Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
In the transition between the 2012 and 2013 programs, we took the lessons from our Colorado consultants and tailored the program to our state. YHP became a stronger, more cohesive educational program that reflects the values and character of Washington State. We look forward to YHP 2014 adding to the previous success and moving forward to different areas of the state with varying program themes exploring the history of Washington.
The 2013 program was at Ebey’s Landing, the nation’s first historical reserve, which integrates historic farms, a seaside town, native and pioneer land use traditions and ecologically significant areas. The program focused on three programmatic areas: agriculture; landscape and the built environment; and commerce (main street and maritime). Participants engaged in a variet of hands-on activities including harvesting a food crop, restoring wooden windows, touring downtown Coupeville with an expert on Main Street development, and visiting a mussel farm. These activities, along with presentations, tours and demonstrations, helped the students as they explored the themes of partnerships and preservation; maintaining character, and saving historic places that matter. Students were introduced to existing tools, incentives and regulations that are currently in place to preserve the unique character of Ebey’s and guide its development. Ultimately, students answered the question of how to protect Ebey’s rural character and presented their recommendations to invited officials, stakeholders and community members at the closing Town Hall-style meeting. Students were also be encouraged to think about ways they can apply the tools, incentives, and lessons about preservation that they learned about over the course of the four days in their own communities.