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Three Positions Available: Apply by 2/24 to Join the Urban Forestry Commission

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Commission meetings are held twice a month on the first and second Wednesday from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Currently, meetings are being held remotely via Webex application (with access via either phone or computer). 

The City of Seattle is now accepting applications for three positions on the Urban Forestry Commission, a 13-member body established to advise the Mayor and City Council around policy and regulations related to protecting, maintaining, and preserving trees and vegetation in the City of Seattle. There are three open positions:

  • Position #2 – Urban Ecologist (or similar)
  • Position #3 – Natural Resource Agency or University Representative
  • Position #13 – Community/Neighborhood Representative.

Commission positions ask for a time commitment of roughly 8-10 hours per month. In addition to meeting one of the positions above, applicants must also understand the impact racism and race-based disparities have on communities of color and have an interest in working to eliminate these disparities and advance equity. Applicants should also have an interest in collaborating with other community members to develop recommendations for tree canopy care and protection, while centering the communities most burdened by lack of access to tree canopy and its related benefits, and demonstrated ability to develop collaborative, productive, and respectful relationships with people from diverse educational, social, cultural, and racial backgrounds.

How to Apply:

If you are interested in collaborating with a team of community leaders working on improving the care and management of Seattle’s tree canopy for the benefit of the community while centering communities most impacted by health and educational injustices, please apply by February 24. For information on the open positions and to access the application, please visit our website.

For more information, please contact Patti Bakker, Interim Urban Forestry Commission Liaison, at patricia.bakker@seattle.gov.

About the Commission:

The Urban Forestry Commission was established in 2009 by Ordinance 123052 to advise the Mayor and City Council concerning the establishment of policy and regulations governing the protection, management, and conservation of trees and vegetation in the City of Seattle. Commission meetings are held twice a month on the first and second Wednesday from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Currently, meetings are being held remotely via Webex application (with access via either phone or computer). Commission members must live or work in Seattle and generally must commit approximately eight to ten hours per month to Commission business and serve without compensation. Additional information about the Urban Forestry Commission can be found at http://www.seattle.gov/urbanforestrycommission.

The thirteen-member UFC consists of a wildlife biologist; an urban ecologist; a representative of a local, state, or federal natural resource agency or an accredited university; a hydrologist; a certified arborist; a representative of a non-profit or non-governmental organization; a representative of the development community or a representative from a non-city utility; an economist, financial analyst, or Washington State license real estate broker; a Get Engaged young adult; an environmental justice representative; a public health representative; and a community/neighborhood representative.

About the Seattle Urban Forest Management Plan:

The City of Seattle set the bold goal of achieving 30 percent tree canopy cover by 2037 to increase the environmental, social, and economic benefits trees bring to Seattle residents. The Seattle Urban Forest Management Plan (UMP) is a comprehensive strategy for increasing Seattle’s tree canopy cover to meet the 30 percent target. The UFMP lays out outcomes and a broad range of actions to be implemented over time to preserve, maintain, and plant trees as well as restore the public forested areas remaining in the city. A recent canopy cover assessment shows Seattle has 28% canopy cover. More information about Seattle’s urban forest program can be found at http://www.seattle.gov/trees/management.htm

City of Seattle’s Environmental Justice Fund Awards $750,000 in Grants for 14 Projects Led by and Benefiting Those Most Impacted by Climate Change

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2021 Grants Are Largest-Ever Amount Awarded and Continue Trend of Growth Each Year 

The City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE) is pleased to announce $750,000 will be awarded through the Environmental Justice Fund (EJ Fund) to 14 community-led projects designed to benefit those most impacted by environmental and climate issues, including communities of color, immigrants, refugees, and Indigenous people.

“In Seattle, we are confronting the intersecting crises of climate change, COVID-19, and systemic racism by leading alongside the community and working directly with the community,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “The Environmental Justice Fund is a critical tool to directly support community-based organizations led by communities of color that are bringing innovative, aggressive, and bold local solutions to achieving environmental and racial equity.”

The Environmental Justice Fund was developed in 2017 as part of the City’s Equity & Environment agenda to provide grants to community-led projects that improve environmental conditions, respond to impacts of climate change and get us closer to achieving environmental justice. Since its launch, the EJ Fund has awarded three grant cycles of over $1.1 Million to 26 community-based organizations, whose projects are led by or are in deep partnership with communities of color impacted by environmental injustices.

“The Environmental Justice Fund plays a critical role in supporting community-driven projects especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Edwin Hernandez of Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association, a newly awarded Environmental Justice Fund grantee. “This funding will allow us to engage youth in exploring ways to accelerate a transition to renewable energy sources in the Duwamish Valley.” 

Overall, OSE received 44 proposals totaling nearly $2.8M. Proposals focused on a range of climate and environmental justice topics including food justice, workforce development, environmental education, renewable energy, and youth leadership.

“These 14 grantees represent the breadth of creative efforts that advance climate and environmental justice and are designed and led by frontline communities harmed first and worst by climate change,” said Lisa Chen, Equity & Environment Manager, OSE. “The EJ Fund advances the goals and strategies of the Equity & Environment Agenda by directly investing in community-led efforts that advance environmental equity in Seattle.”

