THERE IS SO MUCH TO BE PROUD OF IN 2022 AND MORE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN THE YEAR AHEAD
Northwest
The surge in outdoor interest is also a call to action. We need more trails and accessible green spaces to ensure an inclusive future where everyone can thrive. That is why, with your generous support, we are working with communities across the Northwest to close the outdoor equity gap.
Thank you for bringing the wonder of nature closer to everyone.
Mitsu Iwasaki Northwest Regional Director and AVP
Chiloquin Community Schoolyard, Chiloquin, OR© SPAYNE MARTINEZ
This year, supporters like you created public access to miles of trails. In Southern Oregon, we opened a new community forest and are working with the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians to return their ancestral forestlands. In Central Washington, we are working with partners to conserve 35,000 acres of high-priority forestland over the next seven years. We created the Jim Ellis Fund for Land Conservation to ensure we can protect the Mountains to Sound Greenway forests threatened by population growth.
More people than ever are heading outside to enjoy parks and trails. Popular trails and parks welcomed more visitors than ever this year. We are celebrating this movement outside. Nature’s health and happiness benefits are too good not to share. From favorites like Washington’s Rattlesnake Ledge to new trails in Southern Oregon, the green spaces you helped create are connecting people to the outdoors.
Thank you for being a TPL champion!
Chiloquin Elementary Community Schoolyard in Southern Oregon, and South Lynnwood Park in Washington. The Northwest Community Schoolyards program is growing and thriving, expanding access to nature at eight schoolyards across the Northwest.
Together, we are creating nature-rich places, improving health, nurturing joy, and strengthening connections to the outdoors and one another.
Your support created high-quality park access for thousands of people. We opened two new parks:
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Anna worked in real estate as a GIS analyst and brings her strong technical skills to land conservation. Anna reports that cohort members learn from experienced project managers and from each other. Anna reflected, “The Next Generation cohort has allowed me the opportunity to interact with peers across the nation to share experiences and knowledge. This collaboration has cultivated creative approaches to my own work in Oregon.”
PHOTOS © TPL STAFF
Like you, we are committed to creating a greener, more equitable future in the Northwest. When we outlined a path to that future, we ran up against two obstacles: staff capacity and diversity. To meet our goals, we needed to grow our staff and invest in young leaders who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.
We are pleased to introduce Paulina Racette and Anna Hadlich, two members of the Northwest Team who are part of the first cohort of young professionals in field offices across the country.
MEET PAULINA AND ANNA: The Next Generation of Land Conservation Professionals
LEAVE A LEGACY
“I’ve always been a believer in TPL’s mission, ‘Land for People,’ as it aligns directly with my personal and professional goal of creating a better world for my three-year-old son and all future generations. My participation in this program has allowed me to work from my heart,” explained Paulina.
Paulina’s experience in natural resource management in Hawai‘i sparked her passion for land conservation.
Help the next generation build a greener, more equitable future by making a planned gift. Visit tpl.planmygift.org or contact plannedgiving@tpl.org to learn how you can make an impact through a beneficiary designation, will, trust, or retirement fund.
“We supported this program because we think it’s important to invest in young leaders,” said Josh Anderson, NW Advisory Board Chair. Josh and his wife Katherine joined fellow philanthropists in providing financial support to launch the program.
We launched the Next Generation of Land Conservation Professionals program to create pathways into conser vation careers. In the program, young professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds spend two years learning and working with accomplished TPL project managers.
LEFT: Paulina Racette joined the team in Seattle, Washington. RIGHT: Anna Hadlich joined the team in Bend, Oregon.
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In my whole 13 years of living, no one actually listened and said, ‘Okay, this is what we’re planning on doing. I like this idea.’”
Our long-term goal is to make community schoolyards a standard practice in the Northwest, serving as a hub for community connection, improved health and education, and climate resiliency.
— Tacoma student
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
OREGON RURAL SCHOOLYARDS
LOOKING AHEAD
Access to the outdoors is essential for healthy, happy kids and communities. But today, more than 2 million people in Washington and Oregon—including 500,000 kids—do not have a park within a 10-minute walk of home. In many cities, neighborhoods do not have undeveloped land to create new parks. And many smaller communities do not have a local parks department, making it difficult for local governments to build new parks.
NORTHWEST HEALTHY FORESTS, HEALTHY COMMUNITIES: Protect the forests most important to communities.
As we celebrate 50 years of TPL, we are more committed than ever to connecting everyone to the outdoors. Join us to define our future.
With your generous support, we are working with communities across the Northwest to create beautiful, inspiring schoolyards unique to each community.
But in communities large and small, nearly every neighborhood has a school on land that the public already owns. Today, many of these schoolyards feature outdated play equipment, well-worn fields, and blacktop that can reach extremely high temperatures in the heat. Transforming schoolyards into dynamic green spaces that are open to the community after school hours can expand access to nature for thousands of families.
Tacoma has the largest park access gap of any major city in Washington. In Tacoma’s Eastside and South End neighborhoods, one in three residents do not have a park close to home. In response to this inequity, we are partnering with Tacoma Public Schools and Metro Parks Tacoma to renovate and open five new community schoolyards. Last year, students and neighbors created and finalized designs for these schoolyards, which we will build in 2023. Once completed, these new Community Schoolyards will increase park access for more than 20,000 residents and give 2,200 kids daily access to nature at school.
Northwest Community Schoolyards™: From asphalt to extraordinary
reach. In many areas, nearby land is privately owned, and public trails require a long drive. Schools are often already the social center of communities. By transforming outdated schoolyards into vibrant public green spaces, we can expand access to nature for kids and adults. Thanks to supporters like you, we celebrated the opening of Chiloquin Elementary Community Schoolyard in Southern Oregon this summer. Now, we are expanding our efforts to transform three more schoolyards in rural communities across Oregon.
