Dick Decker, Making a Difference at Shoreline Parks

Shoreline resident, Dick Decker was nominated as a great volunteer by Gretchen Atkinson.  Atkinson re-activated and re-energized The Meridian Park Neighborhood Association (M.P.N.A.) in 2008. 

Atkinson said, "Dick is a Park Steward in the city of Shoreline and works every Wednesday at Ronald Bog or Twin Ponds parks.  He puts in hundreds of hours in volunteering and is knowledgeable about native plants. He's a neat, neat guy so modest.  He's a real go-getter. We've nicknamed him the Energizer Bunny."

Patch spent time with Decker on a bright, sunny Shoreline day.

Patch:  How long have you been volunteering with this organization?

Decker:  I volunteered with the Meridian Park Neighborhood Association (M.P.N.A.) in 1999 through 2002 at two parks but the association didn't met again until Gretchen Atkinson organized it in 2008. We have been working at Ronald Bog since then.  The first park I volunteered at was Cromwell Park some years ago.

Patch:  How did you hear about M.P.N.A.?

Decker:  Through the Shoreline Volunteer Coordinator.

Patch:  What do you do at Ronald Bog?

Decker:  I organize and supervise volunteers to remove invasive plants.  The number of volunteers we get often depends on the weather.  After we remove invasive plants, we put in plants that are native to this area.  As volunteers, we are not allowed to use power equipment.  We use medium-sized hand tools and our hands.  Sometimes, we organize work parties.  These invasive plants have been growing for the last 30 years.

According to the United States National Arboretum, “An invasive plant has the ability to thrive and spread aggressively outside its natural range.  A naturally aggressive plant may be especially invasive when it is introduced to a new habitat.  An invasive species that colonizes a new area may gain an ecological edge since the insects, diseases, and foraging animals that naturally keep its growth in check in its native range are not present in its new habitat.”

“Some invasive plants are worse than others.  Many invasive plants continue to be admired by gardeners who may not be aware of their weedy nature.  Others are recognized as weeds but property owners fail to do their part in preventing their spread.  Some do not even become invasive until they are neglected for a long time.  Invasive plants are not all equally invasive.  Some only colonize small areas and do not do so aggressively.  Others may spread and come to dominate large areas in just a few years," according to the U.S. National Arboretum.

Patch:  Have there been unique findings in this park?  Anything interesting that happens here?

Decker:  Once we found a laptop over in that corner when we were cleaning.  There are some homeless people who live in the park, at least one or two of them.  There is a homeless man who spends the winter here.  They are not a danger to society. They just never make eye contact with us.  Of course, there are beavers and river otters in the bog.  People fish here for carp fish.

Patch:  Why did you choose to volunteer at M.P.N.A.?  For example, there are many non-profit groups out there, what is special about M.P.N.A. to you? 

Decker:  I live in the Meridian Park Neighborhood and like to do what I can to improve our area. I do volunteer with WSU Master Gardeners program and Washington Native Plant Society as well.

Patch:  You are not getting paid for your time, what inspires you to make this commitment to MPNA? 

Decker:  I'm retired and have the time to help improve our community and I enjoy working outside, growing plants and getting rid of some of our noxious plants.

Patch:  Give us some history about Ronald Bog

Decker:  About 100 years ago, this place used to be owned by a guy who made it into a cranberry bog.  In the early 60’s a guy who owned a barge mined Ronald Bog.  He mined it to get peat moss to sell.  The peat moss was made up of hundreds of years of dead stuff falling into the bog and collecting on the bottom.  Later, Ronald Bog was sold to King County.  Nobody did anything with The Bog then 16 years ago, Shoreline became a city.

Patch:  Share something unique about yourself. 

Decker:  I travel some, mainly in the Northwest but have traveled in Europe as well. I work in my garden, do repairs on my house and read a variety of books. I retired from banking after a number of years and surviving 5 bank mergers.

Patch:  Decker now in his 70’s shared more historical facts about himself.

Decker:  I was born in Greeley, Colorado.  Greeley was that guy who made famous the saying, “Go west young man.”  I graduated from Santa Rosa High School, California in 1955.  Finished my A.A. degree at Santa Rosa Jr. College in 1959.  I was in the U.S. Army for about three years.   Raised three kids with my first wife.  My career in banking involved but was not limited to buying, selling and appraising real estate.