Forty volunteers from the Seattle KingCounty Realtors took part in a five-hour work project Oct. 15 at Seattle’s Seward Park. The project, an annual component of the Realtors Environmental Council (TREC), helped park officials meet their native plant restoration goals under the Seward Park Vegetation Management Plan.
Two Bellevue Realtors, Sam Pace (Better Homes & Gardens RE Executive, Bellevue) and Kathi Swarthout (Better Homes & Gardens RE Executive, Bellevue) have participated in the program since it began in 2007.
The Realtors spent the first part of the work party removing non-native Himalayan Blackberry and English Ivy. Following a lunch break, and working under the supervision of Interim Plant Ecologist Anne Roda and two associates, the volunteers planted more than 400 native plants and moved 30 yards of wood chips onto the site.
“All of this in about four hours!” exclaimed Roda, who is with the Natural Resources Unit for Seward and Colman Reforestation Projects.
The efforts resulted in a newly planted restoration area, where new native plants will flourish where formerly blackberry and ivy along with other invasive plants had taken over.
