Please don't feed the animals!

The lake at Laurelhurst Park has had a long history of ecological problems due in part to overpopulation of some flora and fauna and to human folly, such as feeding the ducks French fries and hot dog buns and marshmallows - deadly to the animals and hard on the lake ecology.

The students at a nearby elementary school - Sunnyside Environmental School - have made the lake one of their priority projects. This fence goes along a small portion of the lake; this year 3rd grade students decorated it with cutouts of local water fowl and with information about what not to feed the birds. It's a fun, creative way to get information to well-meaning park visitors who think they're doing the ducks a favor by feeding them left over bagels.

I'm really impressed with the environmental school - they have a number of projects going on around the neighborhood, and the school grounds are covered with different kinds of gardens that the students build and maintain, including vegetable gardens and a butterfly garden. I would have learned a lot more about the world around me if I'd had an education like this!

Check out the photo in LARGE for great detail.