Sehome Hill Arboretum Board of Governors

**John Tuxel, on climbing policy:** "We know that climbing does happen in the arboretum. But it's in kind of this funny gray area where we don't actually have any formal designated areas or formally sanction it." **Alex Strong, on project motivation:** "Climbing is very near and dear to my heart. I learned to climb at Western. And now I'm a senior trip leader for the Climbing Club, and I'm taking people out to the Arb to teach them how to climb. And so I want to give back to that area before I graduate." **Caleb Barville, on volunteer success:** "We have been very productive, having between 15 to 25 community members join the work parties each Friday afternoon, and we have removed approximately 25 cubic yards of green waste over the last 6 weeks." **Karen, on safety protocols:** "We have a whole solid waste team at the city that go out. And yes, they are, especially with hazardous materials for prior encampments, very strict protocols, and how they're managing all of that waste. So

# Sehome Hill Arboretum Board — Final Spring Meeting Before Summer Break The Sehome Hill Arboretum Board of Governors held their final meeting of the spring semester on May 15, 2025, at Western Washington University's facilities. Board Chair John Tuxel called the meeting to order with quorum present, including members from both Western Washington University and the City of Bellingham. The meeting opened with the traditional land acknowledgment, recognizing Sehome Hill as traditional ancestral and unceded territory of the Lummi and Nooksack peoples, with board members expressing their "shared responsibilities to care for the arboretum" and gratitude for "the opportunity to learn from indigenous wisdom." ## Weekly Work Parties Show Strong Community Engagement Caleb Barville from Western's Ecological Restoration Club provided an enthusiastic update on their weekly Friday afternoon work parties. The student-led group has achieved remarkable success, consistently drawing 15 to 25 community members to remove invasive species along the Jersey Street Trail. "We have removed approximately 25 cubic yards of green waste over the last six weeks," Barville reported, describing their focus on removing cherry laurel and English ivy from the south end of the trail. The group's productivity has created its own challenge — a substantial pile of green waste that needs removal. Board Chair Tuxel had good news on that front: "When you touch base with Oscar, I think you're going to hear some good news. He's already arranged with the lead group on campus. We're going to deliver a truck and they're going to get everything loaded up." The grounds crew had dubbed the towering pile "Caleb's mountain" — a testament to the volunteers' industriousness. Barville also highlighted plans for Arboretum Day on Saturday, May 31st, featuring faculty-led interpretive hikes covering forest ecology, ethnobotany, arboretum history, geology, and birdwatching, along with live music and riparian restoration work removing yellow archangel from the Outback Farms area. Looking ahead, Barville requested that grounds crew apply herbicide to holly stumps from their cutting work: "Otherwise they'll come back because we've cut quite a few. And now they're just like through, I don't know, two to three foot high stumps. So that's something that needs to be dealt with." ## A Student's Climbing Area Restoration Proposal Alex Strong, a Fairhaven College senior, presented an ambitious work party project for his senior capstone. Having worked with the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association and Washington Trails Association to learn restoration techniques, Strong wanted to give back to an area that had shaped his Western experience. "Climbing is very near and dear to my heart. I learned to climb at Western. And now I'm a senior trip leader for the Climbing Club, and I [take] people out to the Arb to teach them how to climb," Strong explained. "And so I want to give back to that area before I graduate." Strong's proposal centered on what climbers call the "central climbing area" — though board members quickly noted that no formal climbing areas exist in the arboretum. Using a presentation with maps and photos, Strong showed the board a heavily used but overgrown trail leading to a collection of seven boulders about 150 meters northeast of the main climbing wall. The trail has become problematic, with loose footing and significant overgrowth leading to multiple "social trails" — unauthorized paths created by users seeking easier access. Strong's plan involved trail maintenance, invasive species removal, and addressing a more serious issue: extensive trash accumulation. "One of the boulders called the Turtle has a nice like overarching kind of cave, and it has become the drinking spot for a few college students as well as a sleeping spot for some unhoused folks," Strong explained. "So there is a large abundance of cans, food waste, and human waste." ## Navigating Complex Challenges Board Chair Tuxel appreciated Strong's enthusiasm but outlined several challenges. First, the social trail question: "Part of the question for the board is actually like, is this a trail we want to formalize? In which case we bring it under some sort of purview of maintenance." The board's experience with social trails involves careful consideration of erosion potential, user patterns, and whether to formalize, redirect, or decommission unauthorized paths. The timing also presented challenges. "We are at the very end of the planting season," Tuxel explained, "just because we're heading into what's summer, our dry summer months, and that means anything we plant now is not going to have a lot of time to develop the root system necessary to settle in and be able to withstand drought conditions." Most significantly, the extensive trash from encampments raised safety concerns. City representative Karen clarified: "We have a whole solid waste team at the city that go