JOYCE – A beloved StoryWalk for kids at the Lyre Conservation Area was hit by vandals last weekend. They tore down nearly all 20 picture-book signs and tossed them into the woods. North Olympic Land Trust (NOLT) staff and volunteers spent hours combing through the trees, managing to recover several signs, some hidden up to 30 feet off the trail. They’re hoping to have everything back up and ready this weekend with the help of more volunteers.

StoryWalk, a program that gets kids and families outdoors while promoting early literacy, lines up the pages of a picture book along a trail.

This isn’t the first time outdoor reading programs have been disrupted. Noah Glaude, Executive Director of the North Olympic Library System, says there’s been similar damage during the popular Poetry Walks program in Olympic National Park.

NOLT aims to have the signs reinstalled by Nov. 18.