Select EJ Fund grantees and select members of the Environmental Justice Committee served on the seven-member review committee to ensure continuity in a community-led process, a cornerstone of the Fund since inception.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has left many seniors feeling isolated, struggling to access critical services and culturally appropriate foods as well as reduced opportunities to connect with fellow seniors and community members,” said Senayet Negeusse, 2021 grant review participant and who’s organization, East African Senior Meal Program, was awarded a grant in 2020. “Funding from grant programs like the Environmental Justice Fund helped our organization weather the most severe impacts of the pandemic, and I’ve been thrilled to help continue the legacy of the EJ Fund by serving as a grant reviewer this year. I hope the City will continue to expand and manage this program for years to come.” 

Three of these organizations (Doorways Project, Y-WE, and Delridge Neighborhood Development Association) are past recipients of the EJ Fund. Funding these proposals deepens the relationship and investment in their work and within their communities.

“We were thrilled to be part of the 2019 EJ Fund cohort and support community workshops and habitat restorations with neighborhood youth at the Delridge Wetland Park,” said David Bestock of the Delridge Neighborhood Development Association. “With this year’s funding, we can expand our work to empower and equip local youth with a deep understanding of environmental justice and connection within the neighborhood.“

The increase in this year’s EJ Fund is a result of 2021 recommendations from the Equitable Communities Initiative (ECI) Task Force, adopted by City Council. This allocation increased the Environmental Justice Fund by $550,000, bring the total award amount available to $750,000.

The organizations receiving funding and their projects are:

  • Delridge Neighborhood Development Association (DNDA) – $56,012

DNDA’s project aims to provide paid opportunities for high school-aged, primarily youth of color from South Delridge to connect and build a relationship with their natural environment. They plan to lead youth in developing a deeper understanding of environmental justice and exposure to community and federally driven efforts within the neighborhood. They plan to empower youth to develop a project of their own choosing that relates to the environmental justice issues discussed in the program and work with youth to develop digital media skills. This program will focus on the historical ecology of our local landscape, traditional Indigenous approach to ecosystems, specifically looking at Roxhill Bog located in South Delridge.

  • The Doorway Project – $64,450

The Doorway Project will expand their Bloom Urban Gardening Internship, a place-based educational internship aimed at developing critical consciousness around the relationship to land and self. This internship serves youth and young adults experiencing homelessness in the University District. Funding will support the growth of the program to host two internship cohorts per year.

  • Y-WE (Young Women Empowered) – $75,000

Funding will support the Y-WE’s Nature Connections (NC) program, with a focus on environmental justice and healthy food systems in marginalized communities of color. In this time, Y-WE Nature Connections will directly benefit young women in Seattle, primarily from communities of color and of immigrant and low-income backgrounds. Young women will engage in food systems learning and food production, gaining facilitation skills and leading community environmental health and food justice activities. In Y-WE Grow program activities at Marra Farm in the South Park neighborhood, participants will connect with the Earth in reciprocal relationship and gain practical gardening skills while increasing environmental justice knowledge, confidence, and commitment.

  • Basilica Bio – $61,050

Gardening Under the Microscope will expand current efforts at the Garfield Community Center Garden. In addition to maintaining the garden and producing food for the community surrounding them, Basilica Bio will continue to use the spaces as an avenue for their interactive mobile classroom. Participants leave each event with knowledge of important farming and gardening techniques and greater context for why developing local food systems is so important.

  • Beacon Hill Council – $75,000

This work advances ongoing efforts to mitigate air and noise pollution that impacts the Beacon Hill community, comprised of 32,000 residents of which 70% identify as BIPOC and 44% identify as immigrants and refugees. Specifically, funding will provide organizational capacity to educate, activate, and mobilize the Beacon Hill community members to be able to claim their voice and stories to testify in writing or in person to the proposed SeaTac Airport expansion of capacity to accommodate the increase from 47-66 M passengers, the doubling of international flights and the tripling of air cargo.

  • Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association (DVSA) – $75,000

The organization seeks to accelerate the transition to renewables in the Duwamish Valley, starting in South Park, by facilitating a youth-led process to design, engage, and implement a community-wide project to establish a decentralized biofuel and solar energy system. The project deliverable will be a roadmap towards a zero-waste energy system for South Park, which is scalable to the Duwamish. While building the roadmap, they will create a medium and long-term strategy plan for DVSA. This project also includes a skill building component for youth to position them to join the green workforce.

  • International Capoeira Angola Foundation – $30,000

This grant would launch the Nourishian Training pilot program to reconnect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color with the land and cultural traditions, building leadership within community to advocate for their needs, and leveraging the basic human need for nourishment and food as a tool for resistance and healing. The International Capoeira Angola Foundation views shifting power dynamics in health, education, and agricultural systems as a key aspect of advancing environmental justice. The goal of the pilot is to support twelve Nourishians in developing knowledge about how food choices are connected to health, community, and the health of the land.

  • Khmer Community of Seattle & King County (KCSKC) – $69,826

KCSKC will partner with Department of Neighborhoods to bring Khmer youth to the High Point P-Patch to learn how to grow food from the Khmer elders who currently steward the Market Garden plots of the P-Patch. This project will support intergenerational activities outdoors while teaching youth about localized food systems.

