COMMISSION 
AGENDA MEMORANDUM                        Item No.          11a 
BRIEFING ITEM                            Date of Meeting        May 10, 2022 
DATE:     May 3, 2022 
TO:        Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director 
FROM:    Andy Gregory, Sr. Program Manager Environmental Engagement 
SUBJECT:  Forterra ACE Green Cities Close-Out Report 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
The Port of Seattle contracted with non-profit Forterra in 2017 to launch Green City Partnership
Programs in Burien, Des Moines and SeaTac as part of the Airport Community Ecology (ACE) Fund.
Forterra conducted urban forest canopy assessments in the three cities to identify priorities for
forest restoration and enhancement. Forterra then developed Urban Forest Stewardship Plans
for each city to guide the work over the coming decades. 
BACKGROUND 
Airport Community Ecology Fund 
Recognizing  that  neighboring  communities  that  experience  more  impacts  from  airport
operations should also experience more benefits, the Port Commission adopted the Airport
Community Ecology (ACE) Fund in 2016, dedicating $1 million to support environmental 
stewardship in Burien, SeaTac, and Des Moines.  The Port committed $550,000 for a Small
Matching Grants Program, which allowed local community organizations to apply to receive
funding for stewardship projects. The Port awarded $450,000 to Forterra to support long-term
urban forestry efforts through the development of new Green Cities Partnerships in Burien,
SeaTac, and Des Moines.
Forterra's Green City Partnerships bring together local government agencies, businesses, schools,
non-profit groups, and community members to create a sustainable network of healthy forested
parks and natural spaces in urban areas throughout the region. These Partnerships create and
implement community-based models that ensure ongoing restoration and stewardship of these
vital outdoor spaces. Forterra works with cities to identify restoration opportunities within the
jurisdiction, and recruits, trains, and supports passionate volunteers to participate in stewardship
activities. The current Green Cities Network consists of Partnerships in 14 cities and one county
throughout Western Washington. 


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KEY METRICS 
2,765 Plants and Trees Planted, including 982 Trees 
836 Volunteers 
2,113 Volunteer Hours (valued at $67,040) 
78 Volunteer Events 
475 Yard Trees Distributed 
11 Parks in Restoration 
14 Forest Stewards 
26 City Council and Community Meetings 
4,339 Paid Youth Crew Hours (valued at $134,459) 
SCOPE OF WORK 2018-2022 
Urban Forest Assessments 
Community Engagement 
Urban Forest Enhancement Plans 
Des Moines Memorial Drive Plan Enhancement 
Implement Priority Community-Based Urban Forestry Projects 
URBAN FOREST ASSESSMENTS 
Project Overview 
With support from subcontractor Core GIS and in partnership with each city, Forterra worked to
identify the forested parks and natural areas in SeaTac, Burien and Des Moines and completed a
forest health assessment totaling 738 acres across the three cities, which indicated where
healthy forest ecosystems that need to be maintained were and where the partnerships needed
to focus on invasive removal and replanting to ensure those areas continue to provide the
ecosystem services, community health benefits and habitat for wildlife.
Under the Port's guidance in thinking about the disparities and vulnerabilities in these cities,
Forterra worked to expand upon the typical Green Cities model to look at city-wide canopy cover
where programming could enhance and increase canopy in neighborhoods, extending beyond
the traditional focus in forested parks and natural areas.  Exploring city-wide canopy cover
provided crucial baseline data to identify alternative areas for planting, restoration, and
community building. 
Key Insights
The forest assessment process showed that 30% of Burien is covered with tree canopy, Des
Moines had a canopy cover of 29%. SeaTac had a canopy cover of 25% when not including the
footprint of SEA airport and 21% including the footprint of SEA airport.


