alonzo said. By keeping the kids in their community, the Host Homes program allows kids to stay connected to their school, which Alonzo said is the other primary institution in their life, outside of their family.
Ocampo said that if a Host Home had been available
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when she was homeless, it might have helped her stay connected to her school and community. “I probably would have wanted to go to school if I had that opportunity when I first went to Cocoon House. I wouldn’t have been so isolated.”
Alonzo said that Host Homes offer a way for kids to immediately stabilize after becoming homeless.
“When we find these hosts in communities that these youth are already tied to, we have found that there is a bond that is created and that the families provide immediate safety for that youth.”
“If we have a family in Mukilteo that will hopefully host youth in the Mukilteo School District, then they have some commonality already – the youth and host family might know the same great little restaurant (and) might have these connections that help build some community and trust together.”
Signing up to be a Host Home is a lower-obligation commitment than fostering a child. Families host a youth for up to 21 days, which can work well for families who only have space available during part of the year. Extensive background checks and training are provided.
For Everett Mayor Franklin, Cocoon House is an essential organization protecting some of the most vulnerable members of the community. She described the case of one 13-year-old boy who was
Proudly serving our community with honesty, integrity, and communication for the last 10+ years!
about the size of a 9-yearold, whose mother was struggling with significant behavioral health challenges.
“He broke my heart,” she said. “He was very small, and without Cocoon House he would have been sleeping outside. As a mom – I have a 15-year-old daughter – I can’t imagine her being outside for even a minute. Yet there are kids even younger than her who are in these life-anddeath situations. I am very grateful to have Cocoon House in our world.”
Franklin also wanted to remind folks that homeless youth are not to be feared.
“They’re just kids!” she said. “They may look fierce, some are even growing beards, but they’re just kids and need support.”
Ocampo agreed. She is a mother herself now, and recently graduated with a Master’s of Clinical Health Services from MEDEX NW at the University of Washington to become a physician assistant.
“If someone had slammed the door in my face, on my eighth visit to Cocoon House, it would have changed the course of my life,” she said. “I would have become a sex worker, or hooked on drugs. I am very lucky that I never entered the criminal justice system, or befriended a pimp. That organization saved my life. They never gave up on me.”
For more information, or to support Cocoon House, visit cocoonhouse.org or call 425-259-5802. n
“
They’re just kids! They may look fierce, some are even growing beards, but they’re just kids and need support.”
– Everett Mayor, Cassie Franklin
A bread called “bannock,” made from maize, roots and tree sap, has been made for centuries by Coast Salish, Lummi, and many other tribes, and a version of this bread supposedly kept explorers Lewis and Clark alive.
With the European expansion, traders and settlers quickly adopted these breads, and in the late 1800s the Gold Rush that expanded the range of baked goods in the Pacific Northwest even further. Seattle was named the “Gateway to the Gold Fields” and prospectors bought a new bread – sourdough.
Seattle became known as a key spot to find precious sourdough starters. Seattle’s Essential Baking Company proudly states most of its 16 million loaves of bread baked every year contain some of that same century-old sourdough starter that fed prospectors during the gold rush.
Baking has only become more sophisticated over time, and the most beautiful and tasty creations grace the display cases and shelves of modern bakeries. Fortunately for us, south Snohomish County has a seemingly endless supply. From European pastries to delights favored by our neighbors of Asian and Scandinavian heritage to gluten-free shops, the range of bakeries has grown far beyond a loaf of bread or sweet roll.
Little Prague Bakery: The legendary Little Prague Bakery & Deli recently opened a location in Mukilteo. Its original spot in West Seattle is still open, but the Ballard location has closed.
Owner Blanka Ly channels her great-grandmother and offers clientele classic Eastern European baked goods. Ly’s mother opened the bakery in 1999, and the deliciousness has tempted patrons from near and far for 25 years. From apple strudel to Hungarian goulash with dumplings, the recipes from her family in the Czech Republic have been passed down for generations.
Little Prague is famous for its kolaches, a sweet bread with a variety of fillings. Cream cheese is the traditional base, and Little Prague adds apricot, cherry, or poppy seed, and sometimes even blueberry or caramelized apples. This bakery goes beyond bread and baked goods, with sweet and savory breakfasts and lunches that focus on local ingredients while honoring the Czech recipes.
The Hungarian goulash is a slow-cooked beef stew served with, you guessed it, homemade steamed bread dumplings.