  • Muslimahs Against Abuse Center – $30,000

This organization seeks to launch a weekly series to educate and build awareness about food insecurity and poverty in with the East African community. They will facilitate workshops, cooking classes that provide healthy food alternatives, and create a guide to local food resources accessible to community. The organization will also establish a local food pantry that will offer culturally-relevant halal food as well as water and air filters for those who need it.

  • Raíces Verdes – $30,000

Raíces Verdes is a platform by and for BIPOC artists and storytellers dedicated to highlighting the stories of BIPOC people in connection with the environment in a multidisciplinary and living archive. Their mission is for Black, Indigenous, and other racialized people to reconnect to their ancestral “green roots.” This funding will create an Environmental Justice art series, a photo essay of the Seattle-area P’urhépecha diaspora, and video storytelling on food justice and Black liberation. Funding will also support a paid social media fellow and a small summit for BIPOC environmental justice storytelling.

  • Serve Ethiopians Washington – $30,000

Through this project, Serve Ethiopians Washington will conduct community outreach activities to raise awareness on environmental justice issues affecting the East African community. The organization will host educational events on different topics, including indoor and outdoor air quality, to build awareness of the health impacts as well as identify community priority areas regarding environmental justice.

  • The Backpack Academy – $43,300

The Backpack Academy strives to ensure Rainier Valley BIPOC youth have access to up-to-date information about job readiness and workforce marketplace opportunities. To this end, they will launch a 6-month workshop series for youth ages 16-24 to learn about transportation mobility, carbon footprint reduction, and clean energy alternatives. Through the hands-on component to convert manual bikes to electric bikes, youth will learn engineering and green energy concepts and develop new skills.

  • Sawhorse Revolution – $35,362

Sawhorse Revolution will develop and pilot a “Y/our Green Impact Handbook” to teach high-school-aged youth furthest from educational justice about fundamentals of green building and design, introduce them to a variety of green jobs, and interrogate the intersections of environmental, social, and racial justice built into our landscape. Working with the Northwest Eco-Builders Guild, A&R Solar, and, crucially, a board of Black and Brown designers, builders, urban planners, and educators who are living this work, they will undertake the necessary research and program revisions needed to incorporate green design and construction practices into our full suite of programs. The curriculum will be piloted in a Sawhorse design/build program in mid-2022 and published/widely implemented by end of 2022.

  • Wa Na Wari – $75,000

Funding will support Wa Na Wari to focus on a comprehensive garden redesign that implements both a learning lab space and a spring to fall co-design workshop where local BIPOC community members have access to green space and community building opportunities amid the ongoing COVID pandemic. They will design young adult and intergenerational learning labs for soil remediation that are both culturally attuned and deeply scientific at the same time to seed deeper cross-cultural understandings.

2021 OSE Year in Review

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Michelle Caulfield

Letter from Interim Director, Michelle Caulfield

Dear OSE Friends & Colleagues,

The start of a new year is always a time of reflection – an opportunity to consider the past year and look boldly toward the opportunities ahead. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, OSE hit the ground running in 2021, working with City departments and community stakeholders to advance equitable communities and reduce climate impacts. I am proud of our accomplishments and the way our team – along with City staff from every department – stepped up to meet unprecedented community need.  

In 2021, we awarded the most-ever in funds for BIPOC-led grantees through the Environmental Justice Fund. We saw the implementation of the new building energy code to eliminate most fossil fuel uses in commercial and large multi-family buildings. We launched the Transportation Electrification Blueprint, Seattle’s strategy for electrifying everything that moves people, goods, and services throughout our city. All the while, our food team continued to address rising food insecurity due to COVID and expanded Fresh Bucks to include more customers and more retailers.

OSE also supported the establishment of the City’s first-ever Green New Deal Oversight Board and worked with the Mayor to assemble $8.5M of Duwamish Valley investments to implement community priorities, a $14M package of investments to advance Seattle’s Green New Deal, and a Climate Executive Order to eliminate fossil fuels from existing buildings, expand transit access and Healthy Streets, and advance clean energy workforce development.

Looking ahead, the OSE team continues to advance climate and environmental justice priorities under the leadership of Mayor Bruce Harrell and in partnership with all of you. We are over-the-moon excited to leverage new federal investments and Seattle’s Green New Deal to make big climate and community resilience impacts in 2022 and the years to come. I am hopeful that 2022 will be another unprecedented year – but with a record level of progressive policies and investments to combat the climate crisis, protect natural ecosystems, advance environmental justice, foster healthy food systems, develop a more resilient and healthier communities, and keep Seattle green.

As we close out 2021, we want to thank you for all you do for sustainability and the environment. We wish you a wonderful holiday season and a very Happy New Year. As is our tradition, we leave you with OSE’s 2021 by the numbers, with thanks to so many organizations and community members whose partnership made these activities possible.

Thank you for your partnership.

