Green Lake Stewards are on the job in good weather or bad, year round, to remove invasive species of English Ivy and blackberries that proliferate around the lake. In November 2016, they planted 150 native plants on the west side of the lake. Here is their story, told by Garet Munger and Andrea Watts.
by Garet Munger and Andrea Watts
Green Lake is the beloved lake in the heart of Seattle’s Green Lake neighborhood that people from all over the city come to visit. On any given day, you can find runners running laps along its outer path, families with strollers, and fisherman fishing from the lake’s edge. Unfortunately, blackberry and English ivy have invaded the shoreline habitat around the lake. Green Lake Stewards is a small but growing group of volunteers who are dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the natural areas around the lake by removing invasive plants where they are coming to dominate the shoreline habitat. Our intention is that our work to control the non-native plants will help to give native plants a chance at the lake.
Green Lake Stewards Hard at Work
We work in partnership with the Seattle Parks and Green Seattle Partnership, and since July 2015, we have hosted monthly work parties to remove the invasive plant species, such as Himalayan and evergreen blackberry and English ivy, from around the lake. Removing these invasive plants provides more growing space for native plants and creates a healthier ecosystem. In November of 2016, we planted 150 native shrubs and trees along the west side of the lake north of the small craft center. Work parties are regularly scheduled on the third Saturday of each month. Check the Friends of Green Lake calendar for time and place.
Contact Rob Hutcheson at hutcheson@seanet.com with questions or to volunteer.