Learn more: As of The Beacon Magazine’s deadline, there was no website. The bakery is at 801 Second St., Mukilteo.
The Cottage Bakery: The bakery in Perrinville, on the Edmonds/Lynnwood border, is bright and welcoming, and most importantly has all of the wonderful smells and sights of fresh baked breads, pastries, and coffee. The windows are lined with fresh flowers in tin buckets, and their carefully curated shelves of select retail items (flours, jams, coffee, honey, and mustards) are arranged to celebrate the main event –bread! Their sign even says it: “Eat Real Bread.”
The owner, Conor O’Neill, believes in the thoughtful and centuries-old process of naturally leavened bread-
making. At the Cottage, his knowledge and love of bread utilizes the simple, local ingredients he uses to create a truly amazing array of baked goods.
When you arrive at the Cottage Bakery, the rows and rows of loaves – French, olive, sourdough, focaccia, and many more – are the visual main event. Their perfectly formed crunchy crusts tempt you to get several just to try the different flavors and textures. But below those racks are so many other options, like their famous pretzels or pastries made from apples or berries, with mascarpone or cardamom, lemon and lavender.
Learn more: cottagecommunitybakery.com
Mon Amie Bakery and Café: A croissant could be one of the world’s perfect foods, and when it comes to French baking, it is only the beginning of a journey in deliciousness. We do not need to go to Paris to visit a French bakery and patisserie, though. There is Mon Amie Bakery and Café in Mill Creek. The highly trained bakers are not just good at what they do – they are passionate about baking French breads and pastries. Discovering this spot means fresh-baked breads, puff pastries, cakes, cookies, scones, and macarons any time.
Mon Amie welcomes patrons with display cases full of those fresh baked
goods, and when I say fresh, I mean baked fresh daily. Walking in, patrons are chatting and pointing to which treat they might have that day. Some are eating breakfast (yes, it is a café, too) and all are smiling. This is a bakery and café that wants its customers to enjoy their experience and to fall in love with French baking. Mon Amie has been serving its community for more than 12 years, and counting. Learn more: monamiebakery.com
There are so many bakeries across south Snohomish County. Take a chance and stop at the little bakery in the strip mall that you have driven by a million times. Stop in to the bakery that has something different from the usual croissant or bagel.
The 21st century bakery may not look anything like the baking stones from history, but the industry continues to innovate and be at the center of the foods we want to eat. Families and communities will always gather to bake and break bread, and our area is home to an array of talented and dedicated bakers. n
Joel Patience is an Edmonds artist whose passion has taken him around the world.
“The most enjoyable parts of travel are the stories and memories that you bring home,” he said. “Travel and painting used to go hand in hand as a way to hold those memories.”
As far as Patience is concerned, they still do. His defined painting lines come from a working knowledge of urban planning and construction. His paintings reflect theartisan design styles and workmanship that have created these special places.
Watercolor is his way of placing the viewer in these historical, if not timeless settings. Many of the pieces are familiar points from his painting trips to Italy, Iceland, the Caribbean, Northern Rockies, and the Pacific Northwest.
Patience creates product lines from his original travel watercoors. “It’s old fashioned but a delightful way to share your travels. These might be chef’s wear, clothing, high-def prints for your office or home, restaurant themes and now … giant beach towels.”
Every painting is started on site, making them unique by location or by perspective.
For more information: zazzle.com/store/joelpatience.
By David Pan
Mary Watts says she has the best job in the world. As the Master Gardener program coordinator for Snohomish County since 2019, Watts works with what she calls the most amazing group of people she’s ever known – 275 Master Gardener volunteers.
“I love my job. It’s my favorite job I’ve ever had in my career,” said Watts, who earned her Master Gardener credentials in 2017. “They are really phenomenal people committed to making the world a better place.”
Who are Master Gardeners, and what do they do in the community? The short answer from Watts is they are university-trained public educators. “We are trained in science and research-based home horticultural best practices, and then we do outreach to the public.”
The program’s goal is to bring relevant, unbiased environmental stewardship education to the community. Washington State University originated the first Master Gardener program in 1973 and, after its initial success, programs spread throughout the United States and Canada. Master Gardeners are now found all over the world, including in South Korea.