-Michelle 

Michelle Caulfield, Interim Director
Office of Sustainability and Environment

OSE’s 2021 By the Numbers: 

  • Grant proposals received for the 2021 Environmental Justice Fund cycle: Dollars requested: $2.8 million. Dollars granted: $750,000
  • Dollars of COVID emergency grocery vouchers distributed before sunsetting the program in July: $25.4 million. Households served: 14,000
  • Appointments made to the Green New Deal Oversight Board: 15
  • Members of the GNDOB Inter-Departmental Team, to support the Green New Deal from inside City government: 21
  • Number of people who attended the Environmental Justice Committee’s panel on Tribal and Native Perspectives on the Connection of Energy and Climate Justice: 173
  • OSE staff members interviewed on live TV, talking about electrifying “everything that moves people, goods, and services” & educating viewers about Seattle’s first-in-the-nation Transportation Electrification Blueprint: 1
  • Equitable Road Pricing Strategies Workshops with BIPOC Community leaders: 7
  • Fresh produce boxes distributed to SPS students to help meet food insecurity needs: 221,000
  • Fresh Bucks customers enrolled to receive $40/month: 12,000. Percent of those customers from priority RSJI communities: 75%. Community-based organizations contracted to support that enrollment:
  • Dollars secured from King County’s Conservation Futures Tax to acquire property in South Park to expand an existing park, increase river access, and site a building for community-supportive services (in collaboration with SPR and OPCD): $2,000,000
  • Affordable housing units that will be created in South Park with OH’s purchase of 2 properties, advancing the priorities of the Duwamish Valley Action Plan: 100+
  • Small businesses in South Park and Georgetown provided with COVID support through a reallocation of OSE general funds: Percent of these businesses that are BIPOC-owned: 92%
  • Listening sessions held with stakeholders and BIPOC community members to inform tree protection updates (with SDCI): 12
  • Percent energy reduction in municipal buildings since 2008: 23.5%. Percent above target: 3.5%
  • City-owned buildings occupied by CBOs providing community services with completed energy efficiency upgrades: 3 (South Park Neighborhood Center, NeighborCare at Columbia City, and Daybreak Star)
  • Percent of Seattle’s largest buildings compliant with Tune-Up law: 91%
  • Number of Seattle buildings that will save significant energy via a tune-up: 660
  • Benchmarking & Tune-Up technical assistance inquiries handled to help owners comply: 3,325
  • South Seattle College Sustainable Building Science Technology benchmarking outreach interns sponsored: 4
  • Households the City helped convert from oil to heat pumps since the Clean Heat program inception in 2017: 850. Gallons of oil per year avoided: 425,000. MTCO2e avoided: 63,000
  • Followers on OSE’s Twitter: 2,003. Total tweets throughout the year: 400. Impressions from those tweets: 435,000
  • News articles placed about OSE’s work or featuring OSE staff members: 35. Average per month: 2-3
  • Number of state legislative climate-, environmental- and food-related bills reviewed by the OSE team: 50
  • Major climate Executive Orders passed: 1
  • Number of OSE staff members thankful for your service and wishing you a Happy New Year: All of us!

Reflecting on My Time as an Intern with OSE

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Hello, my name is Aditi, and I was the communications intern for the Office of Sustainability and Environment for this past summer and fall. As my internship comes to a close, I wanted to reflect on what I did and learned over the past six months.

One of the biggest responsibilities I had during this internship was managing our social media accounts, and I focused on Twitter in particular. I think communication from the government to the people we serve on a platform that is accessible and easy to follow is very important and can help bridge the gap that can often exist between them. Paring down important information and communications to 280 characters can make it easier to digest and help us focus on what’s significant.

During this internship, I started a series on twitter that I called the OSE Happy Series. Every so often, I tweeted out some uplifting climate news or stories that emphasized and encouraged hope in the future of our planet. Climate change is scary, but there is still so much we can be and are doing right now, and I believe that fearmongering and nihilism only slows progress. I think important to remind people to be hopeful that we can still work to combat the climate crisis, and that it’s not too late. That’s why I really wanted to tweet out little bits of positivity whenever I had the chance.

I also wrote for this blog, which really allowed me to strengthen my writing skills. The posts that I am the proudest of are Reflecting on the Big Day of Play and Reflecting on the PNW Heatwave (they both start with the word reflecting… and so does this one… I must really like that word). I was able to put more a more personal touch on those and write about topics that particularly interested me. I also thoroughly enjoyed being able to chat with Alyssa Patrick for the former blog post.

Being an intern and working what was functionally my first office job during a global pandemic was a rather unique experience, but I am so grateful that I was still able to connect with the others in the office remotely, and even meet up with some of them at Gasworks Park once. I met some really impressive and amazing people in OSE. Some cool things happened at OSE and the City of Seattle while I was interning with them, like the executive order announcement on November 1st, Fresh Bucks launching electronic benefits, and the $1.7 Million budget announcement for oil-to-heat-pump conversations for low- and middle-income households. My experience with this internship has given me vital experience in government and public service, which is what I want to go into after I graduate from UW this spring.

I am so grateful for this experience, this office, and all the amazing people that I was able work with. Thank you!

Mayor Jenny Durkan Announces New Executive Order at COP26 Climate Summit to Drastically Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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Executive Order directs City departments to implement new carbon-based building performance standards, expand transit access and Healthy Streets, and advance clean energy workforce development

GLASGOW (November 1, 2021) – Mayor Jenny A. Durkan today announced a new Executive Order directing City departments to accelerate action toward net zero emission buildings, healthy and equitable transportation, and clean energy workforce development to advance climate justice. Actions announced today are projected to reduce the City’s building carbon emissions an additional 27% by 2050.