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Forterra and Core GIS then collaborated to cross-reference canopy findings with social
vulnerabilities, identifying neighborhoods with elderly, low-income, and minority populations , as
well as mapping schools and low-income housing locations to help inform equitable distribution
of resources and support. Said mapping and analysis helped Forterra to think about where to
perform focused outreach for tree distribution to residential neighborhoods that are lower in
tree canopy cover. This analysis continues to help inform where Forterra hosts community tree
planting projects.  Furthermore, it helped Forterra select the sites for more focused park
restoration work (Hilltop, Arbor Lake in Burien; Kiddie City Park in Des Moines; North SeaTac Park
and Angle Lake Park in SeaTac). 
Outcomes 
This additional mapping layer and related work was key in that it helped Forterra secure an
additional $260,000 in funding for canopy enhancement projects in collaboration with Highline
Public Schools and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. This funding enabled
the program to increase canopy on or within on quarter mile of select public schools in SeaTac,
Burien, and Des Moines.  It cannot be stressed enough that this grant would not have been
awarded without the initial investment of the Port and guidance to expand forest assessment
work and programmatic focus beyond public parks.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Project Overview 
Given the high level of concern among residents about the impacts of Port activities, cumulative
environmental impacts, as well as the existing socioeconomic disparities in South King County
that serve to further exclude communities of color from decision-making processes, the Port and
Forterra prioritized the role of public engagement in the Partnerships' first year. Through this
work, it was evident that ACE communities care about engaging in public health and climate
change work, especially as communities of color have traditionally been denied access to
participating in environmental movements. However, due to systemic racism and socioeconomic
inequities, they must address more immediate basic needs in their communities like poverty, job
access, food insecurity, etc.
The community engagement work in Burien, SeaTac and Des Moines represents Forterra's first
comprehensive effort to engage communities around the development of new Green Cities
Partnerships.  The goal was to ensure that community perspectivesparticularly those of
residents from historically overburdened groupsinformed the priorities and activities of the
new Partnerships from the outset. 
Forterra worked collaboratively with Global to Local (G2L), a SeaTac-based non-profit to conduct
outreach in two main ways: tailored engagement via the Community Connectors model which
targeted individuals from difficult-to-reach communities; and traditional engagement in the form
of Open Houses and surveys, which was meant to gather feedback from a broad audience. 

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Connectors attended two trainings run by Forterra and G2L that oriented them to the Green
Cities program and the expectations for the Connector role.   They were also given the
opportunity to provide feedback on the outreach materials and activities, including survey
language and Open House times/locations. In addition to attending trainings, the Connectors
were tasked with the following responsibilities: distributing and collecting paper surveys,
distributing open house promotional flyers, recruiting individuals to attend Open House events,
and helping to facilitate small community meetings. 
Key Insights 
While Forterra succeeded in gaining valuable feedback from stakeholders regarding the
development of the Green Cities Partnerships in Burien, SeaTac and Des Moines, the partnerships
nonetheless faced challenges throughout the outreach process.  These challenges presented
opportunities for further aligning the work with community needs to ensure the long-term
success of the project. 
First, Forterra experienced difficulties recruiting community members to attend the Open House
events.  Some Connectors mentioned that, while many of their contacts expressed interest in
participating in stewardship events such as tree plantings, it was difficult to get people to provide
meaningful feedback on the narrow topic of urban tree canopy, let alone take the time to
participate in the Open Houses. The lack of community interest in the topic of urban forestry
was particularly pronounced among historically marginalized groups. Community partners that
were affiliated with these groups noted that the topics of urban forestry and urban tree canopy
were not identified as priorities for many of these communities, as they oftentimes face more
immediate needs  such  as  affordable  housing,  attainable education,  and employment
opportunities. 
In addition to challenges engaging communities around the specific topic of urban forestry,
Forterra and G2L also faced issues with Connector attrition throughout the project cycle. Many
Connectors worked full-time or were in school, and therefore had competing priorities that
prevented them from being able to participate in outreach activities to the degree expected. This
decline in Connector involvement throughout the course of the project may have been
associated with the existing lack of community interest in the subject area, and ultimately served
to compound the difficulties faced recruiting community members to participate in outreach
activities. 
Finally, there were policy issues outside of Forterra's work that posed challenges to our
engagement goals. During Forterra's engagement activities, it was learned that some community
members associated Forterra's work with the Port's larger development activities and their
related impacts.  Consequently, some community members were unreceptive to outreach
efforts, and some attended Open House events. Their strongly vocalized opposition to the Port's

