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It Takes a Partnership: Growing a Green Cities Network to Restore and Care for Local Urban Forests
- 1. It Takes a Partnership: Growing a Green Cities Network to Restore and Care for Local Urban Forests
- 2. About Forterra • Forterra is an unconventional land trust that works across Washington’s communities and landscapes, from the ranches and shrub-steppe of the Yakima basin, to the estuaries, farms and forests of Washington’s coast, reaching more than 100 counties, cities, towns and rural communities. • Working cooperatively with people and nature, Forterra drives land stewardship, management and planning; innovative programs and policies; farming and forestry approaches; community ownership opportunities; and development solutions. Forterra innovates and scales land-based solutions to address the climate crisis and support equitable, green and prosperous communities.
- 5. BENEFITS OF A HEALTHY FOREST • CLEAN AIR AND WATER • NATURAL WATER RETENTION AND EROSION CONTROL • HABITAT FOR LOCAL WILDLIFE • RECREATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES • REVITALIZED NEIGHBORHOODS • IMPROVED PROPERTY VALUES • GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION • CARBON SEQUESTRATION • PHYSICAL AND MENTAL WELLNESS • AND MORE…..
- 6. CHALLENGES TO A HEALTHY URBAN FOREST • FRAGMENTATION AND DEVELOPMENT • CLIMATE CHANGE • WILDFIRES • INVASIVE SPECIES: PLANTS AND INSECTS • DISEASE • NATIVE TREES STRUGGLING TO REGENERATE • HARMFUL USE • LACK OF HOMEOWNER EDUCATION AND RESOURCES • RESOURCE LIMITATIONS FOR URBAN FOREST MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE
- 7. LOCAL EFFORTS INCREASINGCANOPY • EDUCATION • BACKYARD/RESIDENTIALTREE PROGRAMS • STREETTREE PLANTINGS AND CARE • ADDING NEWTREESTOVARIOUS PUBLIC/PRIVATE LANDSCAPES PROTECTING/REPLACING EXISTINGCANOPY • FORESTED PARK AND NATURALAREAS RESTORATION AND MAINTENANCE • TREE PROTECTION (TREE CODES AND REGULATIONS) • TREE REPLACEMENT PROGRAMS • TREE CARE AND MAINTENANCE • RESEARCH AND EDUCATION • ACQUISITION
- 8. GOALS • IMPROVE URBAN FOREST AND NATURAL AREA HEALTH • GALVANIZE AN INFORMED AND INVOLVED COMMUNITY • ENSURE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY GREEN CITY PARTNERSHIPS
- 9. IF WE DO NOTHING
- 10. IF WE RESTORE THE FOREST
- 11. BEFORE
- 12. IN RESTORATION
- 14. A REGIONAL NETWORK 2005-2021 IMPACTS • 15 GREEN CITES/COUNTIES • COMBINED GOAL: ~13,000 ACRES • SERVING MORETHAN 1.6 M PEOPLE • 1.53 M HOURS OFVOLUNTEERS • MORETHAN 3,800ACRES IN RESTORATION RESTORATION • 350 FOREST STEWARDS • 1.53 M FORESTTREES AND SHRUBS PLANTED PLANTED GREEN CITY PARTNERSHIPS
- 15. IT TAKES A PARTNERSHIP • LOCAL GOVERNMENT (CITY/COUNTY/STATE) • FORTERRA • PARTNER NONPROFITS • VOLUNTEERS • COMMUNITY GROUPS (CHURCHES, CLUBS, HOAS ETC.) • SCHOOLS • CORPORATE AND LOCAL BUSINESSES • LANDOWNERS • RESTORATION CREWS AND CONSULTANTS GREEN CITY PARTNERSHIPS
- 16. Cities/County • Tacoma • SeaTac • Des Moines • Seattle • Everett • Shoreline • SnohomishCounty • Snoqualmie • Redmond • Tukwila • Burien • Kirkland • Puyallup PARTNERS • Forterra • Communities for a Healthy Bay • Metro Parks Tacoma • Port of Tacoma • Port of Seattle • Pierce Conservation District • Snohomish Conservation District • King Conservation District • Tacoma Tree Foundation • Partners In Employment • Serve Ethiopians Washington • African Young Dreamers Empowerment Program Intl (AYDEPI) • Washington Native Plant Society • Mountains to Sound Greenway • The Snoqualmie Tribe • Environmental Coalition of South Seattle (ECOSS) • Na'ah Illahee Fund • DIRTCorps • Nature Consortium/DNDA • Student Conservation Association • EarthCorps • Tilth Alliance • Audubon Seward Park • Seattle Housing Authority • Cascadia Consulting • Sound Salmon Solutions • Sea Potential • …and more Community Partners • Delta • Heritage Bank • Washington Holdings • BECU • REI • Brighton and Jones • McKinstry Corporate Sponsors • Forest stewards • School and community groups • Businesses/corporate groups • Families • Individuals Volunteers It takes a partnership!
