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Bluffs, Beaches, and Intertidal Life: Dynamic Change on Whidbey Shores
February 2, 2025 @ 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Field Trips open to Sound Waters University registrants only. Maximum 20 attendees per trip.
Guides:
PaulBen McElwain came to Seattle in the mid-sixties for studies at the University of Washington in Physical Oceanography, Geology (geomorphic hydrology) and Geography (computer cartography). Having grown up in the outdoors of the Southeast, he found his true home here in the Pacific Northeast (that’s right, come see why). A resident of Whidbey Island since the mid-eighties, PaulBen has spent a good amount of time on the local beaches, puzzling out their shapes, processes, and changes. A member of Sound Water Stewards since 2017, PaulBen delights in sharing his curiosity, insights and enthusiasm for the bluffs and beaches of Whidbey Island.
Jeanie McElwain, SWS Class of 2003, is a naturalist and a natural educator. Having created and co-led the Extreme “Low Tides Guides” project in 2003-4, she now leads numerous species ID field trips for trainees, members, and others. As lead of the Whidbey Island Monitoring Committee’s Species ID Study Group, Jeanie also designs and leads member (and public when feasible) field trips to nearby aquariums and science research centers.
With a PhD in Psychology and a lifetime background in working with non-profit membership programs, outreach to unserved populations, death & grief counseling, brain function and communication effectiveness, and oriental healing modalities, Jeanie’s other great interest in SWS is in organizational and group processes and membership support.
Trip Themes: Necessities & Challenges of Bluff Erosion, Unique & Essential Species in Whidbey
Trip Description:
Nothing is constant but change! Come explore Libbey Beach Park just north of Partridge Point on Western Whidbey Island. Study how tectonic, glacial, and shoreline processes shape our western Whidbey Island nearshore bluffs and beaches. See firsthand how our famous “feeder bluffs” erode and play a vital role in the life of the sea. The dynamic Husband and Wife duo of PaulBen (geology) and Jeanie McElwain (biology) provide a complementary and magical interpretation of nature dynamically at work at this beach in winter.
Location:
Protected in 2003, the 2,800 feet along the Strait of Juan de Fuca tidelands are accessible, at low tides, from the County’s adjacent Libbey Beach Park. This stretch of beach contains an unusually rich array of marine life. The beach walk is breathtaking when the Olympic Mountains show their magnificence.
