SEQUIM — A crew from the Urban Forestry Restoration Project will work in Sequim city parks from Monday, Jan. 30 through Feb. 23.
The crew will be in Sequim through a grant administered by the state Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forestry Program.
“We are very excited to be able to participate in this program and to work with the Puget SoundCorps team to keep the trees in our city parks healthy,” said Operations Manager Ty Brown.
The six-member Puget SoundCorps team — working Monday through Thursday — will remove non-native invasive plants, revegetate with native plants and apply mulch at Carrie Blake Park, Gerhardt Park, Gebhardt Zwicker Trail and Bell Creek.
Opportunity to enhance capacity
The program offers the city the opportunity to enhance the capacity of urban forests to manage stormwater while increasing air and water quality by improving the health and functionality of trees and forested sites, city officials said in a news release.
Invasive non-native plants prevent forested areas from providing the full benefits of healthy forests by competing for water and nutrients with trees, they added.
Puget SoundCorps is part of the broader Washington Conservation Corps program administered by the state Department of Ecology and works on projects that help restore and protect water quality in the Puget Sound region.
The Washington Conservation Corps is supported through grant funding and education awards provided by AmeriCorps.
More available
For more information about the program in Sequim, phone the Public Works Department at 360-683-4908.
For more information about the Urban Forestry Restoration Project, phone Micki McNaughton at 360-902-1637 or email micki.mcnaughton@dnr.wa.gov.