- 17. COMMUNITY-BASED STEWARDSHIP GREEN CITY PARTNERSHIPS
- 18. KEYS TO SUCCESS • PARTNERSHIPS (LOCAL NONPROFITS, SCHOOLS, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES, ETC.) • CITY/COUNTY STAFF TO CHAMPION THE EFFORT • CITY LEADERSHIP BUY-IN • COMMUNITY DEMAND AND SUPPORT • TRIBES AND INDIGENOUS-BASED ORGANIZATIONS • EQUITY AND INCLUSION • EVOLVE, ADAPT AND INNOVATE • PROGRAM FRAMEWORK – THE NUTS AND BOLTS • A TRACKING SYSTEM IN PLACE • A NETWORK OF JURISDICTIONS TO SHARE CHALLENGES AND EXPERIENCE • SUSTAINABLE BASE FUNDING TO LEVERAGE AND BUILD ON
- 19. CHALLENGES • EQUITY AND INCLUSION • FUNDING • COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DURING AND POST COVID • MEASURING SUCCESS – MOVING BEYOND VOLUNTEER HOURS, ACRES AND NUMBER OF TREES PLANTED • STAYING THE COURSE WHILE EVOLVING AND ADAPTING • CHANGING ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS (SMOKE, BIG STORM EVENTS, DROUGHT, DISEASE, ETC). • ENCAMPMENTS
Editor's Notes
- At Forterra, our motto is Land for Good. We innovate and scale land-based solutions to address the climate crisis and support equitable, green and prosperous communities. -strengthening the connections between people and land. Our work spans both urban and rural landscapes in WA state. Our various programs and projects land conservation (habitat, recreation, forestry, farming) and restoration and stewardship –so caring for the land, policy and community programming and community-informed development solutions.
- Land acknowledgement. Welcome Introduce some context to our programs Issaquah 51% 2017 (shown here) Snoqualmie 44% 2015 Kirkland 38% 2018 Redmond 38% 2017 Burien 30% Des Moines 29% 2017 Kent 28% 2017 Seattle 28% 2016 Shoreline 28% 2017 Tukwila 24% 2017 SeaTac 22% 2017 Often we find that the majority of our forest or canopy cover is found in parks. You can also see all the green –the trees in peoples back yards, along roads, on school grounds, and in commercial areas. All these trees make up our urban forest.
- Land acknowledgement. From the maps website: This map does not represent or intend to represent official or legal boundaries of any Indigenous nations. To learn about definitive boundaries, contact the nations in question. Also, this map is not perfect -- it is a work in progress with tons of contributions from the community. Please send us fixes if you find errors.
- Our Urban Forests provide the same benefits as they do elsewhere. The dial of these benefits may be turned up and play a stronger role based on the environment. For example here in our area with the amounts of rain that we get, stormwater values are a big deal. And for our local iconic wildlife such as our salmon populations, our forest health and urban tree canopy play an important role.
- Across the greater Puget Sound we are seeing a decline in urban tree canopy. Urban trees in our cities face a lot of challenges. As we develop trees are often removed and forest are fragmented. Mysterious “die offs” While they help us fight climate change they are also impacted by climate change –drought, more susceptible to disease, wildfires, and big storm events Lack of resources And then there are plants that decrease forest health, such as blackberry and ivy –pictured here. We see this a lot in our forested parks, natural areas and in on private property.
- Issaquah 51% 2017 Snoqualmie 44% 2015 Kirkland 38% 2018 Redmond 38% 2017 Burien 30% Des Moines 29% 2017 Kent 28% 2017 Seattle 28% 2016 Shoreline 28% 2017 Tukwila 24% 2017 SeaTac 22% 2017
- In thinking about the urban forest and those trees all around us, the many benefits that trees and forest provide and the challenges –we focused on how to protect the existing resource of forest found in city parks and natural areas. The Green City Partnership is dedicated to creating healthy sustainable forested parks, natural areas and urban forest canopy throughout our region. We already discussed why this work is important and the many benefits and threats facing or urban forest. The goals of the Green City Partnerships is to: Improve forest health Engage and activate the community to restore and care for their local forest And ensure sustainability –so we don’t just plant a tree an walk away.
- In thinking more about the affects of some of invasive plants on our forest…here is a dramatization, in particular what can happen and has happened in our forested parks and natural areas.
- Eventually we will get a healthy forest. The investment we put into it will greatly improve the quality of life of everyone who lives, works, and plays
- With each of our 15 participating communities, we develop a long-range restoration plan for parks and forests and establish a community-based volunteer stewardship program that trains and deploys thousands of volunteers in public green spaces across Washington. Most of these programs you see are focused on restoring existing forest found in local public parks and natural areas. Combined the programs are working collectively to restore about 13,000 acres of forested park areas. To date we have planted nearly 1.5 M trees and shrubs, cleared nearly 4,000 acres of invasive plants, all with the help of more than 1.5 M volunteer hours. These are partnerships that work very closely with city and county government. Some of our more recent programs in SeaTac, Burien and Des Moines have expanded the focus to go beyond parks, with additional efforts to enhance urban forest through out the city with tree distribution for homes, looking where to add canopy by planting trees in other landscapes, and outreach, education, and training on tree care.
- Forterra is proud to lead the Green Cities effort but these are true partnerships that involve a ton of other non-profits, community groups, local government agencies, colorizations and business, and profession crews to do some of the technical work that volunteers can’t do.
- This is a list of some of our partners for this year – not a comprehensive list but shows just how much of a community project The cities in green are the ones that we are running in partnership Corporate sponsors – these are ones that donate to Green Cities as a whole – special thank you to BECU – but doesn't include all the local companies that are donating to specific programs
- At the root of each program is a community based stewardship program. Whether is it a school group, individual, families, or employee groups from local business, or community organizations like Rotary -there are opportunities for everyone to get outside and be part of this effort. From pulling out ivy and digging out blackberry to planting trees, we are working together to transform and build community around our local neighborhood parks and natural areas. Prior to COVID youth made up about 1/3 of all volunteers participation.
- Community engagement during and post COVID Equity and inclusion – knowing when to step up and when to step back. I see equity and adapting the vision as the theme across this week. So I hope we can exchange ideas and lean from one another. Measuring success –moving beyond volunteer hours, acres, and number of trees planted Staying the course while evolving and adapting Funding Strongly encourage you all to attend the Wed. session with Na’ah llahee Fund