out and yes, they are especially with hazardous materials for prior encampments, very strict protocols and how they're managing all of that waste. So we wouldn't want anybody to get injured." The city has formal processes for assessing and cleaning hazardous material, including human waste and needles. While appreciating Strong's intentions, board members emphasized safety protocols must be followed. Strong envisioned a work party of no more than eight people, with teams focusing on trash removal, ivy and holly removal, and trail work. He also wanted to install signage about Leave No Trace principles and climbing etiquette, noting the sandstone shouldn't be climbed when wet. Board member Nick Leader raised an important point about the climbing community serving as informal monitors: "We don't sanction climbing. We don't want to encourage climbing, but if people are there giving a heads up when there is sort of a problem area like this sounds like it is would be valuable." ## The Hidden Geography of the Arboretum Strong's presentation sparked a broader discussion about unofficial arboretum uses. Board Chair Tuxel reflected: "Looking at the arboretum map, it made me think of all of the things that are happening and exist in the arboretum that are not on the map, many of which would be helpful for us as a board to know about." He recounted a recent conversation with a student about extensive mountain biking trails in the arboretum: "I was like, Hey, did you know that you're not supposed to do that? And he's like, yeah." Strong offered to create a climbing trail map, identifying about five primary climbing areas within the arboretum. "This is the central area that has the most like kind of off sprouting trails, but the rest of them are going to just be like a single trail leading up to just say, like a boulder or two." With Strong graduating on June 13th and time running short, the board agreed that Tuxel would coordinate with city staff on the trash assessment and work with Strong on invasive species removal options. Board members made clear they weren't approving formal trail construction but were willing to explore vegetation management within existing safety and regulatory constraints. ## Stormwater Project Presents Complex Choices The board spent considerable time discussing vegetation plans for the new longhouse stormwater detention area. The longhouse structure is now up and taking shape, but the associated stormwater management area presents challenging planting decisions. Tuxel outlined a recent site meeting involving three board members and staff from both the city and Western. The area has specific maintenance requirements: vegetation within 24 inches of stormwater access points must remain low for public works vehicle access. "The options for the area that needs to be 24 inches or shorter is to keep it mulched and then just keep spraying it. Is to put down grass. And to do some sort of mixed seed, which would be a mixture of native and non-native species," Tuxel explained. Board member Kindred expressed strong skepticism about mixed seed approaches: "My experience with it is that it has not been very successful, and that after a year or two, you've lost sort of your native species and you have your non-native grass species that are the ones that have been established." She cited specific examples of failed mixed plantings around campus, including one by the Galbraith parking lot that "basically, it's pretty much dirt except for like in the spring summer and fall, and then it gets mowed the rest of the year." The discussion revealed the complexity of balancing ecological goals with practical maintenance requirements. Native options like kinnikinnick could work but would require extensive plant material and time to establish. The board considered whether non-native low shrubs might work, but concerns about introducing potentially problematic species led toward simpler solutions. "Any kind of seed mixes make me nervous because of introducing new species," Kindred said, favoring grass as "a known entity." The board didn't make a final decision, but consensus seemed to lean toward grass for the access areas, with shrubs filling in the surrounding slopes that would mask the maintenance areas from view. City staff will develop a vegetation plan over the summer for board approval in the fall. Wayne noted a practical consideration: "The city has agreed to sort of when we are meeting together to provide the initial plants and materials and to do one work party a year with replacing plants that have died, and Western would do the general maintenance and coordinate other work parties." ## Website Development Reaches Impasse The board addressed ongoing tensions over a student-developed arboretum website. David, the student developer, has been working on a site to showcase student work related to the arboretum, but communications have become strained over approval processes and content concerns. Board Chair Tuxel read from David's recent email: "We'll simply need to publish the site as is. The site will be driven by the Western community. Allow us to publish the works of community members without the need for Siobhan approval." The board had requested basic formatting changes and clarity about the site's purpose to avoid public confusion with the official arboretum website. Board member Joan had suggested reframing the site's purpose as "showcasing creative, inspiring work by WWU students, faculty, staff, and alumni related to the Arboretum rather than showcasing the Arboretum itself." "That's what this is. This is not arboretum dot WWU, this is, we're excited to love the arboretum," Joan explained. "That's not problematic to me. That's but that's different than this is the Arboretum other arboretum website." Nick Leader raised concerns about search engine results and AI systems: "The rules that are gonna be on that website, they got to make sure that those are the same. They're aligned with the actual rules of the arboretum, because