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development approach served to disrupt feedback activities, but ultimately shaped the way
Forterra and partners prioritized future work and outreach. 
Outcomes 
Global to Local was tasked with recruiting and supporting Connectors for the ACE Green Cities
Partnerships in South King County. In total, nine Connectors were recruited, representing the
Somali, Latinx, Filipino and Kenyan communities, including four youth Connectors.   This
recruitment and relationship-building was successful in that it added representation and
community input that more accurately reflected ACE Green Cities populations, aligning with the
Port and Forterra's goals for the project. In the recruitment process, many youths, most in high
school, expressed interest in the Connector role. To Forterra, this indicated the need for more
stipended youth positions in the field, and increased Forterra's focus on youth opportunities
through the ACE Green Cities Partnerships.
This shift in priority was further supported by the more general outcomes and feedback from
Open Houses, as much of the stakeholder opposition highlighted concerns of air quality in spaces
where young people live, learn and play.  As a result of the feedback from Open Houses,
Community Connector work and direct feedback from Community Connectors themselves,
Forterra with support from cities and non-profit partners shifted work to support increased and
enhanced tree canopy in and near public schools, working alongside students, youth crews and
other volunteers.
URBAN FOREST ENHANCEMENT PLANS 
Project Overview 
Forterra partnered with American Forest Management on a Forest Landscape Assessment Tool
(FLAT) Analysis, developed by the Green Cities Research Alliance. FLAT is based on the "treeiage"
model, originally developed by the Green Seattle Partnership. Tree-iage is a prioritization
tool based on the concept of medical triage that uses habitat composition (e.g., canopy cover or
native plant cover) and invasive plant cover as the two parameters to prioritize restoration.
Forterra shared the results of these canopy and forest assessments with the community and
collected feedback and ideas. Forterra then compiled all the results from the community input 
of these assessments into a 20-Year Urban Forestry Stewardship Plan/guide for each city. Said
plans also included strategies, benchmarks, estimated costs and projected volunteer numbers
needed to restore and enhance the urban forest over the next 20 years. 
Key Insights 
Originally, Forterra was tasked to complete one combined 20-year plan for all three cities.
Conversations and feedback from the cities stressed the desire for each city to have their own
plan. While this meant that more staff time and resources were allocated to this deliverable, it
aided in each city taking ownership of the process and partnership goals, essential to
programmatic success.   Ultimately, while the three plans are similar and have similar

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components, Forterra worked with each city to customize these plans to best meet the needs of
the city and where they were at in terms of resources, political will, and interest. 
Outcomes 
At the time of plan development, city leadership from SeaTac and Forterra decided to publish an 
Urban Forest Management Guide, which was a less formal process being that it did not need
approval from SeaTac City Council. It continues to serve as a tool for management needs and has
been an important reference document in planning park-specific stewardship plans, applying for
additional funding and setting Partnership priorities. Burien and Des Moines both opted for a
formally adopted Plan that was adopted by their respective City Councils. 
Moving forward, the real challenge and opportunity as these Partnerships grow and evolve is to
continue with the foresight to hold planning meetings to strategize and plan long-term in support
of 20-year plan goals. Ideally, these plans will continue to inform program priorities/expansion,
city  policies  and  strategic  approaches  and  contribute  to  long-term  budget  planning  and
fundraising efforts.
DES MOINES MEMORIAL DRIVE 
Project Overview 
Des Moines Memorial Drive (DMMD) is an 8-mile stretch of road that that passes through the
three ACE cities.  In the early 1920s, over 1,400 elm trees were planted to honor Washington
citizens who died serving in WWI. One of the priorities for the Port was to address this unique,
inter-jurisdictional, living historic monument. Over the years most of memorial elm trees died or
were removed for various reasons. There has been an effort to restore the memorial with new
elms and/or plaques where tree plantings are not possible, led by the Des Moines Memorial Drive
Preservation Association. Because it the  Drive passes through several jurisdictions and runs
adjacent to a mix of different private properties it has been a challenge, but also a great
opportunity for different stakeholders to connect to the larger ACE Green Cities programs and
goals. 
Key Insights 
Attempts to present a proposal to the DMMD Preservation Association were challenging; at the
time the Association was not eligible to received direct funding for this project from the Port and
many conversations were needed to reach agreement on a scope of work that aligned with the
overall project and the Association's Goals. Ultimately, the following deliverables were decided
upon: creating an outreach and engagement document for landowners along the Drive,
developing a parcel dataset and spreadsheet to identify which parcels along the Drive were
suitable for tree planting(s) or a commemorative plaque, and community elm planting events in
suitable areas should resources and needs align. These deliverables most strongly matched with
Forterra's capacity and skillset and aligned with larger canopy enhancement goals beyond
forested parks and natural areas. 

