The City of Everett announced a new partnership with Forterra to become their latest “Green City”. Here’s the press release direct from city hall…

EVERETT – The City is working with Forterra’s Green Cities Program on a new plan, The Green Everett Partnership, which will provide a blueprint on how to help restore Everett’s forested parklands. The partnership includes the City, Forterra and The Boeing Co.

To start, Forterra will work with the City of Everett to develop a 20-Year Strategic Plan to help restore and maintain Everett’s forested parklands with invasive plant species removal, native species plantings, mulching and more. More information on the Partnership will be presented to local groups and organizations in coming weeks. Eventually, the Partnership will work with community volunteers to launch restoration efforts at Howarth Park and Thornton Sullivan Park at Silver Lake, and four other Everett parks to be determined.

“This special partnership allows us to plan and begin the restoration in our forested parks that we have wanted to focus on for quite some time now,” Parks Director Paul Kaftanski said. “People love being outdoors and in natural areas, especially when they live in urban settings. Our parks often are a great destination for all kinds of recreation. We want to keep them as desirable destinations as possible.”

Forterra’s participation in the Green Everett Partnership was made possible by a generous grant from The Boeing Co. This grant enabled Forterra to contribute valuable staff time and expertise needed to launch the program.

“The City of Everett and Forterra Green City Partnership is an exciting project that will help to restore the City’s wonderful wooded parklands for its citizens and neighborhoods,” said Gene Duvernoy, Forterra president. “Boeing is an important partner to the Green Everett Partnership providing necessary grant support to help get the program off the ground.”

The Boeing Co. is an instrumental partner at the table to make this project work.

“Boeing recognizes the importance of protecting and preserving our local lands and the benefits to a healthy community. Through the Green Everett partnership, our investment engages thousands of volunteers each year to help make Snohomish County community parks safe and accessible,” said Liz Warman, director of Boeing Global Corporate Citizenship for the Northwest region.

The Green Cities Program was first launched in 2004 with the Green Seattle Partnership, a joint effort between Forterra and the City of Seattle to restore and maintain 2500 acres of Seattle’s natural spaces. Urban natural areas are public assets that beautify and strengthen neighborhoods. They provide clean air and water, stormwater retention and reduced flooding, habitat for wildlife, carbon sequestration, noise buffers, and natural spaces where urban residents can connect with nature. It is critical to act now to restore these spaces before they are lost to invasive plant species and erosion.

The Green City Partnerships are a critical component of The Cascade Agenda, Forterra’s long-range plan for the sustainability of the central-Cascade region’s environment, economies and communities. The Agenda hinges on the idea that when you have great cities and towns in which people choose to live, work and raise their families, working and wild landscapes are saved from development sprawl. The Green Cities restoration work helps make our communities great.