in time that site, the content of that site, whatever's on it, because it's associated with .edu address, that's gonna be folded into whatever the top AI result is that Google is gonna spit." David reportedly plans to address this by linking to the official city arboretum page for rules and regulations. The board will see what emerges in September, hoping their concerns have been adequately addressed. ## Meeting Schedule and Administrative Changes Looking toward fall, the board discussed significant changes to their meeting structure. Budget constraints may require city and university representatives to attend only quarterly rather than monthly meetings. This could necessitate either finding ways to maintain quorum for other meetings or revising bylaws to reduce the total number of meetings. Wayne confirmed they're on track for September meetings to return to Western's campus, likely in room PH 309 with the accessibility ramp left open past normal hours. The House of Healing longhouse facility may eventually provide a meeting venue once completed. The board also addressed the loss of their detailed binder of governing documents when the previous administrative assistant departed. New assistant Karen explained that most other boards rely on website posting rather than physical binders. "I feel like a lot of what's in that SharePoint is stuff that we should have on our website, and some of it already is," Karen noted. She committed to posting key documents like bylaws, annual reports, and board rosters online over the summer. Board member Joan emphasized the importance of new member orientation: "If the new members get nothing, then they have no orientation. So if they don't get the binder, then there needs to be some kind of orientation." The board discussed required training requirements, including the Open Public Meetings Act training required within 90 days of assuming positions and renewable every four years. They agreed to integrate this into new member onboarding processes. ## Eagle Nest and Upcoming Events The meeting included positive news about wildlife. Caleb Barville reported hearing a bald eagle regularly in the northeastern corner of the arboretum, suggesting a possible nesting site. "Definitely have been hearing a lot more bald eagle presence lately, so it's pretty cool to note," he said. Board member Travis announced an upcoming "Wild Plants of Summer" event on June 6th, featuring Jenny Martin from Lummi Nation Health Clinic's healing spirits garden. The event will include a 3:30 pm interpretive hike through the arboretum followed by veggie chili and fry bread at the Outback Farm outdoor classroom from 5:30-7:00 pm. ## Looking Toward Fall As the board adjourned until September, several major items await fall attention: finalizing the stormwater detention planting plan, potentially addressing climbing area policies that "keep coming up," reviewing whatever website emerges from the student development process, and adapting to new meeting schedules and administrative support. The meeting captured the ongoing challenge of managing a beloved public space where official policies often lag behind community uses — from climbing and mountain biking to the entrepreneurial restoration work of engaged students. As Tuxel noted about Strong's project, it brought attention to "all of the things that are happening and exist in the arboretum that are not on the map." The board continues to balance preservation, public access, educational opportunities, and practical maintenance needs while fostering the kind of community engagement exemplified by the Ecological Restoration Club's impressive work and students like Alex Strong who want to give back to places that have shaped their college experience. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn until September, with board members expressing appreciation for the productive spring semester and anticipation for addressing the complex issues ahead in the fall.

### Meeting Overview The Sehome Hill Arboretum Board of Governors met on May 15, 2025, to discuss ongoing ecological restoration work, review a student climbing area cleanup proposal, and make decisions about longhouse stormwater management landscaping. The board also addressed administrative matters including their annual report and future meeting logistics. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Social Trails:** Unofficial paths created by repeated foot traffic that aren't on the formal trail map. The board must decide whether to formalize these trails or work to decommission them, especially if they cause erosion issues. **Ecological Restoration Club:** A Western Washington University student organization that conducts weekly volunteer work parties removing invasive species like cherry laurel and English ivy from the arboretum. **Stormwater Detention System:** Infrastructure that captures and manages rainwater runoff, requiring specific vegetation height limitations (24 inches or shorter) around access points for maintenance crews. **Invasive Species Removal:** The ongoing process of removing non-native plants like English ivy, holly, and cherry laurel that can crowd out native vegetation in forest ecosystems. **House of Healing:** A new Western Washington University building nearing completion that will serve indigenous communities and includes associated stormwater management infrastructure. **Arboretum Day:** An annual public event featuring faculty-led interpretive hikes about forest ecology, ethnobotany, arboretum history, geology, and birdwatching. **Leave No Trace Principles:** Outdoor ethics guidelines that minimize human impact on natural areas, relevant to climbing and recreational activities in the arboretum. **Mixed Seed Plantings:** Vegetation approaches using both native and non-native plant species, which board members noted tend to fail over time with non-native grasses dominating. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | John Tuxel | Board Chair | | Wayne | Board member, Western representative | | Caleb Barville | Student, Ecological Restoration Club | | Alex Strong | Senior at Fairhaven College, proposing work party project | | Travis | Board member | | Joan/Kendra | Board members | | Nick Leader | Board member | | Karen | City of Bellingham representative | | Oscar | Western grounds specialist | | Frida | City's acting stewardship supervisor | ### Background Context The Sehome Hill Arboretum exists as a partnership between Western Washington University and the City of Bellingham, creating unique governance challenges around maintenance, liability, and decision-making authority. The board regularly deals with unauthorized activities like climbing, mountain biking, and camping that occur in gray areas of their formal policies. Student organizations like the Ecological Restoration Club provide valuable volunteer labor for invasive species removal, while the board must balance access and preservation goals. The new House of Healing represents significant infrastructure development requiring careful integration with the arboretum's natural systems. ### What Happened — The Short Version Student Caleb Barville reported that volunteer work parties have removed 25 cubic yards of invasive plants over six weeks and are planning Arboretum Day on May 31st. Alex Strong, a graduating senior, proposed a work party to clean up a climbing area and improve trail access, but the board had concerns about formalizing unauthorized trails and handling hazardous waste cleanup. The board approved their annual report and discussed landscaping plans for the new stormwater detention area near the House of Healing, ultimately leaning toward using regular grass in areas requiring low vegetation for maintenance access. They also addressed ongoing website development issues and planned to return to campus meetings in September. ### What to Watch Next • Arboretum Day on Saturday, May 31st, featuring guided hikes and restoration activities • Fall meetings resuming in September, likely back on Western's campus • Stormwater detention area planting plan development over summer for board approval in fall • Student website development progress and resolution of URL/content concerns ---

**Q:** How many cubic yards of green waste has the Ecological Restoration Club removed in the last six weeks? **A:** Approximately 25 cubic yards of cherry laurel and English ivy from along the Jersey Street Trail. **Q:** What is the name of the boulder where college students have been drinking and leaving trash? **A:** The Turtle, which has an overhanging cave formation in the northeastern climbing area. **Q:** When is Arboretum Day scheduled and what activities will it include? **A:** Saturday, May 31st, featuring faculty-led interpretive hikes about forest ecology, ethnobotany, geology, birdwatching, plus live music and riparian restoration. **Q:** What height restriction applies to vegetation around the stormwater detention access points? **A:** 24 inches or shorter to allow maintenance crews access to the underground infrastructure. **Q:** Who is responsible for cleaning up hazardous materials from homeless encampments in the arboretum? **A:** The city's solid waste team from the Public Works department, not volunteers, due to safety protocols for handling human waste and needles. **Q:** What are social trails and why are they a concern? **A:** Unofficial paths created by repeated use that aren't on the formal trail map. They can cause erosion and require board decisions about formalization or decommission. **Q:** How many people typically join the Friday afternoon work parties? **A:** Between 15 to 25 community members participate in the weekly invasive species removal efforts. **Q:** What did the board decide about the mixed seed planting option for the stormwater area? **A:** They were opposed, noting that mixed plantings typically fail with non-native grasses dominating and native species disappearing after 1-2 years. **Q:** When do board meetings resume and where? **A:** September, likely returning to Western's campus in conference room PB309 with the front gate staying open past 4:30 PM. **Q:** What was Alex Strong's timeline for completing his senior project? **A:** He needed to finish before graduating on June 13th, making it a very short timeline for board approval and implementation. **Q:** What climbing etiquette issue did Alex mention regarding sandstone? **A:** You can't climb sandstone when it's wet, and climbers should follow Leave No Trace principles to minimize impact. **Q:** Why was the board concerned about formalizing climbing area trails? **A:** Because the board doesn't officially sanction climbing and would need to engage a broader review process before approving trail building to climbing areas. **Q:** What infrastructure will help with watering the new stormwater area plantings? **A:** A hose bed near the loading dock that will allow easy watering without requiring water trucks. **Q:** Who will develop the vegetation plan for the stormwater detention area? **A:** Frida, the city's acting stewardship supervisor, will create the plan by summer's end for board approval in fall. **Q:** What was the main concern about the student-developed arboretum website? **A:** The URL and content could confuse the public into thinking it's the official arboretum website, when it should showcase student work related to the arboretum. **Q:** How many visits did the official Sehome Hill Arboretum webpage receive in the past year? **A:** 7,600 visits, compared to 241 visits to the Board of Governors page. **Q:** What training requirement applies to board members? **A:** Public Meeting Act training within 90 days of assuming position, with renewal every four years as required by state law. **Q:** What suggestion did board members make about reporting problems in unauthorized areas? **A:** Creating a community reporting system for trash, graffiti, and other issues since these areas aren't part of regular maintenance patrols. ---