WSU Extension oversees the program in Washington at the local level, with one coordinator generally responsible for each county. In 2023, there were 3,357 Master Gardeners in the state. Master Gardeners engage in different types of public outreach, including teaching classes, lectures, and workshops, hosting garden demonstrations and tours, and hosting question-and-answer clinics. These Q&A clinics are held at farmers markets and stores such as Home Depot and Lowe’s. Regularly scheduled sessions are also scheduled at the program office at Willis Tucker Park in Snohomish.
Shifting demographics
I n the past, many Master Gardeners tended to be older and often retired. It’s
“I love my job. It’s my favorite job I’ve ever had in my career.”
still the case, though the demographics are changing. “There are more older people than younger people,” Watts said. “We’re working on that. But it’s partly because it’s a pretty demanding program, and for some people, that’s hard to balance when they’re still in the workforce. We are making the training part of it more accessible.”
More women are Master Gardeners than men; the program is looking for more diversity. “We’d love to see more equality among age, as well as gender and ethnicity, and all those things,” Watts said.
In fall 2018, Edmonds resident Joe Shields signed up for the Master Gardener program a few months after retiring from a career in human resources. He’s noticed more younger people joining the program.
Mill Creek resident Susan Snyder started taking Master Gardener classes in 2018 as she was stepping back from a floral design career. She enjoys meeting people with different backgrounds who share a love of gardening. “It’s very welcoming. We have all ages, all backgrounds. We back each other up. We lift each other up when we have a down day. It’s a real strong family.”
The strong sense of community is by design. Certified Master Gardeners serve as mentors for incoming students. “Everyone has someone they can lean on for support and advice,” Watts said.
Shields and Snyder enjoy mentoring others. “I’ve been a mentor for four years. I’ve helped and guided (people) through the program. That’s been really positive,” Shields said. “It fits well with my background.” Snyder remembers feeling overwhelmed when she initially signed up for the program. Her mentor was invaluable to Snyder’s success. After she was certified as a Master Gardener, Snyder decided she wanted to help others. “My mentor assured me that I could get through this.”
Once students earn their Master Gardeners certification (by scoring 80% or higher on the quizzes and exams), they are required to volunteer a specified number of hours and take continuing education classes in subsequent years. The program takes a year to complete. “They have to recertify every year. It’s not a one and done,” Watts said. “There’s a list of steps they have to go through each year to recertify.”
Amajor change in training should help to broaden the field of candidates. Starting in the fall, people will have the option of two different tracks – one for those who want to become certified Master Gardeners, and the other for those interested in the educational part of the program but don’t want to volunteer. The second option is appropriate for people in professions such as landscapers or nursery workers.
“It’s going to be flexible, remote, and hybrid. That’s the part that will be much more accessible to people still in the workforce,” Watts said. The online component for the two paths will be the same, but those who want to become Master Gardener volunteers will have additional training. “It’ll be more robust for those who want to become certified Master Gardeners.”
Many previous candidates came in with some gardening expertise, but more novice gardeners are getting involved. “The most important criteria is a desire to learn and a commitment to volunteerism,” Watts said. “They do not necessarily have to have horticultural knowledge coming in. It used to be that people with horticultural knowledge were more likely to get into the program. But we’ve been doing a lot of work lately to make it more accessible to a more
diverse array of people.”
Snyder knew a lot about flowers because of her work as a floral designer. She didn’t have the same knowledge base about plants, soils, or insects. With her children in college, there was extra time on her hands. The community volunteer part of the program was what really appealed to her, though. “I had the time to volunteer. It was the perfect thing to do.”
Shields said he was in no way an expert in gardening prior to the program. “I’ve been a homeowner for years trying to keep the plants in my yard alive. I’ve never been a vegetable gardener. I have an interest in trees, conifers. I was looking for volunteer opportunities and the opportunity to learn." One day while at the Edmonds farmers market, Shields stopped by a Master Gardener booth and learned more about the program. “The timing was great,” he said.
All walks of life
Master Gardeners hail from all walks of life and even include apartment and condo dwellers. Snohomish County has two demonstration gardens in Marysville and north Everett. Those students without yards at home still have the opportunity to gain practical experience in the field. “They get to get their hands in the dirt in our demonstration gardens,” Watts said. “They will have opportunities to volunteer in the demonstration gardens and have that exposure. They’ll also get to know how to better take care of their house plants or container gardens on their patio.”
