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2011 Spring | Education & Outreach, Natural Science & Restoration

Community Effect of Restoration

Student(s):

Justin Bren

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Lili Allala

Partner(s):

  • The Nature Consortium

Faculty advisor(s):

Kern Ewing, School of Environmental & Forest Sciences, University of Washington

I worked for a nonprofit organization in West Seattle, restoring local urban forests. My time in the field was spent interacting with many different volunteers, along with knowledgeable Nature Consortium staff. My research covered a broad range of articles written about restoration methods, with a particular focus on the Pacific Northwest.

With much of the world’s population living in urban areas, urban forests provide a key source of nature for many people. As their only access to nature, it is extremely important that urban forests are kept in pristine condition if this human-environment relationship is to be maintained. By restoring degraded forests, the urban population will have more opportunities to bond with nature. This bond will also have wide reaching effects on environmental policies nationwide, as people who feel a connection with natural areas around their home will likely vote in favor of environmentally friendly policies.