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To ensure long-term sustainability of the project, Forterra identified a native elm tree species
that would be most suitable for plantings. The Frontier Elm was determined to be most highly
adapted to the region's climate and existing habitat conditions. Obtaining said trees presented
more of a challenge as at present and over the life of the project, Frontier Elms needed to be
sourced from out of state, requiring a minimum order quantity and a costly delivery fee. 
Outcomes 
Forterra provided a dataset to ACE cities partner staff, and a spreadsheet to the Association
which identified which parcels along the Drive were suitable for planting trees and/or
commemorative plaques, along with the address and type of property (public/private, zoning,
land use, etc.). Forterra then took said datasets to build an interactive web map for landowners
to easily search their property by address and learn whether they could accommodate an elm
tree on their property.
While Forterra tabled at Veteran's Day events, community events and meetings across the three
cities with flyers, the interactive web map and a sign-up sheet, few landowners along the Drive
signed up to plant a free elm tree on their property. Because these trees are sourced from out
of state, it did not make sense to pre-order them along with other yard tree distribution or Green
Cities Days planting events without a pre-identified parcel or demonstration of landowner
interest/support for the project in quantities that would justify the expense. Forterra continued
to shift resources to projects that received strong community feedback and interest and kept
shovel-ready project sites in mind should the Association identify a city or group of landowners
interested in elm tree plantings.
Through this work, Forterra explored opportunities to include Frontier Elms in updates to city
tree codes and had discussions with Parks and Public works staff about young tree care
maintenance and city capacity and knowledge to care for street trees in the long-term. Forterra
is exploring the possibility of designing more formal  programming to  support  community
plantings outside of parklands including long-term maintenance plans. 
IMPLEMENT PRIORITY COMMUNITY-BASED FOREST PLANS 
Forest Steward Program 
Project Overview 
Forest Stewards are individuals who adopt a restoration site to work on their own and with the
community to help restore urban forests. The duties of a Forest Steward vary seasonally but
includes talking to community members about the work, removing weeds, planting native plants
and tending to newly planted plants. Forest Stewards are supported through the Partnership
through access to workshops and training opportunities, plants, tools and other materials
necessary to complete restoration work, as well as technical assistance from program staff
including help hosting events and guidance on restoration practices. At the time of this report,
are a total of 14 active stewards in all the ACE Cities. 

