Boardwalk Dedicated To Chris Rodriguez, the man who built it.
Editors note: Featured image taken before the pandemic and virus mitigation mandates. Photo courtesy of the city of Lynnwood.
By: Erin Freeman | Lynnwood Times Staff
The city of Lynnwood held a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony at the Fish Hatchery and Environmental Education Center, dedicating the boardwalk to the late Chris Rodriguez.
“He served his country valiantly and his community with great enthusiasm. Father, son, and brother to us all,” reads the newly installed plaque standing near the boardwalk.
Rodriguez was the project manager who built the boardwalk through the Veterans Conservation Corp of the Snohomish Conservation District. During construction, the U.S. veteran supervised the project as acting crew lead.
“Thank you to Chris and the Veterans Conservation Corp for all of your efforts to improve safety and accessibility at our fish hatchery,” said the city in a social media statement.
Constructed in 2018, the boardwalk was built to allow for a more accessible educational experience for local students’ visiting to Fish Hatchery and Environmental Education Center.
Every year the city of Lynnwood raises Coho salmon, hosting field trips for school-aged children to visit the Fish Hatchery and Environmental Education Center to learn about the salmon lifecycle, native plants, and water quality. At the end of each visit, students get to walk down the boardwalk to release salmon into the center’s neighboring body of water, Hall Lake.
Before the boardwalk was built, the property staying very wet year-round, the students had to trudge through the mud to release the fish. The boardwalk helps the kids stay dry and safe, says Cameron Coronado of the Public Works Department for the City of Lynnwood.
“This boardwalk is a testimony to his life,” Coronado said. “He put everything he had into every project he had, into being a dad, into being a friend… it brings me great pride and honor and happiness to walk this boardwalk with students’ every year… Chris is going to continue to have a lasting impact on people’s lives.”
Author: Erin Freeman
