A wall of volunteers from REI combat a wall of invasive Himalayan blackberry at an REI volunteer day at the West Hylebos Wetlands Park on June 3. The work was part of a larger project to remove invasive weeds at the Federal Way park, which recently received a grant from Australian Wine Company Banrock Station.
Federal Way-based conservation organization Friends of the Hylebos received a national honor last week, thanks to a grant from one of the world's leading environmentally conscious wine brands, Banrock Station Wines of Australia, in cooperation with The Conservation Fund.
The partnership announced grants to 10 environmental and conservation groups committed to saving wetlands and waterways across the US.
Friends of the Hylebos was awarded a grant for its work to protect and restore the environmental quality of Hylebos Creek, the West Hylebos Wetlands and the surrounding watershed in the Federal Way area.
The funding will be used to support the West Hylebos Wetlands Invasive Weeds Control Program to survey, identify and assess invasive species of concern in the wetlands and to prioritize and implement control efforts.
"Banrock Station Wines is working for wetland and native species restoration across the globe," said Tony Sharley, environmental scientist and Banrock Station Manager. "As a part of that effort, we have created these awards to recognize conservation groups that are saving wetlands in their own backyards. Banrock Station embraces the environmental maxim of thinking globally and acting locally."
For the past five years, Banrock Station has worked with The Conservation Fund in the United States to help protect and restore wetlands, working with local organizations in thirteen different states. On a broader platform, Banrock Station has championed wetland conservation worldwide by donating over AUD $3 million to over 40 projects in nine different countries.
"Hundreds of individuals have worked to preserve and maintain the West Hylebos Wetlands and the water quality and wildlife habitat that it provides," said Chris Carrel, Friends of the Hylebos Wetlands Executive Director. "With this grant and its past Hylebos grants, Banrock Station is supporting our community's continuing work to conserve this precious resource that is so important to our quality of life."
Wetlands are known as "biological supermarkets" and "nurseries of life" because of their high biological productivity. They help regulate water levels within watersheds, improve water quality, reduce flood and storm damages, provide habitats for fish and wildlife, and support fishing and other recreational activities.
