EarthCorps and local volunteers plant 997 new plants in Echo Lake Park
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
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| Volunteers under the direction of EarthCorps plant native species on the east side of Echo Lake Photo courtesy EarthCorps |
The City of Shoreline, the Echo Lake Neighborhood Association, and EarthCorps joined forces to make the planting event at Echo Lake Park this weekend a huge success!
52 volunteers came out to help plant 633 shrubs and 364 groundcovers adding up to 997 plants total!
The project’s goals were to restore wetland natural areas on the east side of Echo Lake. Having healthy native vegetation along the edge of the lake will decrease runoff into the lake, attract native birds, and increase the health of the ecosystem.
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| The area was previously the site of densely packed bushes over six feet tall. Photo courtesy EarthCorops |
EarthCorps crews worked at the site for a few days before the volunteer event, preparing the site for planting by removing invasive plant species. Neighborhood and community members were a strong presence at the event showing that the restoration of Echo Lake Park is valuable and worthwhile to the community.
Leadership of the Echo Lake Neighborhood Association, who stage a work party in the park every July, were thrilled with the results of the EarthCorps work. Several of them commented, "We could never have done this by ourselves."
The EarthCorps event is part of a major renovation of Echo Lake Park, being overseen by Maureen Colaizzi of the City Parks Department.
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6 comments:
Earthcorps is paid handsomely under a no-bid contract with the City of Shoreline to do this work, would you applaud the asphalt paver for doing their job as well?
It's a bit like saying The City of Shoreline, CleanScapes and I "joined forces" to remove my garbage. Isn't EarthCorps under contract with the City of Shoreline?
I am thrilled to see EarthCorps doing great work to engage volunteers in restoring a beautiful local park! Thank you EarthCorps, City of Shoreline, the citizens of Shoreline, and the 52 volunteers who came out to do good work!
While the asphalt paver and EarthCorps are both doing their jobs, EarthCorps engages over 10,000 people every year in volunteerism that supports our local environment...and is economical. The labor doanted by the volunteers leverages, many times over, the value of the contracts EarthCorps has with any entity. They are a non-profit. They, and other similar environmental non-profits, support a huge amount of work that needs to be done to restore the habitats that provide clean air and clean water in our communities each year. I applaud EarthCorps, and all the volunteers that help out every year. Thank you!
EarthCorps is under contract with the City of Shoreline, as far as I know, but I certainly wouldn't say "rewarded handsomely." The per project money EarthCorps receives is small potatoes: cities contract with them for volunteer projects because the work is super economical for cities; they accomplish work that otherwise wouldn't be accomplished because of shrinking city budgets.
This article is misleading. The plants along the shore were all native plants that were put in about 10 years ago. They were primarily snowberry and roses that were approximately 7 feet tall. The neighborhood association wanted them out because of the drug/alcohol use in the area and people's ability to hide in and behind the plants.
However, it seems like this has moved the activity to the bathrooms which now have drug paraphernalia in them and reek of marijuana and cigarette smoke. The fact that people are still dealing and using in the park makes this an unsafe and unpredictable space. Maybe we should focus on solving public health issues and not attempting to relocate them.
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