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Key Insights 
Covid-19 forced Forterra's Green Cities Team to reimagine public volunteer events, and in 2020
programming shifted to small, invite only (not publicly advertised) in- person events of five
people or less in SeaTac and Burien, with Des Moines opting to put in-person events on hold
entirely.
During this time, Forterra's team transitioned to preparing for the CEDAR database creation
(Green Cities' custom-built Centralized Data Repository) which enabled Forest Stewards to create
live event links, track volunteer sign ups, share event-related materials with volunteers in
advance and track restoration activities, beginning in Q1 of 2021. During this time, Forterra also
built virtual maps which helped stewards log the work they do. Stewards were also prepared for
a pause in work parties by receiving trainings and tools for solo fieldwork. 
In 2021, Forterra and program partners worked to regain momentum for the Forest Steward
program, hosting new orientations, training Stewards on CEDAR, and planning for ACE Green
Cities Days- enabling us to recruit 4 new Stewards! 
Outcomes 
As a larger programmatic goal, Forterra's Green Cities Program is actively looking for ways for
the Forest Steward program to be accessible to all community members, recognizing that
volunteerism is a privilege, and many times traditional volunteer models have barriers to entry.
This includes piloting paid Forest Steward program models in 2022.
Partner in Employment Youth Restoration Crew 
Project Overview 
In 2021, the Youth Restoration Training crew completed many restoration projects in ACE Cities.
Partner in Employment employed and trained 25 youth on this project, brought in guest speakers
from cities, non-profits, and other governmental organizations. Youth contributed their visions
to the Hilltop Park Reimagination Plan and the Des Moines Parks and Recreation plan. They met
with elected officials, including Burien Mayor Jimmy Matta and Port Commissioners Steinbrueck
and Bowman.
Key Insights 
While the crew had many successes this year a few that stand out are: 
Four youth applied for jobs with the Burien Parks Department after speaking with Gabbi
Gonzales about further opportunities in Burien 
All youth wrote resumes to better prepare them to apply for jobs in the future. 
Youth worked with and met members of EarthCorps and learned about many different
crew members environmental career journeys. 
Youth helped to lead three different Green Cities Days events. They did an excellent job
teaching volunteers how to plant, introducing our crew and discussing tool safety.

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Challenges: 
Extreme weather posed the main challenge of the year. The crew experienced everything
from snow to 115-degree days to unusually heavy rain. They adjusted to indoor activities
as needed but crew members were remarkably resilient. 
Fall 2021 recruitment was a challenge for PIE's case managers.  Because of the work
schedule and weather conditions we ended up with a smaller crew than planned in the
late fall. 
Outcomes 
After the Youth Restoration Crew completed final service directive projects in 2021 at three key
ACE Green Cities restoration sites (Hilltop Park, North SeaTac Park and Sonju Park), the
organization sought and was awarded funding from the Port of Seattle as part of the second
round of the South King County Community Impact Fund to continue the Youth Restoration
Training Crew. Additionally, PIE became a new partner of the Green Seattle Partnership and was
awarded a contract with City of Seattle Parks and Recreation department to support restoration
efforts in forested parks and natural areas in South Seattle.
Neighborhood Trees Program- CommuniTrees 
Project Overview 
This area of programming has represented new territory for Forterra's Green Cities programs.
Designing Tree Walks in collaboration with each city helped Forterra to develop relationships
with new city staff as well as get a hyper-local understanding of these communities. Forterra is
proud of creating a resource that allows community members to engage with the Green Cities
Program in their local green space without participating in manual labor, another way in which
the organization incorporated community feedback to support the community's engagement
with the project in innovative ways.
Key Findings 
The three tree distribution events were overwhelmingly popular among ACE Cities residents,
even when events were rescheduled due to Covid-19. Event details spread quickly through word
of mouth and quickly got picked up by local blogs and neighborhood platforms like NextDoor.
This is energizing work that helped Forterra make new community connections and increased
the visibility of the Partnership. However, designing and planning for these new events took well
over the budgeted staff time allocated to the project. In the future planning could be done more
equitably with continued targeted outreach to specific neighborhoods, support for apartment
dwellers and tree planting support.
In fact, after the 2022 program was planned and advertised, Forterra learned of an interesting
opportunity in Tacoma that Green Cities and other partners could certainly learn from in the
future. The Tacoma Tree Care Foundation's Branch Out program used the Tree Equity Score to
prioritize applications. The day of the distribution, community volunteers met applicants at the

