Seattle, Aug. 6, 2009 -  This week hundreds of Seafair volunteers are combing the shoreline of Lake Washington in the Mt. Baker neighborhood after a successful 60^th Seafair!

But Seafair is not just thinking green bycaring for the parks and resources used during the annual festival..  The community celebration is expanding on its green efforts of recycling and using eco-conscious materials by joining with the Green Seattle Partnership to give back to a nearby park. 

On August 22, 2009 Seafair and the Green Seattle Partnership will be teaming up to work on a forest restoration project at Mt. Baker Park.

For years, our beautiful trees have helped Seattle grow into one of America’s most livable cities.  Now, Seattle parks are heavily infested with non-native invasive plants such as English ivy and Himalayan blackberry.  Our deciduous trees – big leaf maple and red alder – are dying of old age, while native evergreens cannot reseed or compete with the invasive plants.  Without a massive, coordinated community effort, 70% of trees in Seattle’s parks will be dead within 20 years.

Seafair is taking action to reverse this trend by joining in one of the largest forest restoration programs in the United States, the Green Seattle Partnership.  Cascade Land Conservancy, the City of Seattle and residents have been working together towards restoring 2,500 acres of Seattle’s parks by 2025.  In 2008 alone, volunteers logged nearly 80,000 hours of their time through Green Seattle restoration events.  These events not only protect our forested parks, but also foster a strong sense of civic pride and community, and provide urban youth and adults with opportunities to work and learn outdoors. 

The Partnership’s vision is guided by the many benefits that forested parklands bring us.  They help clean the air and water, prevent erosion, retain storm water runoff and provide habitat for urban wildlife.  Forested parklands are essential members of a vibrant, livable and safe neighborhood.

Participants of Seafair and community members are invited to join in the restoration efforts.  Register today to get involved with this project to remove invasive plants and help restore Mt. Baker to a sustainable forested parkland. 

Register online today at www.seafair.com  or at greenseattle.org/events

Event details.