“From a new normal of smoky summers and dangerous heat in Seattle, I have never seen the impacts of climate change that we are now facing,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan. “We’ve invested billions to support green transportation, efficient buildings, and other policies to mitigate climate change, but we know we need to do more to reach net zero. Cities are leading the way to take real action – our work in the last four years is making a commitment to reduce our building emissions by nearly 50% and lead the nation on climate justice and equity.”

Buildings account for more than one third of Seattle’s climate pollution and are one of the fastest growing sources of emissions. Mayor Durkan’s Climate Action Executive Order will:

  • Direct the Office of Sustainability & Environment to create legislation for Carbon-based Building Performance Standards for existing commercial and multifamily buildings 20,000 sq ft or larger in 2022. This standard is estimated to reduce building greenhouse gas emissions 27% by 2050.
  • Prohibit fossil fuels in City-owned buildings by 2035 to continue Seattle leading by example.
  • Provide options to lower upfront and operating costs for affordable housing to address the climate crisis and improve resilience as we build, operate, and maintain affordable housing.

“Seattle needs to take serious and significant action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings. A carbon-focused building performance standard is a cornerstone to that effort and will build on the success and work at the state and city level to reduce energy use,” said Amy Wheeless, Senior Policy Associate at the NW Energy Coalition. “This bold action must also come with supportive policies that ensure the benefits of this transition are equitable and support affordable energy services.” 

Key provisions in the Executive Order include:

  • Expanding free transit for SPS Middle and High School students with additional ORCA cards for middle school students. Announced in 2018, Seattle’s ORCA Opportunity is now available to up to 8,000 additional middle school students, 15,000 high school students, and more than 1,000 Seattle Promise students.
  • Expanding Seattle’s Stay Healthy Streets to establish City’s first urban pedestrian zone. Potential sites for the urban pedestrian zones will be identified by December 31, 2021 for implementation in Summer of 2022.
  • Taking legislative and permitting action to incentivize electrification and make it easier for residents, businesses, and governments to transition away from fossil fuels and go electric.  
  • Launching $1 million pilot to convert heavy-duty diesel trucks operating in the Duwamish Valley to electric to reduce carbon pollution and diesel emissions.

“Expanding ease of access to public transit is a key element of creating a climate resilient and socially equitable city,” said Alex Hudson, Executive Director of Transportation Choices Coalition. “This transit expansion project will help get more young Seattleites where they need to go safely and reliably, while also lowering transportation costs for families and empowering a new generation of transit riders.”

“EVgo applauds the City of Seattle for making continued advancements toward a fully electrified transportation sector,” said Sara Rafalson, Vice President of Market Development and Public Policy at EVgo. “Public-private partnerships, coupled with critical efforts to streamline permitting, are important tools to accelerate infrastructure investments for fleets and personal use vehicles alike.”


In addition to policies that reduce emissions in the buildings and transportation sectors, the City is working to advance a more diverse clean energy workforce to ensure a just transition off of fossil fuels. Key provisions of the Executive Order include:

  • Launching City clean energy workforce committee to advance the economic equity goals of Seattle’s Green New Deal in alignment with the Green New Deal Oversight Board.
  • Deploying new 2022 clean energy workforce investments and identify City capacity and funding needs and regional partnerships to prepare, connect, and diversify workers in the growing clean energy sectors.

“Seattle has been a trailblazer in energy efficiency, mode shift to transit, electrification, smart growth near transit, eliminating fossil fuels from homes and commercial buildings, and climate justice, but we need to do more,” said Michelle Caulfield, Interim Director of the Office of Sustainability & Environment. “I’m proud to see Seattle’s leadership on display at COP26 and the Mayor standing with leaders from across the globe to confront the climate emergency head-on.”

Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the executive order from Glasgow, Scotland, where she is representing the City of Seattle at the COP26 Climate Summit which brings Cities and nations together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“Cities have proven time and again their ability to push the envelope on climate action and consistently raise ambition – the Building Performance Standard (BPS) announced today by Mayor Durkan is a great example,” said Kelly Shultz who leads the sustainable cities program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Policies to lower building emissions are critical to ensuring a sustainable, more inclusive future. We celebrate this announcement and look forward to continuing our collaboration with cities leading the fight against climate change like Seattle.”

“It’s exciting to see these next steps from a city that already has ambitious climate policies on the books,” said Elizabeth Stampe, a city strategist at NRDC with the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge. “Policies like free transit for kids and cleaner energy in large buildings do more than reduce greenhouse gas emissions: they make Seattle a better place for all people to live and breathe. A zero-emission pedestrian zone is an especially important way to reduce pollution and make way for safer walking in Seattle. As the City makes good on these commitments in the coming year, we expect to see equity front and center alongside decisive climate action.”

