Volunteers will begin planting 100 trees along the South Columbian Way corridor this Sunday in an event sponsored by the Seattle Department of Transportation Urban Forestry and the city of Seattle. The activity is part of the international Global Work Party taking place on 10/10/10 (Oct 10, 2010) to help deal with global warming, as well as the city’s ongoing Clean and Green Seattle program.

Date: Sunday, October 10
Time: 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: Meet on the lawn fronting the Seattle Presbytery, 1625 South Columbian Way

The new trees will be planted on South Columbian Way from South Oregon Street to Beacon Avenue South and on adjacent streets. They will “green” the neighborhood, helping to transform this well-traveled corridor into a pedestrian and bike-friendly boulevard. The trees to be planted include nine different species to reflect the diversity of the city and many diverse countries involved in similar events on this important date. The work will supplement the Seattle Department of Transportation’s paving project on Columbian Way that is now nearing completion.

The Seattle Parks and Recreation Department will host elected officials and participants in a “meet and greet” session at 8:30 a.m. and a ceremony at 9 a.m. to kick off this unique “Clean and Green” effort. Coffee and pastries donated by the neighborhood Starbucks and Delite Bakery will get the engines running before taking on the challenging task of the day.

To volunteer with tree planting, please contact Shane DeWald at (206) 684-5041, or just come to the event.

Cities across the U.S. and more than 150 countries world-wide are participating in the Global Work Party. For more information about the 10:10 goal of reducing carbon emissions by 10% a year, see http://www.1010global.org/101010.

For more information: Shane DeWald, (206) 684-5041, shane.dewald@seattle.gov

Media contact: Marybeth Turner, (206) 684-8548