Thank you to the volunteers that joined us for our annual Green Kirkland Day in October! We had over 100 folks join us over two days at four parks to kick-off planting season. Our hearty volunteers gave hundreds of baby trees, shrubs and groundcovers a new home in our Parks!

If you missed the fun - don't worry, we still have many open events this weekend and beyond. Our event at Josten Park this Saturday November 6th is still open and the stewardship event at Windsor Vista park on Veteran's Day, Thursday November 11th has many open spots for those looking to help with native planting!

Checkout our event calendar for the most up-to-date listings.

A special thanks to our families and neighbors who joined us in October. Also, a HUGE thanks to our teams from:

Tilth Alliance, TEK Systems, Environment and Adventure School, Open Window School, Girl Scouts, Kirkland Rotary, Evergreen Health, Microsoft, Juanita High Earth Corps Club, and Lake Washington High Key Club and Honor Society.

The State of Washington is looking for help tracking down locations of Tree-of-heaven here in Washington State. This invasive tree is a fast growing, thicket forming tree that excludes native vegetation by exuding chemicals into the soil that limit plant growth.

This species has a distinct multi-part leaf, bark with the texture of cantaloupe rind, and a very distinct, stinky smell of peanut butter when branches are broken. Once you pull it you won't forget it!

Though harmful to natural areas as a tree, it is more dangerous as a host to the invasive spotted lantern fly. The spotted lantern fly is a small (1 inch), invasive insect that feeds on and damages grapes, hops and other fruiting species critical to the Washington economy. Adult spotted lanternfly have grey forewings with dark sots and hindwings with a distinct red, yellow, and black coloration.

Though established populations of spotted lantern fly have not been found in Washington state, there is significant concern that this species will colonize Tree-of-heaven and thus the State agencies are hoping to map locations of Tree-of-haven for any potential control efforts.

Visit the links below to learn more and to report locations of these species.

For more information and to report Tree-of-heaven visit the Washington Invasive Species Council press release: https://invasivespecies.wa.gov/2021/09/29/help-track-the-invasive-tree-of-heaven/

Tree-of-Heaven and Spotted lanternfly pamphlet:

https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/pdfs/Tree_of_heaven_and_spotted_lanternfly_small.pdf

For more information about Tree-of-Heaven: 

https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/weeds/tree-of-heaven

For more information on Spotted lanternfly: https://invasivespecies.wa.gov/priorityspecies/spotted-lanternfly/

Photo: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

As you may know, the City of Kirkland is working to update Kirkland’s Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan. As part of that process, the Parks Department is collecting input from as many folks as possible, including folks who live or work in Kirkland.

You are invited to take our online community survey: https://playitforwardsurvey.org/open. The survey is available in multiple languages and closes November 11, 2021.

Please take 10 minutes to participate in this important survey so they can hear more about your wants and needs for Kirkland’s parks, recreation and open spaces. Also, please share the survey. The City would like to hear from as many Kirkland community members as possible!

Learn more about the Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan at www.kirklandwa.gov/playitforward. Please send questions and comments to playitforward@kirklandwa.gov   

Thank you for helping the Parks Department imagine the future of parks, recreation and open spaces in Kirkland.