The City of Seattle has already led bold action to advance energy efficiency and decarbonization in buildings, including a new commercial energy code that is among the strongest on climate in the nation, an Oil Heat Conversion Tax to fund low-income household conversions from oil heat to electric heat pumps, a ban on fossil fuels in new municipal buildings, accelerated transportation electrification including expanding bus-only lanes and transit capital investment, 52 miles of new bike facilities in the last five years, EV Readiness Ordinance requiring EV-ready electrical service in new off-street parking stalls, environmental and racial justice policies, and more.

Apply to Join the Urban Forestry Commission

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The City of Seattle is now accepting applications for two positions on the Urban Forestry Commission, a 13-member body established to advise the Mayor and City Council concerning the establishment of policy and regulations governing the protection, management, and conservation of trees and vegetation in the City of Seattle. There are openings for Position #4 – Hydrologist (or similar) and Position #6 – Landscape Architect with ISA Arborist Certification. Commission positions ask for a time commitment of roughly 8-10 hours per month. 

About the Commission:

The City of Seattle set the bold goal of achieving 30 percent tree canopy cover by 2037 to increase the environmental, social, and economic benefits trees bring to Seattle residents. The Seattle Urban Forest Management Plan (UMP) is a comprehensive strategy for increasing Seattle’s tree canopy cover to meet the 30 percent target. The UFMP lays out outcomes and a broad range of actions to be implemented over time to preserve, maintain, and plant trees as well as restore the public forested areas remaining in the city. A recent canopy cover assessment shows Seattle has 28% canopy cover. More information about Seattle’s urban forest program can be found at http://www.seattle.gov/trees/management.htm

The Urban Forestry Commission was established in 2009 by Ordinance 123052 to advise the Mayor and City Council concerning the establishment of policy and regulations governing the protection, management, and conservation of trees and vegetation in the City of Seattle. Commission meetings are held twice a month on the first and second Wednesday from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Currently, meetings are being held remotely via Webex application (with access via either phone or computer). Commission members must live or work in Seattle and generally must commit approximately eight to ten hours per month to Commission business and serve without compensation. Additional information about the Urban Forestry Commission can be found at http://www.seattle.gov/urbanforestrycommission.

The thirteen-member UFC consists of a wildlife biologist; an urban ecologist; a representative of a local, state, or federal natural resource agency or an accredited university; a hydrologist; a certified arborist; a representative of a non-profit or non-governmental organization; a representative of the development community or a representative from a non-city utility; an economist, financial analyst, or Washington State license real estate broker; a Get Engaged young adult; an environmental justice representative; a public health representative; and a community/neighborhood representative.

How to Apply:

If you are interested in collaborating with a team of community leaders working on improving the care and management of Seattle’s tree canopy for the benefit of the community while centering communities most impacted by health and educational injustices, please apply by November 12, 2021. For information on the open positions and to access the application, please visit our website.

For more information, please contact Patti Bakker, Interim Urban Forestry Commission Liaison, at patricia.bakker@seattle.gov.

White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory Visits Seattle to Talk Buildings and Climate

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The buildings we live and work in are responsible for more than 1/3rd of Seattle’s climate pollution, primarily due to the on-site burning of fossil fuels such as fracked gas and oil for heating, hot water and appliances. OSE’s Buildings & Energy team works to develop and implement policies and programs to mitigate climate change in the buildings space, which covers commercial, multi-family, residential, and even our own municipal facilities.

Chair Mallory at Hobson Place

On October 6th, OSE was thrilled to host Chair Brenda Mallory and staff from the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), along with Seattle’s Finance and Administrative Services (FAS), City Light, and Office of Housing to talk about some of the work we are doing to improve the energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Seattle’s building stock.

First up was a stop at the Seattle Justice Center, which hosts both the Seattle Police Headquarters and the Seattle Municipal Court. Seattle has been at the forefront nationally to increase building efficiency and reduce emissions in existing buildings through policies like Energy Benchmarking and Building Tune-Ups programs. Check out this Seattle Justice Center Case Study detailing how the building operations team and the Tune-Up Specialist team collaborated to go above and beyond on a suite of improvements to the Seattle Justice Center.

CEQ staff then joined OSE, City Light, and the Office of Housing at Hobson Place, a permanent supportive housing building and clinic. This building is using strategies to maximize efficiency, including electric heat pumps instead of fossil fuels, improved insulation, solar, and more, and is on track to be the first permanent supportive housing project in Washington State to achieve Passive House certification.

Both the Seattle Justice Center and Hobson place are examples of Seattle’s approach to meeting its climate goals in the building sector in action. With new construction, like Hobson Place, the City is working to stop buildings going up from incorporating fossil fuels in the systems. In February, Seattle updated its Commercial Energy Code to limit fossil fuels for most uses in new construction, substantial alterations, and when equipment is upgraded. And for existing buildings, we are working to transition away from gas-fired systems to efficient electric systems.

The next urgent priority for Seattle is to establish climate pollution standards, or building performance standards, for our largest existing commercial and multifamily buildings. Washington State has established innovative Clean Building Performance Standards to deepen the energy efficiency of existing commercial buildings. This is a great next step towards better performing buildings and we are very supportive of the state’s work, but in terms of GHG emissions from Seattle buildings, we project to see only approximately 4% reduction in overall building sector emissions. In contrast, by developing and implementing Seattle specific building performance standards, we expect to be able to reduce overall building emissions by 27%.