The highlight for many Master Gardeners is becoming part of a community. They share a passion for gardening, an interest in protecting the environment, and a love of sharing their knowledge with others. Volunteers tell Watts how rewarding it is to find the overlap between their passions and making an impact in their community. “That’s a very, very satisfying combination.
They are making a difference and getting to engage the public and share their knowledge.”
Each year, Snohomish County adds from 30 to 50 new Master Gardeners. Statewide, 616 people joined the program in 2023. The longest-serving volunteer in Snohomish County started in 1997.
The pandemic impacted the program’s overall numbers. No volunteer hours were required for two years in order to keep volunteers safe. Watts said some decided not to return. “We aren’t yet at our pre-pandemic numbers, but we are slowly getting our numbers back.”
Helping the public and finding their people
Shields and Snyder agree what they enjoy the most is working with the public during the question-and-answer clinics. “People asking questions are usually a lot smarter than you are,” Shields said. Snyder added she and other volunteers might not know the answer to a specific question right away. “But we know where to find the answer. I enjoy being able to talk with the public and being able to speak one-on-one with people. It’s the educational part. I love interacting with different people.”
Watts has seen lifelong friendships develop between Master Gardeners. Many volunteers, including Watts, experience what she describes as the joy of “finding one’s people.” At a picnic last year, one Master Gardener told Watts that when he talks gardening with non-Master Gardeners the conversation can fizzle out. “But he can talk to a fellow Master Gardener at length. It’s kind of finding your geek crowd – I guess the people you can geek out with on something that you’re both interested in.”
Snyder encourages people who love gardening to come join them. “They will find a place, a home.”
Information about the Snohomish County Master Gardener program: tinyurl.com/56w9tk2e. n
Driving a school bus can bring satisfaction – and good pay
By Cameron Delfin
Along the Puget Sound coastline, the Olympic Mountains peek out from across the water. It’s a clear day, and the snow-capped range looks more stunning than ever. This seems like something that should be printed on a postcard.
Sam Nakkour gets to enjoy this view from his office every day. Not behind a desk, but behind the wheel as a school bus driver. “I’ve worked many different jobs, owned my own businesses for a long time, and this has been the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I never thought I’d say that.”
School bus drivers in Edmonds transport about 7,000 students daily and cover about 1.6 million miles annually, according to Edmonds School District Transportation Director Ben Mount. The district runs 117 routes, down from 154 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nakkour, originally from Lebanon, has been a school bus driver for the Edmonds School District for four and a half years. His day begins early: 5 a.m. He grabs his morning coffee and catches up with fellow drivers at the bus yard in Lynnwood. After completing a safety check, he sets out for his route: Meadowdale High, Middle and Elementary, as well as Spruce Elementary. In the afternoon, he does the same trip in reverse, bookending the students’ day. He’s home by 5 p.m.
With a set schedule, it’s the interactions with students that make each day unique, he said. As students climb aboard after school, he greets each by name and asks how their day was. On the ride home, they take in that magic view, sharing the moment together.
“Look! It’s so pretty,” said a group of middle schoolers on a recent ride-along. It was a Friday afternoon, but the students weren’t antsy to get home. They calmly stepped off the bus, each thanking Nakkour for the ride.
Nakkour has built a connection with students by investing in their lives. He spends their short time together listening to what the students have to say. His conversations range from resolving conflicts to helping students with issues in their personal lives. “I’ve got students that I’ve been driving for two and a half years now, and I’ve seen them grow. I see the trust in their eyes when they talk to me.”
Though he’s curated relationships with his students, there’s no way to predict what baggage students might bring onto the bus. Patience is key in meeting students where they are. “I don’t know what their lives look like. I always give them the benefit of the doubt. I sit and listen to them. I’ve learned how to deal with younger humans, and it’s rewarding to say that.”
Even after the tough days, Nakkour reflects on his impact. For him, it’s not just about helping kids get to school – it’s also helping kids grow. “You get to have a positive mark on kids’ lives. There’s a lot of value in everything we do, and I wholeheartedly believe that.” He gets even more out of his job beyond the connections he’s made with students.
Not all of his time is spent with his students. Even with eighthour days, there is plenty for other pursuits. In the middle of the day when students are in school, he can make appointments, run errands, or return home to cook a meal. And, with summers off, he has plenty of time for activities he loves, including camping, yard work, and traveling. His wife is the principal at Spruce Elementary. They have two children in college. With the way his time off falls throughout the year, he’s able to spend quality time with his family. “As a family man, this job is perfect for me.”
