Top: Jim Corson pulls invasive Blackberries along Burke Gilman Trail (lower two)
Fall graces Seattle’s Burke-Gilman Trail with a canopy of yellow-green Big-Leaf Maple leaves, some parachuting downward in lazy spirals. The smell of fresh, moist leaves is reminiscent of tea. Birds, including Bushtits, Chickadees, Kinglets and Juncos, forage through the trees and wild berry “crops.” As I walk along, fifty or so people share this two mile stretch with me during the hour I spend there. Several thousand people per day use this 12-mile railroad right-of-way, one of Seattle’s major bicycle/pedestrian corridors.
What is not immediately apparent is that the native vegetation along this stretch of trail is the result of a massive volunteer effort led by Jim Corson and the Friends of Burke-Gilman. His story is one of vision, hard work and dedication and demonstrates how one person can inspire others to make a difference.
Like many parks, though, over the years this trail has also become a corridor for invasive plants like English Ivy, Laurel, Himalayan Blackberry, Scot’s Broom and Holly. Left unattended, this area would eventually become a treeless landscape dominated by just a few species of invasive, non-native plants. The natural habitat and species diversity were in serious decline until Jim Corson and Friends of Burke-Gilman got involved.
Friends of the Burke-Gilman formed in 2007 to restore native trees and plants and to educate and involve the community in the stewardship of the Trail. Led by Jim, this group has transformed a two mile segment of the trail into a far more diverse natural landscape than it was before.
Jim, a retired clinical pharmacist from University of Washington Medical Center, originally hails from Michigan. He became interested in restoration work while bicycling along the trail when he noticed a sign for a stewardship work party. Jim volunteered and hasn’t stopped since. Through Seattle Green Seattle Partnership, a public-private effort to re-establish and maintain healthy urban forests, Jim and his cadre of volunteers along with City crews have restored seven acres on a two- mile stretch of the Burke Gilman trail. Jim acknowledges the absolutely vital role that volunteers play in restoring the trail: “Without them, I’d still be working on the first mile.”
Jim and the thousands of volunteers he has recruited over the years have planted more than 5,000 trees, shrubs and other native plants. He recruits volunteers from a wide variety of organizations ranging from the University of Washington, Girl Scouts, Seattle Public Schools, EPA, Boeing, Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon to the Tilted Thunder Roller Birds team. He organizes about 100 work parties per year; this for a man who is supposedly retired.
In addition to Jim and his crew’s restoration efforts, there are educational activities, like a monthly bird walk to monitor the effects of restoration on bird species. These walks, which I lead, occur on the second Sunday morning of each month. Generally we see 20-25 species. The walks are posted on the Friends of BG calendar: http://www.burkegilmanvolunteers.org/calendar.html
Landscape restoration like the kind that Corson and his volunteers practice is catching on. A number of other Washington state cities, including Everett, Kent, Kirkland, Tacoma, and Redmond have also started Green partnership programs. The Forterra conservation group’s Green Cities program encourages more cities to participate http://www.forterra.org/what_we_do/build_community/green_cities/become_the_next_green_city
Doing so makes our cities more biologically diverse, beautiful, and ecologically stable. Interested? The Green Seattle Partnership can help you get started: http://greenseattle.org/volunteers As Jim says “Along with enjoying the growth of a restored landscape, you wind up meeting really neat people, learning a lot and leaving a little legacy.” The last part is definitely an understatement.
