It’s easy to feel disconnected from both our human and natural communities right now. And with Earth Day approaching, and many of the traditional celebrations having been cancelled, many of us are feeling a little lost. To celebrate Earth Month, and encourage human connection in this challenging time we will be hosting a Green Cities […]

An important principle of restoration is identifying reference ecological communities to serve as guides for planning projects, while also creating benchmarks for evaluating success. Here at Green Seattle, we have identified reference ecosystems for all of our restoration sites. These references include target ecosystems that highlight the plant communities that we would like to see at […]

A few years ago, I spent several months working remotely in Seattle, writing a management plan for forested natural areas in New York City. It was during this time that I developed an appreciation for the sophistication and dedication of natural area programming in Seattle. My time in the city also sparked broader questions about […]

With school cancelled, and some very important social distancing measures in place, many families are starting to feel a little cooped up. Luckily it is possible to safely explore many of our urban outdoors areas I’m here with some fun, educational and, energy-using activities you can do with your family in parks or your backyard. […]

Climate Ready Urban Forests Constant natural environmental change from wind, droughts, and floods have helped build Seattle’s forested areas into the warehouse of biodiversity that we know today. In many ways they are not fragile, but on the other hand, the colonization and development of the land that built our communities has drastically compromised the […]

Two Years of Hard-Earned Lessons in Seedling Survival Seattle Parks and Recreation along with the Green Seattle Partnership work hard to ensure tree planting projects lead to healthy and resilient forests. To better understand how well our seedlings are surviving, Seattle conducted surveys in 12 of its restoration projects from the 2017-2018 planting season, covering […]

Anyone who has worked with the Green Seattle Partnership knows that much of our work revolves around removing invasive plant species so that native plant and animal species can thrive. For much of the history of restoration our actions have been pretty clear cut: we remove invasives to protect natives. I’m going to discuss […]

While the age old idiom warns of “seeing the forest for the trees,” we’re here to warn of the opposite: “seeing the trees for the forest!” What we mean is that it can be difficult to notice the difference between invasive and native species in our forests; many invasive species look quite similar to native species. […]

The numbers for 2019 are in and they are absolutely incredible! Over the course of 72,248 volunteer hours, there were 90,233 native plants installed, and 2,925 trees saved from English ivy. This work took place across 155 parks and at 1,522 volunteer events, which is nearly 5 events for every single day of the year! […]

Note: this blog post is not meant as a guide to identifying and collecting edible mushrooms. If you are interested in learning more about edible mushrooms please check out the Puget Sound Mycological Society (http://www.psms.org/index.php) As we transition from rainy fall into cold winter I’ve been thinking back on the wondrous world of fall fungi […]

Join us in celebrating the 25th MLK Day of Service. Now, more than ever, our planet needs your service. Help us continue Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of service by making Janurary 20th a day on with us. We have over 20 volunteer opportunities on MLK day, and the weekend before all around the city, […]

In 2015 REI closed their doors on Black Friday for the first time to launch their #OptOutside campaign. This year they’re doing more by encouraging community members to take action and #OptToAct!⁠ Now its time to plan for the next 52 weeks of action. We’ve got a couple ways for you to Opt To Act […]

Photo by Todd ParkerPlanting for the FutureHere at the Green Seattle Partnership, we’re very excited about ecological restoration! We’re grateful to have done critical work with volunteers to reclaim and restore urban forests by removing aggressive weeds and planting native plants in parks all across Seattle. While weed removal and maintenance is an important part […]

Green Seattle Day, It’s Official November 2nd, 2019 – the sun was shining, the air was crisp, and the parks were full! Green Seattle Day 2019 boasted the most gorgeous weather anyone there could remember. Not only was this year a smashing success, it was the first time Green Seattle Day has been officially proclaimed […]

Welcome to Fall! Fall is here and the colors are changing! Well…sort of. Here in the Pacific Northwest we don’t get the landscape-wide color changes that happen in places like the Eastern Seaboard. As most of you might already know, our landscape is dominated by evergreen trees, which as the name suggests, stay green year-round.Why […]

The Legacy Trail If you happen to be taking a stroll down the Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail in West Seattle, you may be surprised by the diversity of habitats you find yourself in. One moment you will be enjoying a shaded forest next to a meandering creek, and the next you will be within […]

What lead you to start working as a Forest Steward? I love birds, and for years have spent countless hours in Discovery Park watching, photographing and generally enjoying the huge variety of bird species found in Discovery Park. Discovery Park has also been an important place for my kids – they both attended pre-school at […]

Things are Heating up in Seattle We have been experiencing more extreme heat events in the Pacific Northwest, and heat waves are expected to become more frequent with climate change. In an analysis of summer temperatures in 60 of the largest U.S. cities, a report from Climate Central showed: Temperatures can be a whopping 17 degrees […]

The summer months make for a “berry” tasty time out in the forest. Walking through Seattle’s parks at the start of summer, you can easily spot the peachy colors of salmonberry fruit hiding in the foliage; while later in the summer, you start to notice the deep-blue berries from such native plants as salal and […]

Most of the time removing aggressive Himalayan blackberry involves cutting thorny canes, digging up brainy-looking roots, and suppressing regrowth with thick layers of mulch. This time of year, for just a few weeks, the work gets a little more delicious. Removing the berries from the bushes before the birds get to them and redistribute their seeds all […]