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King County Executive Ron Sims today honored five Native Plant Salvage Program volunteers as Earth Heroes for winter 2002. Janka Hobbs, Val Moore, Rick Thompson, Richard Tinsley, and Janet Wall were honored for their invaluable contributions to protect King County's environment. The ceremony was held at the Redmond Ridge planned community as part of the ten-year anniversary of the Salvage Program and an all day salvage event.
"I am pleased to honor and recognize such solid and dedicated people working to preserve our environmental legacy in King County," said Sims. "These individuals demonstrate that every one of us can make a real impact on our environment."
The King County Earth Legacy Initiative was launched in May 2000. The initiative celebrates the importance of protecting and enhancing our natural environment, outlines a number of innovative programs that are working hard to maintain the rich integrity of our region, as well as our high quality of life.
The Native Plant Salvage Program is operated by King County's Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP). The program recovers native plants from development sites, maintains the plants at a holding facility, and supplies salvaged plants to environmental restoration and enhancement projects in King County. In addition, the program educates volunteers and the public about watershed health and the use of native plants in revegetation efforts.
Since its inception in 1992, the program has effectively worked to protect and conserve the environment with 4,270 volunteers contributing more than 20,350 hours to this program. Through this program, 40,000 plants have been salvaged, close to 80,000 native plants have been replanted, and King County has saved more than $450,000.
"Our five heroes have given unselfishly to the cause of environmental protection," said Sims. "They continually serve as team leaders for the Native Plant Salvage Program by providing guidance, supervision and instruction to hundreds of new volunteers. The success of this program is the direct result of their dedication and the dedication of the thousands of others in this effort."
In 1992, Kirkland resident Janka Hobbs began volunteering for the Native Plant Salvage Program. A member of the Washington Native Plant Society, Hobbs knows her plants well and has always volunteered enthusiastically for plantings and salvage efforts. "Where else can you play with plants, get muddy, and feel useful all at once," says Hobbs. As a result of her friendly demeanor, Hobbs helps even the newest volunteers feel comfortable and find the experience rewarding. Hobbs is training the next generation of team leaders, her children.
Val Moore started volunteering once a week at a plant holding facility in November 1995. An Issaquah resident, Moore was searching for volunteer work that would help preserve the environment and make a difference in the local community. A love for gardening, working with plants and being outside instantly attracted her to this program. Now, Moore coordinates the potting of the salvaged plants and regularly directs large numbers of volunteers who are just getting started. Moore is a vital part of the program and is usually the last volunteer to leave. For Moore, the amount of good that can be accomplished when everyone works together towards a common goal is an inspiration.
Rick Thompson started volunteering at Native Plant Salvages in 1992. A Seattle resident, Thompson finds volunteering for this program extremely rewarding and continues to participate because he believes strongly in giving back to the community. Thompson currently splits his volunteer time for King County between plant salvages and plantings and leads hundreds of volunteers on excursions into the woods. As a team leader, Thompson is also known for effortlessly motivating and engaging numerous groups of squirrelly teens. In his spare time, he volunteers for the Washington Native Plant Society and restoring Magnuson Park.
Since 1994, Richard Tinsley, a resident of Shoreline, has earned near perfect attendance at the native plant salvage events. Tinsley's ability to identify native plants is considered a tremendous help. Known for his ability to tear four-foot ferns out of the ground with his bare hands without damaging the plants, Tinsley is seen as a plant salvage machine. On any given salvage day, Tinsley is usually one of the last volunteers to leave and believes deeply in this work and the importance for the environment. A dedicated volunteer for the Washington Native Plant Society, he also frequents Paramount Park where he is working on another revegetation project.
Janet Wall, a resident of Issaquah, started volunteering for the native plant salvage efforts in 1994. Wall, like the others, is the type of volunteer you have to instruct to go home or she will work through the night. With a love for native plants, Wall is working hard to preserve them. Wall has great plant identification skills and never hesitates to direct volunteers to the next plant to dig. In addition to volunteering for the salvage program, Wall spends time restoring a green space near her home and volunteers for other restoration activities.
In the last four years, the Quadrant Corp. has partnered with DNRP for 12 plant harvests at its Redmond Ridge planned community, more than any other location. During those 12 harvests, more than 15,000 plants have been salvaged and the plants relocated throughout King County. Created by Quadrant Corp., Redmond Ridge is a 1,046-acre planned community east of Redmond that will provide 1,500 single-family homes, patio homes, condominiums and apartments. More than 60 percent of the total area is preserved as open space for parks, meadows, wetlands and trails with native landscaping.
"The Earth Heroes we honor today are all inspirations to our community," said Sims. "And I thank Quadrant for their continued partnership with King County's environmental programs. They are all demonstrating the kind of impact each of us can make in preserving the natural environment that surrounds us for future generations."
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King County Executive Ron Sims with Winter 2002 Earth Heroes and KC Plant Salvage Program Staff.
Front row: Janka Hobbs (EarthHero), Cindy Young (KC salvage staff), Valerie Moore (EH), Janet Wall (EH), Richard Tinsley (EH). Back Row: Rick Thompson (EH), Ron Sims, and Greg Rabourn (King County salvage staff)
[Enlarged view]
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