But if he wants more work, it’s there for him. Edmonds School
District students can take technical education classes like woodshop at other schools, with district transportation getting them there. There’s also daytime field trips and after-school sports needing transportation. All this transportation means there are many moving parts to manage. With that, safety is a key priority for Nakkour and district transportation services. New bus drivers are put through about 160 hours of training, including driving on courses with obstacles and cones. At the end of their training, drivers earn their commercial driver licenses and Washington state school bus authorization.
“Y ou get to have a positive mark on kids’ lives. There’s a lot of value in everything we do, and I wholeheartedly believe that.”
“If today’s your first day and you go out and try to drive (a school bus), it’s pretty scary,” Nakkour said. “After a while, you
get comfortable and you get that feeling.” Training prepares drivers for unfavorable weather and hilly terrain. The transportation office supports drivers during inclement weather by shifting routes and delaying or canceling school.
But school bus drivers aren’t just up against the weather. Other drivers are a concern for keeping students safe. “You have drivers that don’t know the complete law,” he said. “You have drivers that just don’t care.” According to Washington state law, drivers traveling in the same direction as a school bus must always stop when the bus has its stop sign out. Drivers traveling in the opposite direction of a school bus are not required to stop on roads with three or more lanes or when there is a turn lane or a median.
Keeping students safe requires effort from all drivers on the road, not just school bus drivers. “The number one thing is to be more aware of your surroundings. Look at the big picture. There’s a ton of things that come up in split seconds.”
After all the students have safely arrived home, he reflects on how being a school bus driver fits into his career. “Growing up, I never thought I’d do something like this. But now that I do, I’m glad that I do it.”
According to Edmonds School District Transportation Director Ben Mount, the Edmonds School District is always looking for bus drivers. In Edmonds, the starting pay after training is $35.57 per hour. Mount encourages people to apply who have a good driving record and who want to work with kids. Those interested can find the application at edmonds.wednet.edu.
In the Everett School District, school bus drivers with their CDL start at $31 per hour; in the Mukilteo School District, school bus driver starting pay is $33.93. Those interested can find applications at everettsd.org and mukilteoschools.org. n
Sam Nakkour gives his bus a full inspection before arriving at his first location.
I t’s almost impossible to beat the combination of sweet fruit and decadent desserts. This cake is perfect for any get-together, families looking for an after-dinner indulgence or anyone who just loves fruity desserts. It’s delectable enough for fancy occasions, but also simple enough to make at home for two.
• 3 cups Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 6 tablespoons, plus 2 cups, sugar, divided
• 3 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• icing (optional)
1 – Heat oven to 350 F.
2 – In medium bowl, mix apples, cinnamon and 5 tablespoons sugar until combined. Set aside.
3 – In large bowl, mix flour, 2 cups sugar, baking powder and salt until combined. Form well in middle of mixture. Add oil, eggs, orange juice and vanilla; mix until blended.
4 – In springform pan, pour half of batter. Add apple mixture. Pour remaining batter over apple mixture. Sprinkle remaining sugar over batter.
5 – Bake 40-50 minutes, or until top is golden brown and tester comes out clean and dry.
6 – Drizzle with icing, if desired.
7 – Serves: 8-16
This recipe courtesy of Culinery.net
Snohomish County’s birders do more than watch
By Natalie F. Kahn
It’s a rainy December day. Sprague’s Pond Mini Park in Lynnwood is empty except for a few dozen ducks and geese. Three older men arrive, sporting rain jackets and pants, baseball caps, and binoculars. The birds all move toward the men as if they know them. Maybe they do: Frank Caruso, Robin Melvin, and Jeff Hambleton spend much of their time in local parks such as this one, watching birds.
But this is no ordinary day of birdwatching. Today is the annual bird count in south Snohomish County and Jeff, Frank, and Robin are part of the team responsible for counting the number and types of birds at hotspots throughout their assigned zone, which covers Edmonds and lower Lynnwood. Teams of volunteer birders are surveying 13 zones stretching north of Mukilteo, east of Mill Creek, even into Puget Sound.
Pilchuck Audubon Society, which serves Snohomish County and Camano Island, runs this count and another in the Everett area. They are part of the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count, North America’s longest-running community
science project. Birders throughout the Western Hemisphere collect data researchers use to examine bird populations and health trends over time.
