Nov/Dec 2025
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We’re grateful to be part of this wonderful community!
In this edition:
Save the date: Thursday Jan 15 “Protecting our Public Lands in Snohomish County”
Hooven Forest Partners with UW Department of Ecology
Community Connections: Book Club, Sketching Class, Maltby Expansion update
Year-End Donation Reminder
🗓️ Save the Date: Thursday Jan 15
We invite you to join us Thursday, January 15 from 7:30 - 9pm as we host the Sno-Isle Sierra Club and Snohomish League of Women Voters at Crystal Lake Clubhouse, where they will share an educational presentation on “Protecting our Public Lands in Snohomish County”. Having these in-person events is important for our community and we hope many of you will take the time to join us!
What: Sno-Isle Sierra Club and Snohomish League of Women Voters present “Protecting our Public Lands in Snohomish County”
When: Thursday, January 15, 7:30 - 9pm
Where: Crystal Lake Clubhouse, 23909 Crystal Lake Rd, Woodinville, WA
💜 Hooven Forest Partners with University of Washington Department of Ecology
Hooven Forest is excited to welcome four undergraduates from the University of Washington Department of Ecology, who will spend this fall and winter applying their expertise to hands-on capstone projects within Hooven Forest. Their work will focus on forest mapping and inventory, water quality monitoring, and invasive plants. Don’t be alarmed if you see any of these talented students off designated trails as they are studying our forest and its wetlands through March 2026!
We are thrilled about this new partnership and look forward to the insights and contributions these talented students will bring through their field work. We are proud to see one of our state’s premier universities fostering innovative programs that allow students to earn academic credit for projects engaging directly with structurally complex ecosystems such as Hooven Forest.
🌱 Community Connections
Hooven Forest Book Club
The Hooven Forest Book Club met for the first time in November and thoroughly enjoyed our discussion of “The Hidden Life of Trees” by Peter Wohlleben. We were intrigued to learn more about how trees experience life, how they communicate, how they form communities and care for each other, and how different their existence is from our own. Some of us recalled times in retrospect when the sociability of trees under our care manifested in ways we didn’t expect. We reflected on how trees perceive a passage of time longer than any human life. Thematically, we were again reminded of the value of intact ecosystems and the unintended consequences of human interventions in the natural world without fully understanding it or appreciating its agency and equilibrium. We walked away curious, as the book also highlighted so much of tree and forest life that remains a mystery to us.
Our next book will be “Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest” by Suzanne Simard. If you would like to join us, email Jeff at jeff.ellingson_at_gmail.com and we will coordinate a local meeting time and place that works for the group. We would love to have you join us!
Nature Sketching Class
We love the Hooven Forest trail map drawn by local artist and neighbor Nicole Monahan. As a way of continuing her support, Nicole is offering a nature sketching class on a monthly Sunday. These relaxed, hour-long gatherings are open to all ages and experience levels. Bring a pencil and notebook (or colored pencils, pens, or watercolors if you’d like), and enjoy learning simple sketching techniques inspired by the natural world. Contact Nicole at nicole_at_ monahanstudio.com if you are interested.
Update on Maltby UGA Expansion proposal
To follow up with an update, the Snohomish County Planning Commission recommended against pursuing the Maltby Urban Growth Expansion Proposal, and the Snohomish County Council decided not to pursue it further this year. The overwhelming public comment against the expansion was likely a strong factor in the vote, so if you wrote the Council or attended the meeting and spoke, thank you — your voice made a difference! This is great news for the sensitive adjacent wetlands of Hooven Forest.
🙏 Your Donations Keep Friends of Hooven Forest Going
If you’ve donated to Friends of Hooven Forest this year, thank you so much! We’re incredibly grateful — your donations pay for ongoing expenses and are tax-deductible.
As a volunteer-run nonprofit, even small donations help us continue to advocate for Hooven Forest. We accept donations (and of course corporate matches when available) on the homepage of www.hoovenforest.org. Also feel free to contact us any time to donate or get more involved in advocating for the health and conservation of Hooven Forest.
