Our Action Plan Pillars

Outcome

A clear Partnership structure affirms our mutual responsibilities and shared strategies, while building space for diverse voices and accountability.

Context

GSP is a partnership, above all else! To build on our 20 years of collaboration and set us up for greater success in the coming 20 years, we will put clear structures into place for how we work together, and what it is we commit to doing in support of one another. This includes considering how GSP is showing up for our partners, especially as many nonprofit organizations navigate challenging political and financial realities.

Strategies

1. Refine the collaborative Partnership structure to clarify roles and commitments.
2. Update systems for capturing and responding to partner and participant feedback to advance a culture of accountability.

Outcome

The Partnership includes strong relationships with underrepresented communities and organizations.

Context

Our work is most impactful when it’s a collaboration of many different ideas, experiences, and identities, just like ecosystems are healthiest when they’re filled with diversity. The strategies in this outcome are focused on understanding and filling gaps in our current Partnership network, with a dedicated focus on relationships with Tribal Nations.

Strategies

1. Pursue new organizational relationships to fill current representation gaps in leadership, programming, and participation.
2. Advance relationship building with Tribal Nations who have stewarded and protected the Puget Sound region’s cultural and natural resources since time immemorial, and continue to do so today.

Outcome

Diverse and sustainable funding streams support the long-term success of GSP’s work.

Context

To take on new priorities through this strategic plan, we need to make our pie bigger — not make each slice smaller. This will require dedicated investment into identifying and securing new funding streams for our work, now and for the long term.

Strategies

1. Identify funding gaps and opportunities to expand the funding pool.
2. Build case-making materials to support fundraising efforts across the Partnership.

Outcome

School and student participation in land-based education programming is strengthened.

Context

By connecting young people with the land and equipping them with the tools and confidence to steward it, we nurture an intergenerational culture of care for Seattle’s parklands and natural spaces. Partnering directly with schools allows us to meet youth where they are.

While school programming is not new to GSP, our purpose here is to dig deeper on barriers to public school participation and to build coordination across our wide Partnership to grow student engagement.

Strategies

1. Build our understanding of the gaps and opportunities to increase K-12 school participation and expand programming.
2. Support teachers and schools in connecting Tribal sovereignty teachings with land stewardship programming.
3. Implement an outreach and awareness campaign to increase high school student participation.

Outcome

Expanded event offerings resonate with overburdened and frontline communities.

Context

We’ve heard clearly from community feedback that while connecting with the land and each other are important priorities, the “hands in dirt” volunteerism model can be improved. We’re committed to expanding our event offerings and delivery so that we are continuing to create land care access in the ways that resonate most with diverse communities across Seattle.

Strategies

1. Craft and facilitate events that center frontline community priorities.
2. Improve family-oriented program offerings, addressing participation barriers for caregivers and elders.
3. Produce updated guidance for Forest Stewards and partner organization staff that improves the quality of GSP stewardship events, emphasizing best practices that promote belonging, joy, healing, and cultural connection.

Outcome

Career exposure and job training programming have expanded reach and effectiveness.

Context

We’re excited about building not just a pipeline of land stewards, but also a pipeline of restoration professionals with technical skills and expertise for this important work. Green jobs training and career exposure programming have long been part of the Green Seattle Partnership. Creating intentional and strong pathways to employment is an important next step for our work together.

Strategies

1. Build cross-Partnership collaboration space to improve career pathways programming.
2. Formalize GSP career exposure and job training learning goals and assessment strategies.
3. Support programming participants through the full career ladder, linking them with next-step opportunities to expand career exposure and job skills development.

Outcome

Stewardship efforts are driven by an understanding of current ecological conditions and long-term restoration goals.

Context

Ecosystems are always changing. It’s important that our approaches are not just flexible and adaptive, but also responsive to the changing climate, the terrestrial and aquatic species that depend on healthy ecosystems, and the many different ways in which people engage with the land. Having smart and clear restoration goals and assessment methods helps us understand where we are now and where we need to go, as well as interim progress and how we can adapt along the way.

Strategies

1. Update ecological restoration goals to account for climate change, to better integrate human and wildlife uses, and to recognize non-forest systems such as shorelines, meadows, wetlands and small-scale native plantings.
2. Update ecological condition assessment methods to capture current conditions and long-term trends, especially those associated with climate change shifts and impacts to local communities.

Outcome

Ecological restoration sites are being invested in based on the greatest needs and opportunities, using a climate justice lens.

Context

Where we choose to prioritize restoration is just as important and impactful as how we do it. We’re committed to prioritizing restoration activities in natural areas and communities that have been most impacted by injustices like pollution, redlining, extreme heat events, and climate change, and that can benefit the most from ensuring parkland ecosystems are healthy.

Strategies

1. Update site prioritization framework to drive equitable project delivery.
2. Update restoration project tracking systems to ensure priority restoration sites are moving successfully through the restoration process and into long-term care.

Outcome

Knowledge sharing is facilitated to improve ecological restoration outcomes and climate resiliency, reflecting diverse perspectives.

Context

There are many different bodies of knowledge and expertise for how to care for the land, but government-funded restoration has historically used a more narrow set of ideas. The strategies in this pillar are dedicated to helping us expand how we think about and practice restoration, so that we’re considering as broad a knowledge base as possible. It’s also important to us that we improve access to information and grow our collective understanding of the many ways to steward land while being sensitive about protected knowledge (i.e. Traditional Ecological Knowledge).

Strategies

1. Expand formats, participation, and topics shared through land care workshops and learning circles to engage people on the day-to-day practice of land care and long-term ecological restoration outcomes.
2. Produce case studies to capture and share-out cross-Partnership learnings, amplifying diverse perspectives and practices.
3. Apply learnings by collaboratively evaluating and refining best management practices.