TPL IN THE NORTHWEST: Create the parks and public land we need to thrive.
Forests and farms surround Oregon’s rural communities. But for residents, nature is often off limits or out of
NORTHWEST COMMUNITY SCHOOLYARDS: Transform outdated schoolyards into vibrant green spaces for everyone to enjoy.
TACOMA SCHOOLYARDSCOMMUNITY
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© ADAIR FREEMAN RUTLEDGE; BOTTOM: We collaborated with students to design and install climbing boulders at First Creek Community Space in Tacoma. © RUSS CARMACK
LARGE: The Chiloquin Elementary Community Schoolyard is open to the community after school and on the weekends.
© SPAYNE MARTINEZ; INSET TOP: Students design their own schoolyard in our extensive community engagement process.
Forests can be powerful climate solutions. But catastrophic wildfires reduce their ability to capture carbon and fight climate change. Strategic forest management can protect communities from catastrophic wildfires and maximize the power of our forests to combat climate change.
Thanks to your support, we raised the funds needed to acquire the forest and helped the town create Butte Falls Community Forest. The new community forest ensures public access to the historic falls of Big Butte
Driven by a vision for sustainable forests, community members created the Upper Wenatchee Community Lands Plan. The plan identifies 35,000 acres of private forestland, which, if conserved, would have the greatest potential to reduce the impact of catastrophic wildfires, protect habitat, and expand recreation opportunities. Last year, TPL reached an agreement with the landowner and created a framework to protect all 35,000 acres over the next seven years. Now, we are working with partners to transfer ownership to the public.
PROTECTING LAND TO SECURE LIFE-SUSTAINING RESOURCES
Camp Hahobas in Hood Canal, WA. Protected by TPL in 2019. © THOMAS BARTON
BUTTE FALLS COMMUNITY FOREST
The Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities program conserves the forests we need to fight climate change and help protect against devastating wildfires. Your generosity safeguards forests that provide essential benefits from carbon capture and clean water to recreation and jobs.
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UPPER COMMUNITYWENATCHEELANDS PLAN
We are helping Ilwaco, a rural community on the Washington coast, secure their drinking water supply by creating the Bear Ridge Community Forest. Like many communities in the region, Ilwaco gets its drinking water from the natural, green infrastructure provided by nearby forestland. Once conserved, the new community forest will keep drinking water clean, create public access to miles of trails, and capture carbon for generations to come.
HEALTHY FORESTS, HEALTHYLevelingCOMMUNITIES:up a climate superpower
Creek, the town’s namesake, and will provide miles of close-to-home trails. Now, the town can manage the forest strategically to reduce catastrophic wildfire risk and create a safer future for the Butte Falls community.
The Oregon Department of Forestry ranks Jackson County third in the state for wildfire risk. In 2020, a massive fire came within a half-mile of the town of Butte Falls. The 430-acre forest surrounding the community could be a threat—or it could be an asset. For years, acquisition of the forest has been a high priority for residents. When the landowner was willing to sell, the town turned to partners, including TPL, for help.
Increasingly, our magnificent Pacific Northwest summers are marred by devastating wildfires. Climate change is intensifying the frequency and severity of catastrophic wildfires. Vulnerable communities face dire consequences: lost homes, livelihoods, and even lives.
Led by the former dean of University of Washington School of Public Health, Howard Frumkin, TPL’s Land and People Lab applies rigorous evidence and state-of-the-art analysis to accelerate the national movement for parks and public land. We inform policies and practices, build partnerships, and share resources to expand access to the outdoors. This year, the Lab released a first-of-its-kind Conservation Carbon Map. The new interactive map connects data on carbon captured by forests to parcel-level land data to determine where conservation can have the greatest climate impact.
THE LAND & PEOPLE LAB
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© GORDON CONGDON
Join us Help ensure everyone has access to the outdoors. Every park we create, schoolyard we transform, trail we extend, and landscape we protect is thanks to supporters like you. tpl.org/donate Mitsu Iwasaki Northwest Regional Director and AVP 425.922.2940 mitsu.iwasaki@tpl.org Danny Rees Northwest Director of Philanthropy 206.274.2921 danny.rees@ tpl.org 1218 Third Avenue Suite Seattle,1700WA 98101 THANK YOU for helping improve the health, equity, and climate outcomes for communities in the Northwest and beyond. We could not do this without you. NORTHWEST ADVISORY BOARD Marco Abbruzzese Peter Ackroyd David Allnutt Josh AshleyTonyTeresaAnderson†BenditoCavalieriCamhi Barbara Fielden Alden Garrett Fabiola Greenawalt Annalee Luhman Rupa KatieJerryShonCodyTomLesliePatelReddReeve*ReiterSylviaTone*Young † Chair * National Board EMERITUS Mary F. Black T. William Booth Jessyn Farrell Campbell Mathewson Douglass Raff Brady MarthaWalkinshawWyckoff NEXT COMMITTEESTEERINGGENERATION Colleen Azelby Lilah ConnerPowellAshleyKrystalJescelleBonnieBuchananLeiMajorMeinersMocorroPackard Lizbeth RiveraLaurenColleenMichelleElliotEstradaSmithSongToomeyWyckoff COVER, TOP: © TEGRA STONE NUESS; © RUSS CARMACK; © CHRIS BENNETT LARGE: © DAVID RYDER; THIS PAGE: © CHRIS BENNETT