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pick-up location to help them plant trees on their properties if desired, thus lowering additional
barriers to participation. 
Outcomes 
Funding for plantings in non-forested parks and natural areas was removed and reallocated due
to challenges in finding planting locations (mainly due to concerns over long-term maintenance)
and to meet the demand and need to further support Forest Stewards and Green Cities Days 
events. Future non-forested park planting will require strategic planning with city public works
and planning departments to ensure street trees and other plantings can be maintained in the
long term.  This could be an opportunity to pilot a "Street Tree Steward" model, where
community stewards receive similar training and support from Green Cities to steward their local
street trees.
It has been encouraging to engage in other means of non-forested plantings on public school
grounds through the Highline Public School Project, and Forterra sees that as another meaningful
area for programmatic growth and increased canopy enhancement in ACE Cities, in alignment
with the Port's goals and priorities.
Long-Term Sustainability & Next Steps 
SeaTac 
While the City of SeaTac initially expressed hesitancy towards the program at large, they have
since gone on to seek additional funding opportunities to support urban forestry work,
particularly in North SeaTac Park, engaging local politicians and community supporters alike. 
Towards the end of the contract in 2021, Forterra brought on two new Forest Stewards to
support work at Angle Lake and North SeaTac Park. We also met with King Conservation District
to provide final comments on the stewardship plan for North SeaTac Park, taking into account
FAA regulations. 
The City of SeaTac has chosen to render Forterra's services to coordinate their community
stewardship program through a 2022 Green SeaTac Partnership Contract.  The city will also
continue to partner with King Conservation District (KCD) to organize crew days in North SeaTac
Park. Because little of the original KCD funds remain for the park, city staff are pursuing additional
funding opportunities to fund restoration crew time.
In 2022 they participated in Forterra's Evergreen Carbon Capture Program and continue to be a
good match for corporate sponsorship. City staff ensures proper tools, signage and day-of staff
are available to support larger scale projects.
Also in 2022, with funding from the Port of Seattle, Forterra and the Green SeaTac Partnership
will partner with Serve Ethiopians Washington (SEW) to help design, promote a new paid

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program for Forest Stewards at Angle Lake Park.  The goal of the project is to increase
environmental awareness within the communities that SEW serves, provide meaningful careerbuilding
opportunities to young people and to connect diverse community groups, especially
Ethiopian and East African heritage families to the outdoors.
Burien 
Over the past two years, the City of Burien has strongly shown their investment and initiative to
grow the Green Burien Partnership in-house. Burien PARCs has developed many relationships
with local schools and after school groups to support community greening and restoration efforts
and has the largest number of parks in active restoration stewarded by community volunteers. 
To support their long-term sustainability, Forterra is working to add all of Burien's active park
sites (beyond what was mapped and outlined in the 20-year plan) for use on CEDAR. Forterra
will hold a small agreement with the city to maintain and update the database as it meets Burien's
needs.
Towards the end of 2021, Gabbi Gonzales joined the ACE Green Cities Forest Steward training to
provide additional support to existing and future Burien Stewards. We recorded this session for
future use. Additionally, as per the contract requirement to support the long-term sustainability
of the Green Burien Partnership, Forterra shared a Green Cities Toolkit with tools to support
community outreach and engagement, Forest Steward training and event support as well as
tracking and reporting using the CEDAR database.
At the time of this report, the City of Burien is advertising a temporary position funded by KCD in
collaboration with the City of Tukwila to coordinate volunteers, conduct an urban forest needs
assessment, and lead restoration projects in support of the City of Burien's and the City of
Tukwila's urban forest programs. This position is full-time, temporary, term limited, ending on
February 1, 2023, with an option to extend until February 2024. The city has also recently hired
and Urban Forest Planner.
Forterra looks forward to continued collaboration with the City of Burien, building non-traditional
Green Cities Programming at and with public schools in partnership with EarthCorps. Collectively
and individually, partners will explore opportunities for youth-led or other stipend community
stewardship programming, lowering barriers to participation and engaging with community
members most impacted by climate change.