For more information about Building Performance Standards including more details about the Washington State law, check out OSE’s website: https://www.seattle.gov/environment/climate-change/buildings-and-energy/building-performance-standards

Mayor Durkan Proposes $1.7 Million in 2022 Budget to Fund Oil-to-Electric Heat Pump Conversions for Low-and-Middle-Income Households

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Investment supports efforts to reduce pollution to meet climate goals, prevent soil and groundwater contamination, and improve air quality

In her 2022 budget address, Mayor Durkan announced $1.7 million to support residents in converting from dirty and expensive heating oil to clean electric heat pumps, including funds to provide no-cost heat pumps for approximately 125 low-income households. The budget also funds inclusive outreach and engagement with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities that have borne the worst impacts of climate change, environmental hazards, and systemic racism.   

In 2019, Seattle passed the Heating Oil Tax, which sets a.24 cents per gallon tax on oil service providers with a goal to fully phase out the use of oil heat by 2028. Delayed due to COVID-19, the heating oil tax law will go into effect in April 2022 and create a funding source that helps pay for electric heat pumps for low- and middle-income households currently heating with oil.  

“We can’t wait any longer to stop burning fossil fuels. Our climate and our communities need action now,” said Jenny Durkan, Mayor, City of Seattle. “With these funds, we are seeking to backfill lost revenue from the delayed oil heat tax and accelerate Seattle’s efforts to phase out polluting fossil fuels and provide residents in need with cleaner air, lower bills, and air conditioning for our increasingly dangerous summer heat.”  

Eliminating the use of fossil fuels is a critical component to meeting Seattle’s climate goals and stemming the worse impacts of climate change. Heating oil represents 16-18% of total carbon pollution in the residential sector and 9% of carbon pollution in the total buildings sector. It is estimated that more than 400,000 MTC02e will be reduced over a 10-year period by phasing out heating oil to clean electricity. 

“Buildings are responsible for more than 1/3rd of Seattle’s climate pollution and rising,” said Christine Bunch, Climate & Energy Advisor, Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment. “We estimate that there are between 15,000 and 18,000 households in Seattle heating with oil. Converting them to Seattle’s clean electricity will reduce our climate pollution by the same amount as taking 90,000 cars off the road for an entire year.”  

In addition to reducing carbon emissions, converting households from oil to clean electricity also has these benefits: 

  • Reducing pollution, overall energy use, and heating bills through the equitable adoption of clean heating technologies such as heat pumps.  
  • Air-conditioning and air filtration that will be important as we experience longer summers,  hotter temperatures, and more wildfire smoke due to climate change. 
  • Preventing future oil leaks from underground storage tanks that can contaminate the soil and ground water, and that can be hazardous to human health.  
  • Reducing future environmental damage, cleanup costs, and economic burdens to households. 

In future years, this programming at both the Office of Sustainability and Environment and Office of Housing will be supported by revenues from the Heating Oil Tax, which has been delayed until April 2022.  

“Providing no-cost conversions from heating oil to electric heat pumps has made a huge difference in the lives of the homeowners and families we have served so far,” said Emily Alvarado, Director, Seattle Office of Housing. “Not only do these conversions keep residents healthier and more comfortable throughout the year, but the associated energy savings also help low- and middle-income households afford to stay in their homes. This is especially important for households of color who are at the greatest risk of experiencing displacement, housing instability, and negative health outcomes from climate change and other environmental factors.” 

Since 2017, the City has provided nearly 775 rebates and since 2019 has converted 65 low-income households at no cost, to clean electric heat pumps. The City offers a $1,500 instant rebate on qualified heat pumps installed by a participating installer. A list of installers can be found at www.NoMoreOilHeat.com  Mayor Durkan released her proposed 2022 budget and transmitted to council on Monday, September 27. More here: www.seattle.gov/budget

City of Seattle Releases Newly Updated Urban Forest Management Plan

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Trees are fundamental to the character of Seattle and to our quality of life. In our rapidly changing climate, Seattle’s urban forest is an increasingly important asset, playing a critical role in mitigating climate change impacts, including heat island effects, as well as supporting Seattle’s public health, providing habitat for wildlife, creating spaces for exploration and enjoyment, cleaning our air and water, and reducing the quantity of stormwater runoff, further helping water quality.

This year’s extreme heat events have had devastating impacts, especially in low income and Black, Indigenous, People of Color communities. Trees are an effective tool to reduce the impacts of heat events, reducing temperatures in and around homes. The role of trees in mitigating this significant and increasing impact to our community underscores how important it is to ensure the urban forest is effectively managed.

Updated Urban Forest Management Plan Provides a Roadmap to a Healthy Urban Forest

Seattle’s newly updated Urban Forest Management Plan provides a framework for policy and action that guides City government decision-making to help Seattle maintain, preserve, enhance, and restore its urban forest.

The core of the plan is a set of outcomes, strategies, actions, and indicators that will guide department staff in supporting a healthy and sustainable urban forest across Seattle’s publicly and privately owned lands.

