KECP: EarthViews Conservation Society | 1.18.26
Join us for the first KEC Presents of 2026 with a deep dive into an incredible tool that gives a first-hand look at our local waterways.
Join us at the Village Green on January 18 as speaker Brian Footen, co-founder of EarthViews Conservation Society shares how their organization created the interactive visual and scientific documentation of over 2,700 miles of Puget Sound coastline by kayak and skiff. He'll answer your questions and share how you can get involved with this important work.
Details:
Date: Sunday, January 18, 2026
Time: 3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Where: The Village Green - 26159 Dulay Rd Ne | Kingston
Flier: Download, print, and share
Refreshments and kids crafts will be available. Bring a favorite treat to share, and consider bringing a food donation for Fishline and ShareNet (List of most needed items)
Additional information about our speaker:
Brian Footen is an environmental scientist, expedition leader, and conservation advocate based in the Pacific Northwest. He holds dual Master of Science degrees in Fisheries (University of Washington) and Environmental Studies (The Evergreen State College). For more than two decades, Brian worked with tribal nations and state and federal agencies conducting salmon recovery research across Western Washington.
EarthViews Conservation Society, established in 2016, aims to address the urgent need for visual and scientific documentation of imperiled waterways. As Expedition Lead, Brian, along with colleagues, surveyed over 2,700 miles of Puget Sound shoreline by kayak and skiff, capturing 360° imagery every 30 feet and recording continuous water-quality data. This publicly available mapping effort, now being replicated under Washington State law (SB 5104), remains one of the most comprehensive nearshore documentation campaigns in U.S. history.
Featured artist: John Abromowski
Beginning this month, KEC Presents will also feature a local artist inspired by nature. This month, John Abromowski and his work will be featured during the event. John's black and white photography aims to showcase underdeveloped natural areas that portray tranquility, beauty, and solitude in the hopes that sharing these areas may help to preserve them.
Below, John shares his passion for bearing witness to the spaces we love in his piece titled "Quiet Places".
Quiet Places
Some folks need to see the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone or Yosemite to appreciate the greatness of nature. I find beauty and a connection to the greater world in the everyday ponds, streams and other wetlands within my community. The immediate natural world around me is a community of life to which I am a part. These lands sustain me, and my love and respect for them is an extension of my moral values. Wetlands purify water and sustain biodiversity, yet wetlands continue to disappear worldwide. Walking along our rivers and through our waterways allows me to connect with the other creatures in my community. It is also soothing—a great relief in today’s world. These are the places I go to sit and reflect about the world, to re-energize. From the gurgling of a stream to the peeping of a frog to watching a fish thrash upstream, getting outside improves my mood. I believe that the wild lands in my community and their keeping of diverse and abundant flora and fauna are essential to the quality of all of our lives. I hope my actions give some voice to the frogs and the birds and the rushing streams, which may provide us with wonderful melodies, but lack a voice in their own protection. I hope to add to the evidence that these places must be saved for our children and for us. I worry that if our wetlands go away, then some day soon, we will, too. Capturing imagery of these sites is my way to share their beauty with others and it is my hope that one would feel relaxation and begin to contemplate the beauty of the “Quiet Places”.
John Abromowski
jabromowskiphoto@gmail.com
