Guy Oram, the Saint Mark’s Greenbelt Work Party Volunteer Coordinator, had written this summing-up of the work that was done on the Greenbelt in the recent series of work parties:

The colors of fall are giving way to frost and filtered light in the Greenbelt as winter approaches.

The Saint Mark's Creation Care Ministry is working with the Seattle Green Partnership and Forest Stewards Robert Hayden and Joey Baumgartner to support the recovery and restoration of the 9-acre woodland greenbelt surrounding the cathedral. Following a three-year hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteers from the Seattle community and members of Saint Mark’s participated in four work parties this fall to remove invasive ivy, blackberry, and other non-native weeds and trash along the perimeter of the cathedral’s south parking lot and down in the ravine below.

During my work party days, I saw and heard a variety of birds, including juncos, chickadees, robins, northern flickers, wrens, hummingbirds, jays, towhees, nuthatches, kinglets, and a red-tailed hawk. Joey and Robert provided a wealth of knowledge and practical advice about distinguishing native from non-native plants, removing ivy and blackberries efficiently, and the long-term goal of establishing a conifer canopy in the Greenbelt.

If you missed these work parties and would like to join in, it is not too late to get involved! Robert and Joey will be planning additional work parties through the winter months, as this is prime planting season. Since efforts to restore the Greenbelt began in the late 1980s, over 2,500 native plants have been reintroduced into the forestland, but there is much more to do. We will be providing updates as new volunteer opportunities are scheduled. If you have questions or want to learn more about how Saint Mark’s members can support this important land-based ministry, feel free to contact me or Creation Care Co-Chair Kathy Minsch at: creationcare@saintmarks.org