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Des Moines 
Towards the end of the contract in 2021 and in early 2022, Forterra supported Forest Steward at
Kiddie City Park to receive and plant 150 free trees from Sound Transit.  Sound Transit has met
with local Des Moines officials with the intention of giving away more free trees in 2022 (to offset
the Light Rail Construction at the Federal Way Station). Forterra will work with city biologists,
Public Works staff and community members to identify next steps for future planting events.
The City of Des Moines has also chosen to render Forterra's services to coordinate their
community stewardship program through a 2022 Des Moines Partnership Contract. While the
city has a strong Garden Stewards Program, recruitment for the Forest Steward Program has
been challenging. Des Moines was the only ACE City that suspended restoration work parties
entirely during the pandemic, thus causing the volunteer program to lose visibility and
momentum.
However, Des Moines Parks have recently re-hired a volunteer coordinator and identified some
new outlets for program outreach. Forterra and Des Moines City partners are confident that with
continued collaboration and creativity the program will flourish. Given the current investment
in the City's community gardens, nearby schools and city council support for the program
Forterra is excited to explore new avenues to grow the Partnership.
In 2022, with funding support from the Port of Seattle, Forterra and the Green Des Moines
Partnership will partner with the African Young Dreamers Empowerment Program International
(AYDEPI) to support paid positions for youth to pick up litter, remove invasives and plant native
species in Des Moines Parks.
Leverage/Match Funds 
When first were discussing the Green City Partnership model, the Port was interested in
establishing a program that would be long-term and set the foundation for future efforts and 
collaborations to continue. The amount that has been leveraged  is really a testament to how
important it is to have that base funding, the funding to keep the core program going. 
Many cities in the Green Cities Network are supported by Forterra in a two or three year start up
period, rendering Forterra's services to coordinate a habitat assessment, 20-year urban forestry
plan and scope of work for Forest Steward programming and other community engagement. In
some cases, after this start up period, cities are provided a toolkit to manage their Green Cities
program in-house.  Each city and partnership have a distinct set of resources, priorities, policies
and needs. Some cities are quite ready to take on the program on their own, or for other reasons
they prefer to retain Forterra or another service provider to coordinate the program with them.
The programs Forterra has seen to be most successful have had a staff level champion, leadership
level champion (council member/Port Commissioners), and community level champions the
forest stewards and community groups that are all invested. 

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Meeting Date: May 10, 2022 

The Port can continue to be a leader and champion, encouraging investments, leading
environmental initiatives, and continuing to support the stewardship of urban forest. 
Additional Investments Supporting ACE-Funded   Amount            Secured By 
Green Cities 
King Conservation District- Crew Time and         $50,000              City of SeaTac/ Forterra 
Stewardship Plan for North SeaTac Park 
US Forest Service- Highline Urban Forestry         $300,000             Forterra/ Highline PS/
Project                                                                     Port 
McKinstry for Highline                              $30,000              Forterra 
Weyerhaeuser- plants for ACE Green Cities Days    $2,000               Forterra 
DNR Environmental Equity Grant- Hilltop Park      $20,000              City of Burien with
support from
Forterra/PIE/EarthCorps 
Cotyledon Fund Urban Forest Justice Planning     $50,000             EarthCorps/Forterra 
Grant for South King County 
South King County Community Impact Fund       $340,000           Non-profits and
(Port of Seattle) Projects continuing Green Cities                         community groups 
work 
Forterra Donated Time and Hours (funded by REI  $36,000             Forterra 
and corporate donors) 
$828,000 
TOTAL 

ATTACHMENTS TO THIS BRIEFING 
(1)   Presentation slides 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS [For information and examples, follow this link.] 
April 13, 2021- The Commission was briefed on the plans for the final year of implementation
of the ACE Green Cities Program 
September 24, 2019  The Commission was briefed on the status of the ACE program
including the Forterra Work 
June 13, 2017  The Commission authorized a Sole Source Contract with Forterra 
November 22, 2016  The Commission created a $1 million Airport Community Ecology Fund
(ACE Fund) to support projects and programs that improve ecological and environmental
attributes in airport-area communities of Sea-Tac, Burien, and Des Moines. 11/22/16 

Template revised September 22, 2016.