Learn
We share ecological restoration practices in an effort to build a community around this work in Seattle.
GSP has built a body of knowledge over the last couple decades, and we continue to learn more every day. This innovation and knowledge sharing is a key element of our partnership work together. We have organized some of our favorite resources here to share.
Workshops and Training Videos
Head over to our YouTube channel to catch up on past webinars and short videos that share how we move forward community-centered land care.
Seattle Forest Week 2026 - Save the Date!
GSP Stewardship & Land Care
GSP Community Programming
GSP Partnership Building
Stewardship Resources
Reference Map
This map supports Forest Stewards, partner organizations, and contractors in carrying out our restoration mission. Zoom in and out using the arrows in the upper left corner.
Click on the zones within each park to view restoration and habitat information, such as the phase of restoration, tree-iage value, and target forest type.
Stewardship Practices
Below you’ll find a list of some of our favorite resources for advancing quality stewardship and ecological restoration at home or in a park near you.
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Beaver Best Management Practices (Seattle Parks and Recreation and Beavers Northwest)
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Best Management Practices for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in Natural Landscapes (Green Cities Network)
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Forest in Cities Resource Library (Natural Areas Conservancy)
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Forest Parkland Restoration Planning Related to Breeding Birds (Green Seattle Partnership and Audubon Washington)
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Northwest Native Plant Guide (King County)
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Native Plant Directory (Washington Native Plant Society)
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Pollinator Publications Library (Xerces Society)
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Wetland and Wet Area Best Management Practices for Forest Stewards (Green Seattle Partnership)
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Your Yard Matters: A Guide to Being a Good Park Neighbor (City of Seattle and King Conservation District)
Additional Publications
We are proud that in addition to the restoration work we do every day, we can contribute to advancing ecological restoration knowledge. These resources help to inform our ever-evolving strategy to maintain and enhance Seattle natural areas. Below you can find research projects and papers affiliated with Green Seattle Partnership. Visit Our Stories page for an additional look at some of these efforts.
Barenboim, B., Fischer, P., Churchill, D., Ciecko, L., Yadrick, M. (2018). Seedling Survival Report. Seattle Parks and Recreation, Green Seattle Partnership.
Battey, C.J. and Ross, T. (2014). Impacts of Habitat Restoration and the Status of Avian Communities in Seattle City Parks. A Technical Report by the Seattle Audubon Society.
Bazinet, Oliver (2014). Urban Environmental Stewardship in Practice: using the Green Seattle Partnership to examine relationships between ecosystem health, site conditions, and restoration efforts. Masters Thesis. School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment, University of Washington.
Bidwell, Amanda (2018). Moss and soil monitoring to measure forest health implications in Seattle, Washington. Report for Green Seattle Partnership.
Bidwell, A., Callahan, S., DeLuca, T., Nelson, B., Tobin, P (2019). Quantifying the elemental composition of mosses in western Washington USA.
Buchner, Derek (2016). Examining Restoration Success After Ten Years of the Green Seattle Partnership: Implementation and Results of the First Phase IV Verifications. Masters of Environmental Horticulture Thesis. School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment, University of Washington.
Ciecko, Lisa (2009). Effects of mulch, irrigation, and irrigation gel on the establishment of conifer seedlings at Seattle forest restoration sites. Master Thesis. School of Forest Resources, University of Washington.
Clark, J. A. G., Pregitzer, C., Crown, C., Plitt, S., Bradford, M., Jevon, F., Chen, S., Kong, J., Mueller-Gamez, M., 2024. Climate Change and Urban Nature: Opportunities, Solutions, and Risks.
Crown, Crystal A., Clara C. Pregitzer, Jeffrey A. Clark, and Sophie Plitt. 2023. Cooling Cities: Harnessing Natural Areas to Combat Urban Heat. Natural Areas Conservancy, NY
Daniels, J.M., Brinkley, W., Paruszkiewicz, M.D. (2016). Urban forest restoration cost modeling: a Seattle natural areas case study. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-921. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 28 p.