Caruso, Melvin, and Hambleton spent the day going from place to place looking for birds and recording the numbers before arriving at Sprague’s Pond, their 10th stop. The three birding buddies are Pilchuck Audubon Society members and volunteers. They met through weekly trips with the organization.
While the ducks and geese aren’t bothered by the dreary conditions, Caruso said the weather means many birds are hunkered down, out of sight of the diligent counters. Melvin added that it’s also harder to hear birds over the wind and rain.
They are advanced birders, but all experience levels are welcome to participate in the bird count. Getting more people interested in birds and birding is a goal birders all share. Pilchuck Audubon also runs the Great Backyard Bird Count in February, when people can get involved from their homes.
While many birds took shelter, the trio and more than 90 other dedicated birdwatchers of Snohomish County braved the conditions and spent the day outside. More than 100 others
participated in the count from their homes, counting the birds at their feeders or their yards.
Brian Zinke is the director and sole paid employee of Pilchuck Audubon Society. The organization researches, teaches about, and advocates for birds and other wildlife to protect and restore ecosystems.
Zinke and Pilchuck volunteers host events at schools, libraries, nursing homes, and other community organizations to educate people about birds and habitat conservation. Birders are typically a friendly bunch and welcome newcomers. “The ethics and etiquette of birding is to share your knowledge with other birders and non-birders,” Hambleton said. “It’s a very generous community,” Melvin added. This enthusiasm for sharing knowledge and stories is apparent when speaking to longtime birders.
In 2020, the pandemic spurred a birding boom. Between March 2020 and spring 2023, the number of users of the Merlin Bird ID app increased fivefold, to 1.5 million active users, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The surge was felt locally: Pilchuck Audubon’s current membership of 545 is more than double what it was in late 2019. It’s a tight-knit community. Caruso is from the East Coast. He didn’t know anyone in the area after moving to Washington, but birding provided him with a circle of friends. Fellow volunteer Bev Bowe said she has close friends she likely wouldn’t have crossed paths with if not for birding.
Its members want to keep growing interest and engagement with birding, particularly among groups underrepresented in birdwatching and outdoorsmanship. “This has been kind of this middle and upper-middle class sort of hobby, historically,” Hambleton said. Hambleton said the barrier to entry is low compared to many other activities. You might see hardcore birders with pricy binoculars and cameras, but expensive gear isn’t necessary. “It’s a fascinating and fun hobby, and you don’t have to have fancy equipment or a lot of knowledge; you learn on the go.”
Bowe is on the planning committee for Bird Fest, an annual, two-day event hosted by the City of Edmonds and Pilchuck Audubon, with speakers, classes, and field trips. This year’s event will be held in Edmonds May 31 and June 1. She recommends getting used guide books, instead of expensive new ones that will likely be outdated soon, with names and taxonomy changing frequently.
Some birders travel the world and hike mountains to spot rare species, but serious and casual birders alike can make exciting finds in local parks, trails, and their backyards. “It is a passion, and everybody needs to have a passion,” Caruso said. Birders extol the many benefits the hobby offers both casual and devoted birdwatchers. Studies have found that even casual birdwatching decreases stress and improves mental acuity and longterm mental health outcomes, The New York Times reported in 2022. There’s also physical health benefits: walking regularly improves heart health and decreases the risk of cardiovascular and other diseases.
Roniq Bartanen runs a small business called SheBirds, which includes a free-to-access list she compiled of female bird guides around the world. For the last few years, she’s led presentations and outings at Puget Sound Bird Fest with a focus on mindfulness. She is passionate about increasing access to birding and nature. As a volunteer guide with Birds Connect Seattle, the city’s Audubon Society chapter, Bartanen leads
regular walks in metropolitan areas reachable by public transportation, such as Green Lake.
Roniq said making birding more accessible in cities leads to increased support for and involvement with local conservation efforts and green spaces. “Birding is the gateway to caring about the climate, to caring about the planet, to caring about conservation.”
Marsh restoration
Amajor effort for Pilchuck Audubon is the restoration of the Edmonds Marsh. In March 2024, the City received a $135,000 federal grant to fund studies and planning for the marsh’s future. Pilchuck director Zinke said the goal is to reconnect the marsh with Puget Sound to create a saltwater estuary; it would be one of only a few of these rare habitats left in Puget Sound and would decrease flood risks in Edmonds.
