In 2013, Elizabeth Housley’s WNPS Steward Project included several goals encouraging public and private management of invasive-free vegetative buffers where private property adjoins Seattle Parks and natural areas.

During the course of the project we identified main issues occurring along Seattle Park property lines, as follows: dumping and littering, invasive vegetation, erosion and run- off, encroachment, social trails and safety, plant and animal corridors, neighbor outreach, and lack of incentives or penalties.

Using information gathered from stewards, property owners, Seattle park sites, homeowners, the Seattle Parks ecologist team, Washington Native Plant Society and other stakeholders we composed several online and offline materials. These materials were disseminated at a steward-only workshop in April 2014, shared with GreenSeattle.org, and are available in various forms in a steward outreach tool-kit.

Materials generated from this project include:

• An Environmental Education Doorhanger available in the GSP tool-kit for stewards to use in their neighborhood outreach plans.
• A Buffer Installation Action Plan available for homeowners. The plan includes help with identifying site-specific goals, recommended plant lists, design themes and available incentives. This is not available online as of Fall 2015.
• A spreadsheet available through GSP Steward Trainings listing offline and online resources available to stewards.
• A technical report is available to any interested steward or city agency. Access Here.