VIDEO: Washington Tree Equity Collaborative launched with Roxhill Park event

By Tracy Document
West Seattle Weblog editor

17 years in the past, Seattle’s then-mayor Greg Nickels introduced a tree-planting plan to maintain town from dropping extra of its tree cover.

A number of mayors later, town remains to be fighting stopping cover loss.

The town is engaged on a brand new tree coverage. Separate from that – and but an offshoot of types – Mayor Bruce Harrell was amongst a gaggle of officers and advocates who gathered at West Seattle’s Roxhill Park this morning to announce a brand new statewide tree initiative: The Washington Tree Fairness Collaborative.

This one is a “statewide effort to create tree fairness in Washington,” as described by Jad Daley of American Forests, who emceed the occasion. Daley mentioned his group has studied cover cowl in neighborhoods nationwide – creating this “scoring” instrument consequently – and located much less of it in neighborhoods the place a majority of residents are low-income and/or BIPOC. “This isn’t simply surroundings we’re speaking about – that is crucial inexperienced infrastructure,” Daley declared. Earlier than our abstract continues, right here’s video of the 5 audio system:

Daley mentioned that getting each neighborhood within the state to even a 75 tree-equity rating would take 2.6 million extra timber. An much more formidable objective, attending to 100, would take 13 million timber.

Proper now, although, mentioned state Public-Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz, the state’s timber are declining in quantity and well being: “Washington is named the Evergreen State, but our timber are actually in bother. … Entry to greenspace and shade ought to be a elementary proper.” Much less tree cover means extra warmth, and that’s the climate excessive that’s deadlier than catastrophic storms, Franz mentioned. “The reply is so easy – plant extra timber and plant them in the correct locations.” That prices cash, she famous, mentioning an $8 million request earlier than the Legislature, and $6 million already secured from the federal authorities.

Then it was on to town’s function. Seattle’s Workplace of Sustainability and Setting director Jessyn Farrell acknowledged that the latest cover evaluation confirmed Seattle had misplaced 255 acres of timber, 1.7% of its cover, for the reason that earlier evaluation six years earlier. And related to at this time’s matter, the loss is going on inequitably. She added that addressing the issue means not simply planting timber however taking higher care of the present ones.

Talking subsequent, Mayor Harrell acknowledged that the newest tree-canopy evaluation confirmed that cover loss on public property is a serious drawback, noting that he’s ordered that each tree misplaced on metropolis land get replaced by three new ones.

Bringing it dwelling to the precise piece of public property on which everybody was gathered this morning, Delridge group advocate Willard Brown (above with the mayor) identified the plight of Roxhill Park’s bathroom, a historic wetland that’s been drying out. The world’s standing as Longfellow Creek‘s headwaters is priceless, he mentioned – “it’s very important that the creek stays wholesome.” Some work is deliberate later this 12 months, Brown mentioned. He additionally gently dinged town for large speak and no followthrough on one other West Seattle website, the Myers Means Parcels, which town promised X years in the past can be transferred to Seattle Parks – which has but to occur.

After the speeches, one query was requested: Native greenspace activist and arborist Michael Oxman requested how the speak of accelerating cover matches with what’s taking place in Olympia, with legislators approving upzoning for a lot of the state, opening the door to extra densification. Farrell – a former state legislator – tackled the query, declaring, “There is no such thing as a battle between growing tree cover and growing housing.” She mentioned the largest bother spots even now are public lands and “neighborhood residential” (previously “single-family”) zoning, “not a lot due to growth as due to age and well being.” Franz echoed that “we’ve to deal with each our housing disaster and our tree disaster,” additionally contending they aren’t in battle.

Then it was off to a photograph op, mulching timber within the park’s southwest nook. The mayor had moved on by then however Farrell dug in:

P.S. You’ll be able to test your neighborhood’s Tree Fairness Rating by way of the American Forests map right here. You’ll be able to learn the Memorandum of Understanding that’s on the coronary heart of the brand new collaborative by going right here.