In 2018, Pilchuck Audubon launched a bird monitoring project at the Edmonds Marsh to collect data on the existing bird population and how it changes in response to restoration projects. Zinke explained that this data could serve as an example for future restoration projects in the region. “Also, just by documenting the species currently there at the marsh, we can show how important this is as a stopover point for many bird species, as well as resident bird species that are there year-round. And use some of that data to hopefully get grant funding or just show policymakers that this is a really important area we should try to protect.”
Around 96 million people nationwide – more than a third of American adults – made efforts to watch birds in 2022, according to a survey conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2023, the Pew Research Center reported that more than half of Americans believe the federal government should be doing more to protect animals and their habitats. Hambleton said that even casual involvement in birding can impact people’s perspectives. “There is a huge population of people who think of themselves as birders, enjoy birds, and they do, I think, get engaged in the conservation movement through that. They understand what kind of adverse impacts on bird life happen because of development and habitat restriction and climate change.
It resonates with them, and I think they understand that and it makes a difference.”
Serious birders regularly sacrifice comfort to get a look at a rare bird. Bowe described being “hunkered down in a freezing cold field with my hands numb and a foot warmer under my hat … so I can find a blue snow goose.” Birding doesn’t need to be this intense, however. “There are so many ways to bird,” she said, explaining that you can watch from your window at home or inside your car at hotspots like Ocean Avenue in Edmonds, or include a 15-minute stop at a local park as part of your commute.
This flexibility makes birding an accessible option for those
with limited mobility. Caruso said helping those who need it is the norm in the local birding community. Bowe ended up on the receiving end of this support last year when she fell and broke her arm, a severe injury requiring surgery. While she was recovering, a Galapagos bird was spotted in Port Townsend. Bowe’s friend hustled over, helped her with her coat, and took her with him to spot the rarity. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have, because I couldn’t even lift my binoculars at that point. My friend was like, come on, you’re coming with,” Bowe said.
Caruso said most of Pilchuck Audubon’s weekly trips are not particularly strenuous. Some excursions, through Pilchuck and
other groups, are designed to be accessible for those with mobility aids like wheelchairs and walkers. He said people are always willing to lend a helping hand on group trips or adjust the pace to accommodate those who need it.
Bowe leads a field trip to Yost Park in Edmonds with a focus on physical accessibility each year at the Puget Sound Bird Fest. “Because birding is for everybody,” she said. She’s excited to be back this year to host her “accessible-ish” outing and her class for complete beginners that culminates with a new-birders-only field trip the following day.
She is always thrilled to have new birders on the trips she leads throughout the year – “Someone who will actually listen!” Beginners are often nervous about group outings, but Bowe said there’s no reason to worry about not knowing enough or having the right gear. “You’re going to be treated like the gem that you are if you’re a newbie.” She loves seeing newcomers get excited about their first sightings of birds less common to the area, like meadowlarks.
Even for longtime birders like Bowe, there’s always another bird to see, another hotspot to check out, and more to discover about birds. Some people become experts on a specific bird, while others travel the world trying to see as many birds as possible. The endless chase for sightings and knowledge keeps birders hooked.
How many species can you identify of this page beside the yellow-rumped warbler, top left, and the ringed-neck duck at right?
The night of the bird count, Caruso sent an update: It was the lowest species count in 20 years. He said wind was the culprit. There were still some highlights, like when his group spotted a hermit thrush. Despite the poor weather, 2024’s count had the third-highest number of participants of any Pilchuck Audubon bird count.
The especially low numbers of birds spotted at this count can be attributed to the weather, but bird populations have plummeted for decades. A 2019 comprehensive study found that the bird population of North America has decreased by nearly 3 billion since 1970. Scientists attribute the dramatic decline to habitat loss and degradation from land development and environmental damage.
The birding community has not given up on protecting wildlife. Pilchuck Audubon promotes conservation through political advocacy and educational projects like its Native Plant Demonstration Garden in Edmonds, which aims to inspire people to plant native species that support wildlife in their yards and gardens. Zinke has lived in various states and parts of Washington, and said support for conservation efforts is especially high here.
“Western Washington definitely stands out in my mind as a place where folks are really, really into trying to protect and conserve our natural spaces. They value that here.”
Caruso said Washington is unique in its wide variety of habitats, but he’s seen the damage to wildlife firsthand in the decade he’s been here. “We need to preserve what we’ve got left.” n
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