Please Help our nature-loving Julie May Knight!

Hello Island community, on behalf of myself Liam Knight, son and sister, Melanie MacDonald we are asking for help for our beloved Julie Knight.

She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s over 4 years ago and is now in need of 24/7 care to be able to continue to stay safe and with quality of life at her home on Lopez.

Many know her as the mother of Liam and Alia Knight but mostly as one of the founding Mothers of IOSA, “Islands Oil Spill Association” and Wolf Hollow, “wildlife rehab center” on San Juan Island.

She worked and helped both groups as a volunteer, board member, and Director for over 30 years.

Julie was one of the first wildlife responders to the Valdez oil spill and several others, including the Nestucca spill off the WA coast, the Shell refinery spill in Anacortes, and The Deep Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico all of which she spent many long hours washing oiled birds in hot steamy showers. We suspect that this contributed to her early onset condition at the young age of 56.

There are many stories about how she has helped distressed wildlife.

One is about an adult trumpeter swan that became entangled in an electric fence at a marsh on the south end of Lopez Island.

She was able to disentangle it, and after a short time at Wolf Hollow it was released back into the wild where it rejoined her lonely mate❤️‍

Somewhere there is a picture taken of it sound asleep with its long neck draped over Julie's shoulder as they sat quietly in the bathtub after a good tube feeding.

In addition, many orphaned harbor seal pups spent time in the same tub that was treated before going to Wolf Hollow for further help with many nursed back to health and eventually released back into the wild.

Another was when a report came in about a lone, hungry white pelican in fisherman’s bay that had been separated from its flock after a winter storm. They typically forage for fish in a group by herding them and diving, so it was a compromised situation. She was able to lure it to a nearby private dock with some herring and capture it with a net. The following day having done some research on the matter, she had it in a carrier and was bound for a lake in eastern WA where she released it, and it united with a large flock.

About six years ago she started having a very difficult time maintaining her job as IOSA director, and over four years ago she was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She has qualified for disability which is helpful. As of about six months ago, we started needing to provide her with part-time caregiving seven days a week. However, this has now changed as it has become imperative for her health and well-being to have 24/7 care.

She is still physically active but cannot carry on a normal conversation and is very prone to wandering.

We desire to help her live out her life on the property and home she and her ex-partner Sam built 15 years ago.

Her children, Liam and Alia knight, her sister Melanie MacDonald and her ex Sam Pottenger have all been chipping in to help with her support, but it has become difficult to maintain.

We have decided reluctantly and hopefully to reach out to her cherished community for its support.

We are hoping to run an annual supportive gofundme and update the community as we go forward.

Thank you all for your support