On September 15, more than 130 volunteers from eight local companies completed seven work projects in the Arboretum as part of United Way of King County‘s annual Day of Caring event. University of Washington Botanic Gardens and Seattle Parks and Recreation crews supervised the work, while the Foundation coordinated the volunteer recruitment and logistics with United Way.
Volunteers from Microsoft battled blackberry and morning glory in the Woodland Garden. Teams from Google and IMPINJ pulled weeds in the Gateway to Chile, while a crew from Nordstrom removing dense thickets of blackberry from the Serviceberry Collection, just below the historic Overlook gazebo.
Microsoft volunteers weeding in the Woodland Garden.
Google volunteers weeding in the Gateway to Chile.
Volunteers from Chase weeded in the Holly Collection, while another group from Nordstrom removed blackberry from the Pinetum. Out on Waterfront Trail, a second group from IMPINJ cleared weeds, while teams from Fred Hutch and Sonos spread many, many wheelbarrows of mulch—12 cubic yards in total.
All told, the volunteers contributed 500 hours of service and pulled more than 50 cubic yards of weeds from over 20,000 square feet of planting beds—in some of the steepest and most difficult to access terrain in the Arboretum.
Nordstrom volunteers pulling blackberry from the Serviceberry Collection.
IMPINJ volunteers with Seattle Parks crew on the Waterfront Trail.
Thanks to these amazing volunteers, and to everyone who contributed to this special day, including Starbucks and CLIF Bar, who provided drinks and snacks for the workers.
MORE PHOTOS: See lots more photos from the event on our Facebook page.
