Lakeside Lecture Series Kick Off Success

Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park and the Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership want to thank you for attending our first Lakeside Lecture Series held at Formula Brewing to explore the history of the place we share here in Issaquah and beyond. We had 35 people join us to learn from our panelist and to listen to the stories that make up the vibrant past of our shared space and ultimately influence our way into the future.

We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to our panelist, Rich Benson, Paul Winterstein, Cristy Lake, Sophie Belz and Emma Mantovani for the wonderful presentation. Rich started us off with a broad history of the area and the creation of Lake Sammamish State Park followed by Paul who spoke to us about the deep history of the City of Issaquah and its roots. Cristy added to that conversation with an overview of regional formation from a slightly broader Snoqualmie Valley perspective followed by two researchers with the University of Washington who spoke about racial restrictive covenants and its impacts on the social development of the City of Issaquah and the Eastside.

Formula Brewing generously donated a space for our lecture series to kick off! It was a fun place for pizza, brews, and a little history - thank you for having us in your space.

We invite you to attend our next Lakeside Lecture on April 3rd from 5 - 7:30 pm hosted at the Meadows Shelter at Lake Sammamish State Park to learn more about the restoration protects happening in Lake Sammamish State park to improve fish and wildlife habitat and the visitor experience. From 5 - 6 pm various partners working in and around Lake Sammamish State Park including WA State Parks, Snoqualmie Tribe, City of Issaquah, City of Sammamish, Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park, Trout Unlimited and more will be answering questions from our guests about the ongoing restoration work happening in the park. The main program starting at 6 pm will feature a presentation about the Issaquah Creek Project led by Mountain to Sound Greenway Trust followed by tours of the sight. We will have light food and beverage for our guests at the event. We can’t wait to see you April 3rd at the Meadows Shelter. To register to attend please visit our events page here!