Press release protesting Seattle School District’s decision to cut down Ingraham High trees
You can read the entire release at Majority Rules. And according to the release (and also included in a KING 5 article) it seems like this isn’t the first rogue bulldozing the school district has undertaken recently.
They seem to have decided that allowing citizens the right to appeal their decisions is something they don’t have time for or that they need to do. This is not a single action here. Last week they did a similar destructive bullying tactic at Denny Sealth School in West Seattle. They bulldozed down the trees there that were part of a DNS appeal hearing while the hearing was still going on – ending any effective appeal. They apologized for their “mistake” but the trees were gone.
(On a side note - I think this might be the first West Seattle news I’ve seen reported elsewhere but not in the West Seattle Blog. Or most likely, I probably just didn’t find the article over there.)
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I read that in the newspaper article and it was the first time I’d heard there was any dispute over trees as part of the Denny/Sealth project, which is weird because the local folks who’ve been closely watching that project have kept us up to date if it’s something we didn’t catch first ourselves. I was at the campus week before last for a district show-n-tell re: the first stage of construction, and none of the work they were doing seemed to be anywhere near trees - they have hazmat abatement in the old cafeteria, floor work in the old commons (this is at Sealth; there’s no Denny work going to be happening for quite some time). I also watch the Hearing Examiner’s calendar and while there have been some West Seattle-related items on the agenda, nothing related to this, unless it was in a different jurisdiction. Till I can dig up some more specifics from somebody (bad pun) … I’m stumped.
P.S. Steve Zemke of Majority Rules told me it was an appeal brought by Chris Jackins being heard by a SPS hearing examiner, not the city. I now have a message out to Jackins, who apparently doesn’t have e-mail, to try to find out more … the neighborhood activists who have most closely watched Denny/Sealth have no clue of any tree controversy here. Just a side note, pales in comparison to the north end situation you’re covering.
Wow, thanks for doing that legwork - I’m more and more impressed with the journalists at the West Seattle Blog.
I sent the following e-mail to the Seattle Schools Facilities Planning address this morning:
I am a former member of the State Urban Forestry Council and have access to a large body of scientific research on the functions of trees in cities.
I urge you most strongly to reconsider your decision to cut down a large stand of mature conifer trees at Ingraham. As the major institution in our society dedicated to fostering knowledge, intelligence and ultimately wisdom, your leadership role is much larger than this particular project demonstrates. Our understanding of the climate change enveloping us due to short-sighted development actions of human civilization makes this a crucial time for a new, more far-sighted and thoughtful kind of leadership.
Each of the mature conifer trees you propose to cut down holds thousands of tons of sequestered carbon dioxide. Elimination of those trees will also require hundreds of thousands of dollars in new drainage infrastructure to carry the water that trees naturally suck up in our rainy climate. There are a number of other economic benefits that mature trees provide that will be eliminated by your current plan.
But most disturbing is the negative example you - our primary public learning institution - will set by repeating the same kind of narrow, short-sighted decision about environmental impacts that has led to the global climate challenge we now face. The forest cover of our region is shrinking at an alarming rate because of the cumulative effect of thousands on individual development decisions made within the framework of one project, one place at a time. It’s always the same set of reasons - narrow thinking, lack of recognizing the bigger picture and money.
As a public school system whose primary goal is to educate children to become thoughtful citizens, please consider the example you would set by cutting the Ingraham trees, not only for the students at the school today, but for all citizens of the city - the developers, city leaders, planners, the home owners who want a better view and all the children who are learning in the classrooms about the natural environment and our human affect on the global climate. Give us a reason to hope we can meet this challenge. GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARDS.
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