Program on the Environment

Urban parks are essential for maintaining healthy cities; unfortunately, these sites tend to be severely degraded due to urban pressures. Efforts to restore these spaces can go through several challenges; therefore, it is critical to have well-conceived plans in order to carry out effective restoration projects. The purpose of this study was to find out what these projects consist of and what techniques/strategies restoration organizations use in order to ensure the highest level of ecosystem recovery possible. To accomplish this, I worked hands on with Green Seattle Partnership to restore a section of the North Beacon Hill Greenbelt at Cheasty green space and surveyed GSP forest stewards to gauge their perspective on urban forest restoration projects. I found that in order to reach the highest level of ecosystem recovery possible, restoration projects should: 1.) Draw on a variety of different types of knowledge: acquired practitioner knowledge, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, local ecological knowledge, and scientific evidence (SER). 2.) Identify native reference ecosystems to serve as a guide for planning and a benchmark for evaluating success 3.) Have a flexible plan in place with components such as: a desired vision, measurable goals and objectives, stakeholder involvement, a timeline that outlines work activities and responsibilities, and a plan for maintenance and monitoring to evaluate how well objectives have been met (SER). This information can be used as a tool to improve current and future restoration projects which can help maximize the ecological and social benefits from restoration.