(First two photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
Nature Consortium‘s new executive director Merica Whitehall (above right) been on the job just a few weeks, and today she’s out with a legion of volunteers, including Deputy Mayor Kate Joncas (above left), for NC’s MLK Day of Service event in the West Duwamish Greenbelt east of Riverview Playfield. Mayor Ed Murray was on the way after a big MLK Day event at Garfield High School. Here’s another VIP we caught on her way up from the work site:

If you don’t know her already, that’s newly crowned Miss Seattle Taryn Smith, a West Seattle High School senior. The West Duwamish Greenbelt, Seattle’s largest contiguous forest, is the focus of Nature Consortium’s restoration work, planting trees and removing tree-killing invasives so that the forest can survive and thrive into the future. We expect to add a few more photos later.

1:56 PM: From the NC Instagram feed – first, a short video clip including something they’re famous for, providing music while volunteers work:

If you didn’t get to sign up for today’s event – Nature Consortium has many others, at least once a week – check naturec.org for opportunities.