The suite of actions included in the plan support and protect the urban forest through its full range of growth and development, from on-the-ground tree maintenance and stewardship to promote the health and longevity of the existing canopy; to focusing City tree planting and maintenance in communities that are harmed first and worst by the effects of extreme heat and other inequities; to planning for an urban forest that can withstand the next several centuries in a changing climate by identifying tree species resilient to climate change and pests; to investing in restoration of forested natural areas that provide a welcome respite from summer weather and an in-city forest refuge for our communities and wildlife; to incentivizing tree planting and stewardship on private land through providing trees, education, and resources; to actions aimed at protecting the urban forest, such as updating tree protection regulations. The plan also includes actions to enhance coordination and communication and to further build relationships with BIPOC and low-income communities so that they realize all the benefits of Seattle’s trees and green spaces.

The guiding principles of the Plan are a diverse, comprehensive set of outcomes developed by the multi-departmental Urban Forestry Core Team through a robust, inclusive engagement process:

  1. Racial and social equity. Urban forestry benefits and responsibilities are shared fairly across communities, community trust is built, and decisions are guided by diverse perspectives, including those of environmental justice priority communities.
  2. Ecosystems and human health. The urban forest improves air quality, human well-being, public health and water quality; provides beauty, environmental and economic benefits, fish and wildlife habitat, food, outdoor fun; and helps store rainwater.
  3. Human safety and property protection. In implementing the work, urban forestry teams use up-to-date practices to protect the safety of the public and staff.
  4. Climate change. Urban forestry work helps people, and urban trees and vegetation adapt to, recover from, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
  5. Community care. The Seattle community, including all people, organizations, institutions, and businesses, works together to appreciate and care for the urban forest and to understand tree protection regulations.
  6. Balance competing priorities. City government will work to grow, maintain, preserve, enhance, and restore Seattle’s urban forest as it meets other priorities. Urban forestry practices and policies work with and support other City and community goals including access to spaces, climate action, culturally appropriate resource provision, economic development, environmental protection, social justice, food and medicine production, housing, balancing tree shade with light, public safety, recreation, transportation, and utility provision.

In order to achieve these outcomes, the Plan includes seven overarching strategies that represent a comprehensive approach to mobilizing informed and effective action. A prioritized set of actions, including the actions described above as well as others, form the action agenda through which the Plan will be implemented and through which the urban forest is managed.

An Integrated Approach to Urban Forest Management

Seattle’s urban forestry functions are organized in an integrated approach, where the responsibilities for the work are housed in nine departments that conduct urban forestry work. These departments worked together to develop this plan and will lead implementation to ensure effective management of this citywide resource across the departments.

The City’s first Urban Forest Management Plan was created in 2007; this is the second update of the Plan.

The City’s Urban Forestry Core Team members worked with their department leadership and staff teams throughout the plan development process. It was also important to hear from community in preparing this update, so an inclusive engagement plan was created to reach out to historically underrepresented communities as the plan was developed.

A Robust, Inclusive Engagement Process

That public engagement plan was carried out in two phases, with initial outreach focusing on BIPOC communities, as well as other key stakeholders, in 2018-19 prior to putting pen to paper. The first draft of the plan was created with that initial input.

The second phase included engagement with and feedback from the Urban Forestry Commission as well as sharing the draft plan with the community and other key stakeholders. Listening session participants and the Community Based Organizations that supported BIPOC engagement in Phase I were also re-engaged in order to make sure we incorporated their input into the goals, strategies, and actions.

All of this input was summarized and considered, and appropriate changes incorporated into the Plan. The team then conducted the SEPA process, which resulted in a Determination of Non-Significance which was not appealed. With the SEPA process finalized, the plan moved to final production and is now published.

The City’s Urban Forestry teams look forward to working together and with community partners to implement the action agenda and continue ensuring the health of this important resource today and for many generations to come. More information on the plan and the City’s Urban Forestry work is available on the Trees for Seattle website.

Environmental Justice Fund Application is Now Open

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Image Text: Environmental Justice Fund

The application process is now open for the Environmental Justice Fund, a grant opportunity that supports community-led projects that improve environmental conditions, respond to impacts of climate change, and get us closer to achieving environmental justice. The deadline to apply is Monday, September 13 at 4pm. 

Application Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EJF2021

This year, up to $750,000 is available for grants thanks to City Council’s adoption of the Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force recommendations which allocated an additional $500,000 to the Environmental Justice Fund. The Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force is a diverse group of people of color and community leaders representing a cross-section of industries, including environmental justice, who came together to spearhead the process of developing recommendations for a $30 million investment into our BIPOC communities. Funds will be administered by the Bullitt Foundation. Projects will be awarded no less than $25,000 and no more than $75,000 for an 18-month period beginning January 2022.

Selected members of Seattle’s Environmental Justice Committee play a critical role in the oversight of the fund. The Committee’s goal is to deepen the influence of communities of color in City environmental programs to ensure that the stories, experiences, and policy priorities of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color shape Seattle’s environmental work. The Committee is guided by the Equity & Environmental Agenda, a roadmap to advance race and social justice within Seattle’s environmental work. 

To learn more about the Fund, the review process, qualities of a strong proposal and to ask questions, join an upcoming virtual information session. RSVP here for first session that will take place on Monday, August 16 at 3pm and RSVP here for the second session taking place on Wednesday, August 25 at 12pm.  

Application: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EJF2021