A Ragged Field

Lupines and Garry oak trees near Mark di Suvero’s Bunyon’s Chess in the North Meadow at the Olympic Sculpture Park.

Washed Up

Driftwood is an exciting feature at the Olympic Sculpture Park. The giant logs at the reclaimed beach become places to relax, climb, and contemplate.

However, not all wood is good wood.

A variety of wood from ships, docks and elsewhere crashes on the park’s beach. It is treated wood that has to be removed, such as the creosote-laden utility poles that have a pungent “new driveway” odor on a warm day. One of my first tasks as an intern was to cut a large piece of treated wood with a saw so that it could be transported off of the beach and brought to the dump.

According to Bobby McCullough, Head Gardener at the OSP, each year 6-8 tons of treated wood is removed from the beach.

It ends up here: