What's New

Landscape Projects on Barn Beach Reserve

Working with Project Groundwork, a Wenatchee landscape architecture firm, we have begun work on trail projects, site restoration, and the children's gardens. We invite you to view our slideshow of several projects, and if you are in the area, please visit and enjoy the improvements. Better yet, if you have some time or in-kind assistance you would like to volunteer, please join one of our work parties!

--New trails to lower meadow and beach, trail connection with downtown: The construction of the new accessible trail between the Barn and the lower Peavine Trail is well underway. More than half the trail has been excavated, surfaced and hard-packed, and stonework constructed. The trail switchbacks down the hill at an easy grade. Lovely rock benches are part of the wall and invite the walker to sit and enjoy the river and garden views.

BBR/CDLT Americorps volunteer Karissa Carr and a crew of volunteers helped build a new trail between the Barn and 9th Street. Now visitors may come to BBR via a pleasant, shady walk instead of along busy city streets. The trail is cleared of brush and is a pretty good foot path, but still needs some finishing touches. Karissa is waging a war against invasive, non-native blackberries in the wooded area, too. Their removal will allow the native dogbane (considered one of the best food plants for butterflies) and ferns to thrive.

--Francis Field Memorial Garden: In the early 1900s, Francis Field and her family lived at what is now Barn Beach Reserve. She was one of Leavenworth's first Garden Club members, and she was instrumental in earning a national award for city beautification. Francis loved nature, and she used stonework in her gardens. The Francis Field Memorial Garden honors her memory. The staff from Cordell Neher (Wenatchee) volunteered a day to BBR and planted native plants in the Memorial Garden.

--Forest thinning and fire safety: Two thinning projects are almost complete. The small forested area that abuts the Lower Meadow has been a target for vandals playing with fire two of the past three years. That area has now been thinned, and ladder fuels (lower branches on existing trees) have been removed. Additionally, a volunteer thinned the young pine forest near the Barn. This will enable the remaining trees to be healthier, because water stress will be at a minimum and it allows light to penetrate the canopy. These projects will reduce fire danger for BBR and the neighborhood.

--Children's Gardens: Two large raised beds were constructed beside the Barn. Area 3rd graders, led by Americorps volunteer Karissa Carr, planted wildflowers in the beds as part of their spring field days. Additionally, they planted an area off the parking lot with colorful petunias, which add a welcoming splash of color to our landscaping.

BBR wishes to thank businesses who deeply discounted products and services and people who donated funds toward these site projects. Your generosity has enabled us to earn a 50:50 challenge cost share grant for all this work.

There is much that remains to be done. To view display boards of the site plan, please click this link:

 Site Plan (1 MB)

Please note: You will need Adobe reader to view the "Site Plan." Also, when you are viewing the display boards, you may want to rotate the images for ease of viewing. After you download the file, just go to the toolbar, click on "View," then click on "Rotate View."

If you have any comments or suggestions, please send us a message at info@barnbeachreserve.org.
Comments are welcome at any time.

Barn Beach Reserve Wins Awards!

It was an award-winning spring for Barn Beach Reserve! On April 29, 2009, the Barn was named one of the Northwest Region's Top Ten Green Projects at the annual American Institute of Architects (AIA) Seattle award program. The jury commented on the compelling nature of the partner organizations, the site planning, reuse of existing features, the building as a teaching tool, and aggressive approach to energy conservation. Here's a link to the relevant portion of the on the AIA web site.

Also, Barn Beach Reserve was named as one of the Top Five Best Bird Watching destinations in KING 5 Evening Magazine's "Best of Western Washington and Northwest Escapes." Here's the link: KING-5.

Barn Beach Reserve was instrumental in launching "LIFE2: For a more sustainable Leavenworth"

LIFE2 is an active group of Leavenworth-area residents and business people who are interested in creating a more sustainable community. Please see the events calendar for upcoming meetings, workshops, and information. To learn more about LIFE2, please see this pdf:  Overview of LIFE2

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Last Updated: June 30, 2010