Statewide recognition for the deep roots of apple cultivation. We look forward to participating in the implementation of this program and seeing it build the excellent ongoing work of Dr. Cameron Peace at WSU to identify heritage apple varieties. gloriamendoza.houserepublicans.wa.gov/2026/03/05/s...
We'll be sharing scions from newly rediscovered heritage varieties that have been grown in the islands for over 100 years.
Poster for a grafting workshop. At the center is a photos of a dense cluster of red striped apples on a tree. The poster reads: "Celebrate the 1st day of Spring with Apples! Grafting workshop and scion exchange. Free rootstock and heritage varieties from the islands. San Juan Island Grange. Saturday March 21 Noon to 2pm. Supported by the San Juan Island Community Foundation." There is a Kwiaht 20th anniversary logo at the bottom left.
It's grafting season! We have upcoming grafting workshops with heritage island apples on San Juan (March 21st), Lopez (March 29th), and Orcas (April 4th).
Join us for the Tides of March and learn about 18 years of community science and stewardship at Indian Island www.sanjuanjournal.com/2026/03/04/t...
U.S. Army Colonel Granville Haller (1819-1897), 1886
#OnThisDay in 1859, a group of scientists dined with Major Granville Haller at Port Townsend to discuss the San Juan Islands. historylink.org/File/11196
Russel will be presenting an overview of local butterflies and moths at the Odd Fellows Hall in Eastsound today (2-3:30pm). There will be copies of our new butterfly and moth book available. We also have an online guide to the local bee and fly pollinators of the islands
An excellent apple variety to share a name with!
We will have scions of Belmont from heritage Orcas trees to share at our scion exchanges in March and April.
If you find dead waterfowl, raptors, seabirds, or scavengers in the islands please do not handle them and contact us (info@kwiaht.org). We immediately share the reports and info with our colleagues at WDFW.
We cooperate with WDFW to quickly respond to community reports of dead animals so that viable samples can be collected and the carcasses can be safely removed.
Sampling of dead foxes on San Juan by Kwiaht and Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that two of them were infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza. www.sanjuancountywa.gov/m/NewsFlash/...
Learn how our stellar lab technician Sophie Citro is organizing community moth science in the islands
Poster for a talk. In the middle is a photo of a brown woodland skipper with its long tongue in a pink thistle inflorescence. The poster says "Kwiaht ecologist Russel Barsh at Orcas Odd Fellows Hall. Colorful, Rare, & Mysterious Butterflies & Moths of the San Juan Islands. Sunday, February 22--2:00-3:30pm"
Come let Russel Barsh introduce you to the lesser known butterflies and moths of the San Juan archipelago. February 22nd at the Orcas Odd Fellows Hall from 2-3:30
The illustrated handbook Butterflies of the San Juan Islands (and some interesting moths) will be available.
Tick activity is starting in the islands. Send us any you find theorcasonian.com/its-time-for...
We are honored to co-host the Food Sovereignty and Thriving Indigenous Plant Communities session at the 2026 San Juan Islands Agricultural Summit, alongside Protecting Knowledge of Land and Sea (PKOLS) and the Indigenous Plants Forum on Saturday February 28th.
We really enjoyed showing him the islands and the old orchards!
Some of what we're working on to support food security, cultural landscapes, and agricultural biodiversity in the islands.
Poster for Kwiaht's Marine Matinee. A close up of a herring head with the big eye centered. A bubble above reads "Marine Matinee" and below it says "Kwiaht. Lopez Center. Sunday January 25, 3-5pm. Free. Refreshments."
Want to learn more about our research in the marine waters around the San Juan Islands? Kwiaht director Russel Barsh will tell you all about it at our Marine Matinee on Sunday January 25th at Lopez Center.
The cover of a book with an illustration of an orange tip butterfly on a mustard stalk. The cover says "Butterflies of the San Juan Islands and some important moths, Kwiaht"
We have a new book out! A guide to the moths and butterflies of the San Juan Islands. Available at the Lopez Bookshop (and on its way to other local booksellers) or by donation to Kwiaht www.kwiaht.org/donate.htm
The apple industry in the San Juans developed earlier, and separately, from the now dominant industrial apple production in central Washington
The islands have a deep history of apple growing, and that means there are many, many seedling apple varieties waiting to be documented, evaluated, and shared
You can support @arbutocrat.bsky.social's work on heritage and locally adapted seedling apples on Orcas through the Orcas Island Community Foundation.
oicf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/c...
We are working with WDFW and the Washington State Department of Health to monitor avian influenza in wildlife in the San Juan Islands. If you find dead wild waterfowl, raptors, or scavengers, do not handle them, contact us info@kwiaht.org.
Old orchards have remarkable stories to go with their unique seedling varieties.
You can support our work Protecting People, Pets, and Foxes in a Wildland–Urban Interface through the San Juan Island Community Foundation sjicf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/c...
"[T]he photogenic foxes, brought to the island a century ago by fur farms, play a complex and as-yet poorly understood role in both changing and maintaining the landscape." www.islandssounder.com/life/life-an...
Orange poster with a picture of a fuzzy orange Elegant sheep moth showing his face and focusing in on the large feathered black antennae. The poster reads: "Shining a Light on Local Moths. Lecture by Russel Barsh of Kwiaht. Thurs, Nov. 13 @ 6 pm. Join us for the last in this three part series: BAM! Bats, Apples, & Moths. www.lopezlibrary.org"
Tonight! Kwiaht ecologist Russel Barsh at the Lopez Library with Shining a Light on Local Moths starting at 6pm. And while you are there you can see local high school artist (and Kwiaht lab tech) Sophie Citro's moth art and buy a ticket (or many) for her moth sculpture raffle.
Learn about the research on herring that we are doing with Long Live the Kings and the Nisqually Indian Tribe www.youtube.com/watch?v=khz1...
Residues of home and garden pesticides sold and used on Orcas Island have been found in local wildlife, with some of the highest concentrations in bats and hummingbirds.
www.sanjuanjournal.com/news/househo...