Dlugosch, K.M. (2005). Understory community changes associated with English Ivy’s invasions in Seattle’s urban parks. Northwest Science, 79(1), 53-60. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6sv7f3fc.
EarthCorps (2013). English Holly (Ilex aquifolium) Herbicide Treatment Study. March.
Elman, E., and Salisbury, N. (2009). The State of Seattle’s Conifer Forests. Seattle Urban Nature.
Ettinger, A.K., Lee, B.R., and Montgomery, S. (2017). Seed limitation and lack of downed wood, not invasive species, threaten conifer regeneration in an urban forest. Urban Ecosystems. Pp. 1-11.
Fischer, P., Churchill, D., Barenboim, B., Ciecko, L., and Yadrick, M. (2018). Seattle Parks and Recreation Green Seattle Partnership Forest Stewardship Report.
Hanson, Kirk. (2014). Restoring Native Forest Diversity to Seattle Parks. Northwest Natural Research Group
Hellier, Justin (2012). Ecologists and Organizers: Participatory Research for Shared Understanding in the Green Seattle Partnership. Masters Thesis. School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment, University of Washington.
Jordan, Mark (2016). Seattle Urban Carnivore Study. July 2017 Progress Report to Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation
Kim, S., Chung, U., Lawler, J. J., and Anderson, R. E. (2012). Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on Urban Forests in the Puget Sound Region: Climate Analysis for Tree Species. Final Report, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
Kildisheva, Olga K. and Matthew M. Aghai (2018). “Seward Park Sword Fern Decline Strategic Plan.” Green Seattle Partnership, City of Seattle. December 2018.
Lawson, Sam W, and Sophie Plitt. 2023. Protecting Urban Forested Natural Areas: Strategies for Conservation in Cities. Natural Areas Conservancy, NY
Loeb, Robert E (2011). Old Growth Urban Forests. Springer New York.
Mojzak, Andrea K.; Ciecko, Lisa A.; Brinkley, Weston R.; and Yadrick, Michael T. Jr. (2020) “Green Seattle Partnership Models Regional Urban Natural Areas Restoration Efforts,” Cities and the Environment (CATE): Vol. 13: Iss. 1, Article 8.
Ramsay, M., Salisbury, N., and Surbey, S. (2004). A Citywide Survey of Habitat on Public Land in Seattle: a tool for urban restoration planning and ecological monitoring. 16th Int’l Conference, Society for Ecological Restoration, August 24-26, 2004, Victoria, Canada.
Salisbury, N. and Elman, E. (2008). The State of Seattle’s Madrone Forests. Seattle Urban Nature.
Sheppard, Jacob Colin (2014). Toward a Framework for Evaluating Civic Environmental Stewardship in the Green-Duwamish Watershed, WA. Masters Thesis. School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, College of the Environment, University of Washington.
Wilkinson, Kelly (2018) Urban Forestry Stewardship and Success: A Case Study of Four Models of Urban Forest Stewardship in King County, Washington. Graduate Certificate in Urban Forestry Program at Oregon State University
Wolf, Kathleen L.; Brinkley, Weston; and Blahna, Dale J. (2021) “Civic Environmental Stewardship: Aligning Organizational and Participant Motivations” Cities and the Environment (CATE): Vol. 14: Iss. 2, Article 3.
Yadrick, Michael T. Jr.; Ciecko, Lisa A.; and Brinkley, Weston (2024) "Beyond Tree Planting in Urban Forest Climate Adaptation Actions," Cities and the Environment (CATE): Vol. 13: Iss. 1, Article 37. DOI: 10.15365/cate.2020.130137
Yadrick, Michael T. Jr.; Ciecko, Lisa A.; Brinkley, Weston R.; and Mojzak, Andrea K. (2020) “Climate Change Vulnerability and Response in Seattle’s Urban Natural Areas,” Cities and the Environment (CATE): Vol. 13: Iss. 1, Article 10.
Yadrick, Michael T. Jr. (2020) “Climate Ready Urban Forests,” Green Seattle Partnership, City of Seattle.