Volunteers Gather at Interlaken, 16 Other Parks for Green Seattle Day
Seattle, November 3, 2007 -- Hundreds of volunteers joined forces Saturday for the second Green Seattle Day to plant trees and shrubs, pull invasives and do their part to restore Seattle’s forested park lands. It’s part of an effort by the Green Seattle Partnership, formed in 2004 by the City of Seattle and the Cascade Land Conservancy—together with the community—to bring Seattle’s urban forests back to health.
In kicking off today’s Green Seattle Partnership events, 7th District Congressman Jim McDermott joined Mayor Greg Nickels and Cascade Land Conservancy President Gene Duvernoy for a rousing start at Interlaken Park on north Capitol Hill.
Mayor Nickels designated the first Saturday in November Green Seattle Day. November is traditionally the beginning of the planting season. Annual Green Seattle Partnership activities through October largely involve pulling non-native invasive species from forested sites. One significance of Green Seattle Day is that community volunteers now get to plant new trees and shrubs in the ground at sites from which invasives earlier had carefully been culled.
According to Mayor Nickels, an average tree will take a ton of carbon out of the atmosphere during its lifetime. “Trees bring beauty, healthier air and cleaner water, and they absorb global-warming pollution,” the mayor said. That means hundreds of tons of carbon will be removed as a result of today’s planting.
Many local and community organizations helped with today’s restoration events. Besides Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Cascade Land Conservancy, Earthcorps, The Nature Consortium, Washington Native Plant Society, Volunteers For Outdoor Washington, Friends of Interlaken and the King Conservation District pulled together to ensure success.
CLC’s President Gene Duvernoy told volunteers, “We have to learn to live in communities where we’ve already made our footprints. That means restoring neighborhood parks like Interlaken.”
In his remarks to the volunteers at Interlaken Park, Congressman McDermott said, “I hope what you are doing here today acts like a seedling and takes root in other neighborhoods in Seattle and across the region. What you are doing is great work.”
In all, more than 500 volunteers registered at seventeen park locations across Seattle, planting more than 3,000 trees and shrubs. At Interlaken Park, more than 185 residents surrendered their Saturday to help with the park’s restoration efforts.
While the primary site of work was at Interlaken, other groups of volunteers worked in their corners of the urban landscape.
Along the steep hillsides of the St. Mark's Greenway on Capitol Hill, volunteers planted small shrubs in one area while native conifers were being put into the ground in another area. For some it was the first time they had done this kind of work. "I don't know what I am doing," called out one volunteer as she struggled to keep her footing on the steep slope. "You're doing fine," said another. "You've got the right tool and you're doing great."
At the North Queen Anne Greenbelt it was a similar story. A small group of hearty volunteers aided by Earthcorps planted trees and shrubs in a wooded hillside above Aurora Avenue North. Several young children were among the volunteers, learning from an Earthcorps representative the correct way to plant a tree and give it the best chance for survival.
Click here to view a slideshow of Green Seattle Day 2007.
