Officials with the Washington state Department of Transportation, the City of Renton and several other agencies mingled with wildlife last Friday morning at the opening of the area’s largest natural savings account.

The restoration and enhancement of the 130 acres that make up the Springbrook Creek Wetland and Habitat Mitigation Bank off Oakesdale Avenue in Renton was a “huge success,” WSDOT I-405 Project Director Kim Henry said at Friday’s event.

“For all of us, I think this is just an exciting day,” he said — a day that has been more than six years in the making.

Scarsella Brothers, Inc., was the contractor for the collaborative project between WSDOT and the City of Renton.

The project was designed to lessen the impacts of current and future transportation and development projects in and around Renton by creating one large wetland complex that will work more naturally and provide more environmental benefit than individual smaller wetlands.

Refurbishing the wetland allows for better growth of native vegetation and a better habitat for animals.

Visitors to the wetland can view the assortment of plants, birds and fish from a raised boardwalk that runs about 1/3 of a mile — the length of one of the project’s five parcels.

This boardwalk connects Renton’s 93-acre Black River Riparian Forest to the Springbrook Valley Wetlands. It also connects three regional trails: the King County Interurban Trail from Algona to Tukwila, the Green River Trail from Auburn to south Seattle, and the soon-to-be constructed King County Lake to Sound Trail from Lake Washington in Renton to Puget Sound in Des Moines.

Fourth graders from Talbot Hill Elementary School spent Friday morning on the Springbrook boardwalk with Angela Battazzo, a WSDOT environmental coordinator.

Battazzo helped the Talbot Hill students spot animals like red-tailed hawks, great blue herons, rainbow trout and a mother duck with her ducklings.

The students, in Talbot Hill’s Discovery program for gifted children, also planted an assortment of trees and plants on a bank near the entrance to the boardwalk.

The students’ teacher, Bill Riggs, said the field trip helped his students better understand the animals and plants they have been studying.

“They were excited to be part of something special,” he said.

Many student groups will follow the Talbot Hill class to Renton’s refurbished urban wetland. Mayor Denis Law said the wetland will become part of Renton School District curriculum.

“It’s a great addition to the city of Renton,” Law said.

THE LOCATION

The Springbrook Creek Wetland and Habitat Mitigation Bankis at Southwest 27th Street and Oakesdale Avenue Southwest in south Renton. There is no parking lot for the site. Parking is along the street.