West Seattle parks: City plans more work in upper Me-Kwa-Mooks

From the city:

Seattle Parks and Recreation, in conjunction with the Green Seattle Partnership, is undertaking another project to preserve portions of Me-Kwa-Mooks Park off SW Jacobsen Road. Activities will include control of 4 acres of invasive weeds, planting thousands of native plants, erosion control and litter removal with the help of urban forestry crews and volunteer support.

The public can expect to see activity throughout the year on Parks-owned properties that lie along Jacobsen Road between the western boundary of SW Hudson and SW 56th Ave.

The public will still have access to enjoy Me-Kwa-Mooks Park on established trails throughout the duration of the project. The project will help conserve one of West Seattle’s most majestic green spaces while supporting the overall environmental stewardship goals of the urban forest system.

Dedicated citizens are also doing their part to take care of the park. Volunteer forest stewards and neighbors lead the removal of invasive plants and enhance wildlife habitat with native vegetation. Volunteer work parties are hosted on a regular basis throughout the year. People interested in volunteering can visit http://seattle.cedar.greencitypartnerships.org/event/map/ or contact Nicholas Stavish at sageandorchid@gmail.com to get involved. This is a unique way to experience parks and a great way to meet neighbors or satisfy school volunteer requirements.

Seattle is at risk of losing 70 percent of its trees in the forested natural areas during the next 20 years, and Seattle Parks has been working to reverse that trend. Seattle’s forested parkland covers nearly 6 percent of the metropolitan area and comprises 20 percent of Seattle’s overall urban forest canopy. The forest plays an important role in protecting air and water quality in the city, while also providing opportunities to observe urban wildlife, learn about the environment and participate in restoration activities. The Green Seattle Partnership is one of the largest public-private forest urban restoration programs in the country. To learn more about the program, visit greenseattle.org.

For more information on this project please contact Michael Yadrick, Seattle Parks Natural Resources Unit at 206-615-1046 or michael.yadrick@seattle.gov

5 Replies to "West Seattle parks: City plans more work in upper Me-Kwa-Mooks"

  • Buffy February 26, 2014 (3:37 pm)

    That is great news. A great park. Here is hoping that the off-leash dogsters don’t ruin the good work.

  • Petert February 26, 2014 (3:41 pm)

    I’m wondering if anything will be done with the foundation of that old house that is still on the park property ? I’m thought at one time it was the original Chilberg estate, but I could be wrong. There are some ancient rhody bushes still sprouting around it.

  • sc February 26, 2014 (5:32 pm)

    Me-Kwa-Mooks Park is land that was the homestead of West Seattle pioneers Ferdinand and Emma Schmitz. The foundation was their home.

  • NW February 26, 2014 (5:53 pm)

    The properties that lie along Jacobsen road use to have a skateboard halfpipe that some of us locals installed and years after there were also some extreme BMX jumps that I saw other go BIG on. Great to see it is being taken care of to bring back to its natural beauty.

  • cj February 26, 2014 (9:24 pm)

    This is great news. I always thought the park would be a great access tool to connect upper West Seattle down to Beach. How about putting a stairway in? This could be a great access between the folks above ( think new genesee school) and Alki

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