The Sound Green

Let's start from the very beginning. The Cascade Land Conservancy put out the Cascade Agenda - a 100 year plan which "identifies strategies for conserving forestlands and farmlands and creating vibrant, spectacular cities" (via cascadeland.org).  As part of these strategies, they spawned the Green City Partnerships, to restore urban forests.  Green Seattle has a twenty-year plan to restore and maintain urban forests, which they say are "public assets that beautify and strengthen our local neighborhoods. Not only do they provide recreational opportunities for citizens, they also protect native wildlife habitat, improve air quality, mitigate stormwater runoff, and help keep our cities cool" (via greenseattle.org).  The canopy cover that they provide are being threatened by invasive species, which will potentially destroy 80% of that cover which we need for a healthy city.

With budgets falling apart all over the government, the only way the plan can be achieved is through volunteer work and community service.  We need to communicate this message to the public in a way that they will feel stewardship over the place they live, and feel a compelling responsibility to physically pitch in.  Realistically, we just need to make it incredibly convenient for people so that they'll show.

I think I can help.  I want to get more volunteers, or even at least make it easier for current volunteers to stay up-to-date.  I've talked with the Green Seattle Partnership and am working on making it possible for volunteers to share updates about the parks over which they have stewardship.  Before we can think about implementing a standard system for dozens of sites, I am going to test it out with one site, namely Camp Long in West Seattle.  This will involve updating their Facebook page and tweeting out about their next event in May, to see if building a following on Facebook and inviting individuals on twitter will actually increase their regular number of volunteers.  If this works, I can write a general strategy, and hopefully it can help out the cause all around Seattle. Woohoo! The wheels are in motion! Can Seattle last 20 more years?