Above are some of the amazing GreenRedmond volunteers who donated time on Saturday restoring the Hartman Greenbelt. We had a ball! CLICK ON PIC! EXPAND THE VIEW!Updated, 6/17 - The above crew are mostly BMX dirt jumpers and their parents who donated precious time to improve the Hartman water district greenbelt. The BMX'ers use the greenbelt a lot for their BMX sport so it was rewarding to see many of them pitch in. We had 21 volunteers this day and the space looks so much better now! Several came all the way from Redmond Ridge. Mayor Marchione walked by our site asking twice what we were doing! "Building a park!" Pulling weeds! we exclaimed! He talked a little about the Council elections and how happy he was with Carolyn Hope the new Parks Planner, saying she's achieved so much in four months.
Several months ago, I went through a 6 hour training program put on by the City and Cascade Land Conservancy and PRESTO! I'm now a "Land steward" for the City's GreenRedmond Forestry Program. My job is to recruit and train volunteers who want to improve the Hartman Greenbelt. Mostly, we remove invasive plants, like Himalayan blackberries and ivy. Though, we've also found concrete waste and trash. In the Fall we will mulch and plant. This community work is rewarding in many ways. For example, #1 it's great exercise, #2 at the end of the day look at your work and are amazed about how much everyone accomplished, #3 you feel good about improving the forest habitat and appearance, #4 you meet new people, #5 students can get community credit and recognition from the City.
Norah Kates of the Cascade Conservancy summarizes: "GreenRedmond" is a partnership between the City of Redmond, the residents of Redmond, and Cascade Land Conservancy as exemplified in this photo. (Norah Kates is in the center; Chris from Parks Ops is right; Doug is the assisting steward). GreenRedmond works to restore and maintain all 1,035 acres of forested parkland in the city. So far this year we’ve gotten 215 volunteers who have donated 574 hours of their time to the Partnership, and the field season is just starting.
The Parks and Recreation department will be hosting work parties on the last Saturday of every month, there will be other events on the RedmondGreen website. So far we’re working in Farrel-McWhirter, Grass Lawn Park, Hartman Greenbelt, Idylwood Park, Viewpoint Neighborhood Park, and Westside Park/Bridle Crest Trail."
-- Norah Kates, Cascade Conservancey.
Click the pics to see all the people!
The website for GreenRedmond Partnership Land Steward is here.
Green trees deliver green benefits. - article recommended by Cascade Conservancy.
The City Press release was distributed the day of my story. 6/16 B.Y.
ReplyDeleteGet Out and Help Redmond Parks
Redmond, WA – The City of Redmond and the Cascade Land Conservancy joined together to form the Green Redmond Partnership. It is the Partnership’s goal to bring 1035 acres of Redmond’s forested parkland into active management over the next 20 years. Active management allows Redmond’s forests to remain an important element of the native ecosystem.
To ensure our forests stay healthy, volunteers are needed to work in the parks removing non-native invasive plants. The next work party is Saturday, June 27 from 9am to noon at Idylwood Park, 3650 West Lake Sammamish Parkway NE. No prior experience is necessary and tools and gloves are provided. This event is part of a series of work parties – “Last Saturday” of each month through October.
For information on the work party, contact Chris Tolonen at ctolonen@redmond.gov or 425-556-2369. For the full “Last Saturday” schedule, visit www.greenredmond.org. For general information about the Green Redmond Partnership, contact Teresa Kluver at tkluver@redmond.gov or 425-556-2355.
The Parks Dept. sent a memo out yesterday that Stewards would be issued vests to wear for indentification.
ReplyDeleteFor those interested in our Hartman Water District project, the unsightly concrete waste at the terminus of NE 100th St. is supposed to be removed soon by Parks Operations. I'm sorry for the delay.
I'm tired of driving by it!
ReplyDeleteAlright! Great job everyone!
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