Item No.     11b_attach
Meeting Date: April 13, 2021
ACE Green Cities Update
Andy Gregory, Port of Seattle
Joanna Nelson des Flores, Forterra
Gabbi Gonzales, City of Burien
Ngam Nguyen, Partner in Employment

Today's Presentation
ACE Background
Green Cities Program Overview
Accomplishments So Far
Value of Partnerships
2021 Work Plan
Next Steps and Sustaining Resources

2

Airport Community Ecology Fund
$1 Million in 2016 for Burien,
Des Moines and SeaTac
Small Matching Grants
Program
Forterra contract for Green
City Programs


3

ACE Small Matching Grants
42 Recipients
$385,000
880 trees planted
21,567 volunteer hours
$2,507,305 total matched!
(Note several projects are in
progress and some figures
are projections)
4

Green City Partnerships
Overview
2005-2021 IMPACTS
15 GREEN CITES/COUNTIES
COMBINED GOAL: ~13,000 ACRES
SERVING MORE THAN 1.6 M PEOPLE
1.5 M HOURS OF VOLUNTEERS
MORE THAN 3360 ACRES IN
RESTORATION
1.5 M FOREST TREES AND SHRUBS
PLANTED

5

Canopy Assessments
SeaTac


Burien



Des Moines

6

Urban Forest Management Plans



7

Measurable Accomplishments
2019-2021:
Volunteer events: 30 (1,250
hours)
Paid youth crew hours: 2,775
City Council and community
meetings: 23
Forest Stewards: 10
Parks in restoration: 11
Trees and shrubs planted: 1,052
Trees distributed: 252

8

Des Moines
Memorial Drive
Interactive Web map
Rates all properties along the
Drive according to their
suitability for elm trees or
commemorative
sidewalk plaque
Outreach mailer and flyers
created

9

COVID IMPACTS
2020 events were on hold for 7
months
Developed COVID safe event
protocols
Limited to staff and Forest
Stewards comfortable leading
events.
Small events up to 5 people


10

It Takes a Partnership
Port of Seattle
Total Investment To Date
City of Burien
City of SeaTac                                                                      $30,000.00
$39,650.00
City of Des Moines
Forterra
Highline Public Schools
Partner In Employment
$450,000.00
State DNR/US Forest Service
King Conservation District                                            $419,000.00
Highline Botanical Garden
South King County Native Coalition
EarthCorps
Des Moines Memorial Drive
McKinstry                                                            Port ACE Fund       Leverage/Match
Weyerhaeuser                                                      Volunteer Value     Other Port Funds

11

Gabbi Gonzales, Recreation Specialist



12

Green Burien Partnership  Goals and Funding
Goals
Develop a 20-year plan to increase
canopy cover by 20%
Implement volunteer programs to
help meet restoration goals
Funding
The Port of Seattle's ACE Fund
through 12/2021
City of Burien dedicating 0.25 FTE to
manage Green Burien
City of Burien is evaluating ways to
continue funding the
implementation of the Green Burien
Forest Stewardship Plan

Green Burien Partnership  COVID-19
Forterra developed safety
protocol that the City of Burien
was able to implement with
Park Stewards
Transitioned special events
from one day to a weeklong
celebration
Transitioned large school group
events into micro events
throughout a large park or
green space
14

Green Burien Partnership  2021 Program Goals
Expand Partnerships
Partners in Employment
(PIE)
EarthCorps
Scully Serves
Yeti
Schools and more
Maintain and expand
restoration activities
Continue hosting
restoration special events
15

Ngam Nguyen, Deputy Director



16

Highline Public Schools
Canopy Enhancement Project
300K WA DNR/US Forest Service funding
Goals of the pilot project:
1.  Adapt Green City Partnership programs to include
a student-based community engagement model
2.  Empower Highline SD students to become
community leaders and environmental stewards
and aid them in their future career path
3.  Expand networks of urban forestry stewards
within and across partner cities
4.  Improve social and environmental conditions to
address social and environmental inequities



17

Scope of Work 2021
Implementation
Forest Stewardssupport, more recruitment and training
Volunteer Events more opportunities for people to get involved
CEDAR event registration, management, and data reporting tool
Program Promotion social media, web, monthly newsletters,
and presentations
PIE Youth Forest Steward paid youth crew opportunity
Tree Walks guided educational walks, 1/city
Arborist Training -for City staff and public
CommuniTrees Tree Distribution Event to increase tree canopy
on private property
Community Tree Planting  to increase tree canopy in
communities outside of parks
Green City Days fall planting and Partnership celebration events
in local parks
Green Cities "Toolbox" resources and management tools
created for the program

18

Continuing Resources
Common themes of successful
programs
Staff capacity
Funding
Support (community, city
staff and leadership)



19

Questions?



20