Exploring the West Duwamish Greenbelt – Seattle’s Largest Contiguous Forest

The West Duwamish Greenbelt carpets the eastern flank of West Seattle overlooking the Duwamish River and the industrial space along it. It retains layers of history in the patchwork forest mosaic, from old growth madrone on the top of the ridge to recent restoration efforts with conifers planted beneath the aging cottonwoods in the lowlands below. Join West Seattle resident and restoration ecologist Rodney Pond for a virtual tour and homecoming to the forest he helped restore.

Rodney Pond is a plant ecologist with a passion for ecosystem restoration as well as a certified horticulturalist and plant geek. He has lived in Seattle for 28 years and worked in the field of ecosystem restoration, horticulture, natural resource management, stormwater management, environmental and horticultural education, and applied ecological research locally during that time. He earned his MS in Forest Resources from the University of Washington in 2005. Rodney is Executive Director for Sound Salmon Solutions, a Regional Fisheries Enhancement Group (RFEG) based in Mukilteo and Adjunct Faculty with the Horticulture Department at Edmonds College.