In Seattle, we recently welcomed over 60 volunteers from 11 member companies to West Duwamish Park for a day affectionately dubbed as "restoration bootcamp". The goal before us was to build trails including turnpike and switchback sections, as well as remove invasive blackberry with project leadership from Forterra, the Nature Consortium and Green Seattle Partnership.
The West Duwamish Greenbelt is the largest greenbelt in Seattle, providing habitat to fox, red-legged frogs, hawks, and bald eagles. It is also serves an important role in providing urban residents with opportunities for recreation in nature, in their backyard.
Volunteer teams were oriented to their tools and set out for a day of demanding tasks. Before long, the park echoed with sounds of collective action. Rocks were being loaded into wheelbarrows, pick axes were swinging, and bark was being removed from logs in preparation for turnpike construction.
Once again we were impressed by the cross-organizational camaraderie in Seattle, always a highlight of our Backyard Collective Season. With teams from Filson, Cascade Designs, Nikwax, The North Face, Brooks Sports, Moving Comfort, Stanley, Outdoor Research and Teva, we also welcomed volunteers from D.A. Davidson & Co as well as David Egan & Associates out for the day.
Progress was quickly visible with the collective strength and spirit of our volunteers. After a few hours of focused effort we accomplished all that we set out to achieve, constructing 230 feet of new trail as well as removing 1,475 square feet of invasive blackberry.
Our lunch celebration included sandwiches from Bahn Mi as well as food for thought from American Whitewater, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Washington Wild and Forterra, the participating non-profits, represented during our Volunteer Fair.
Many thanks to Forterra and to all of of our member company planners & participants for a stellar day of stewardship in the Emerald City.
Our next Backyard Collective is planned for August 21st in Portland, Oregon. Stay tuned, it's going to be a BIG one!