Happy Holidays everyone!I hope this newsletter finds you in good health and spirits as we pass through the longest nights and gray days of the year here in the Northwest. We have much to be grateful for as we think about this year. Save Shoreline Trees turned two years old last November. It’s hard to believe we held our rallies to speak for the WSDOT trees in February 2020, right before Covid hit. We have great memories of being together with our signs on Dayton Ave N and hearing the honks of support from families to bus drivers! Despite the pandemic, Covid created some interesting opportunities for our budding group of tree activists. We got to know each other over Zoom and phone calls. We participated in City council meetings online. The Tree Preservation Code Team started the weekly meetings to unravel current City tree codes and rewrite some for submission in late 2020. Since then, we have presented and defended its proposed code amendments to City staff and the Planning Commission and await the same opportunity before the City Council in February 2022. We waited for over a year to see what was going to happen with the WSDOT project. We received news at the time the permit was approved in July that only three trees were going to be lost (on Dayton Ave N) which we couldn’t dare to believe. Then as the project started, we learned of the entire story of how 94 of our beautiful tall trees were saved. You can read about it here - www.saveshorelinetrees.com/wsdotproject. It’s an incredible story that still brings me hope for our world. Save Shoreline Trees also had representation almost weekly at the City Council meetings, the Neighborhood Council, and has had over 15 stories printed in Shoreline Area News. We had our First Annual Fundraiser with Lynda Mapes speaking to us about her scientific work with trees and learned so much about tree benefits. Our recently established Sidewalk Team is hard at work bringing awareness to the areas where new sidewalks are being planned. Already we think the planning for the section of 20th Ave NW that leads to the entrance of Richmond Beach Park is impacted by the number of letters written on behalf of the existing trees on that street due to the Sidewalk Team’s work. Our eGroup has grown and we have a solid core of tree warriors who write letters and speak when needed and we are so grateful to stand with them. Save Shoreline Trees and League of Women Voters teamed up for a Candidate Forum where all four new City Council members were given an opportunity to share their views of climate change and what they want to pursue in their leadership roles on the Shoreline City Council. This zoom meeting had a great turnout. Also, our local high school students had a Climate Strike March in October that was inspirational https://www.shorelineareanews.com/2021/10/climate-strike-march-we-are-running-out.html. Many members of Save Shoreline Trees joined them on the March throughout Shoreline. We all know that trees are our first line of defense against climate change. The City of Shoreline stands by their development goals, and we will continue to hear chainsaws removing trees especially in those city zones exempt from keeping any existing trees. Only a substantial outcry from the citizens of Shoreline could change their trajectory. New arrivals to our City don’t know how many trees have been lost so an awareness has to be made. Having a booth presence at the Shoreline Farmers Market in 2022 will help us spread this level of person-to-person education. Save Shoreline Trees is a very young organization and has already made a big difference in our community. Every time I drive or walk down Dayton Ave. N. I thank the trees and the wonderful community that worked so hard to save them! May you all have a restful, peaceful and meaningful celebration as we move into 2022. In gratitude, Melody Fosmore
Co-Chair, Save Shoreline Trees
info@saveshorelinetrees.com
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