Marine View Park has a forested plateau in its upper section, and for seven years a group of neighbors has been taking it back from blackberry and ivy one Friday at a time. The group is called the Community Foresters. Most of its planting happens once the rain comes back, which makes the next two work parties, on Nov. 6 and Dec. 4, the main event of the season.

The program started in 2019. The City of Normandy Park runs it with Restoration Analytics & Design, a small firm known as RAD, and King Conservation District pays for it through its Member Jurisdiction Grant Program. In 2025 the district awarded $14,500 for the work. King Conservation District's 2025 award summary describes the project this way: RAD leads work parties and teaches restoration techniques to volunteer stewards on the park's plateau.

A calendar set by the rain

On the plateau, new plants go in between November and mid-March. RAD's final 2025 report to King Conservation District, included in the district's March 2026 grant subcommittee packet, explains why:

"Planting in the rainy months (November through mid-March) gives new plants the best chance of survival, since nature will water them."

The rest of the year has its own jobs. Pulling weeds works best when the ground is moist, because roots come out cleaner. In dry months the crew moves to shady areas, where the soil holds water a little longer. Mulch should be down before July, at least six to eight inches deep. The report calls it "a soil blanket." Once planted, native species need very little help. Watering should happen no more than one to four times over an entire dry season, because too much water undercuts the drought tolerance that makes these plants suited to the region in the first place.

So the hauling and pulling fill spring and summer, and November is when the new plants actually go in.

What went into the ground last November

In 2025 the Foresters held nine work parties. They cleared blackberry, ivy, bird cherry sprouts and European mountain ash from about 20,000 square feet and spread 20 cubic yards of arborist wood chips. In November they planted 159 native plants in Zone 7 and both halves of Zone 2, ground that had been solid weeds before.

The ninebark was planted for a reason. The sunny half of Zone 2 sits under PSE power lines, so volunteers learned which plants are safe to put near a utility right-of-way. They planted Pacific ninebark densely there to crowd out the blackberry. The report says ninebark leafs out in spring before the blackberry's fastest growth starts, which gives it a head start.

The forest is keeping score

RAD checks the vegetation every year using the Forest Landscape Assessment Tool, which was developed by the U.S. Forest Service. The tool sorts each area into a "Tree-iage" category, where category 1 is the healthiest forest and categories 1, 4 and 7 are the targets.

Here is how the 2025 readings compared with 2021:

• Zone 2, sunny side: up five categories
• Zone 6: up five categories
• Zone 2, shady side: up two categories after thorough weed removal
• Zone 7: up one category, with much less weed cover

Zones 1, 3, 4 and 5 got their restoration work in earlier years, before the 2025 focus moved to Zones 2 and 7. The weeds keep trying to return, though. After a site visit on March 6, 2026, the district's grant manager wrote that ivy and blackberry were regrowing and that the work is ongoing. The same note credits one tool with making "a big difference": a root slayer the volunteers use to dig out blackberry roots by hand. RAD's report says the same thing more bluntly: "Restoration never ends."

Why a work party lasts two hours

A small group does all of this. The district's site-visit note counts three to ten volunteers at each work party. The schedule was built around the regulars, and they asked for it to be shorter. Monthly sessions used to run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. They moved to 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. because, as RAD's report puts it:

"Our regular volunteers had repeatedly stated that they only 'have two hours worth of work' in them."

The report says the shorter window lets people work as hard as they want without feeling bad about slowing down near the end. It also admits the change lowers total volunteer hours, even though the crew still gets a lot done. Holidays shaped the calendar too. When a scheduled Friday lands on a holiday weekend, the work party moves to a different Friday.

The person leading the sessions is Joy Wood, RAD's restoration ecologist and stewardship specialist. Her RAD team profile says she has done restoration work since 2003, is a Certified Ecological Restoration Practitioner, holds an M.S. in Forest Resources from the University of Washington, and has trained more than 100 community stewards across King County.

What volunteers bring home

According to RAD's report, conversations at work parties often turn to restoration volunteers are doing on their own property and how they are helping neighbors do the same. The techniques taught on the plateau work in most Normandy Park yards:

1. Cut blackberry to knee height, then come back for the root ball. Roots have to be hauled away. Canes cut into pieces six inches or shorter won't resprout and can stay on the ground as mulch.
2. Don't cut holly or laurel at the main stem. That signals the side roots to sprout, and one weed tree can turn into dozens. Take out the roots.
3. Pull up European mountain ash. Its roots are shallow and come out easily.
4. Use ivy rolls and survival rings to free trees from ivy.
5. Plant natives in clusters. Grouped plants create small sheltered spots that help each other along.
6. Push woody debris aside before mulching, then spread it back over the top so the ground stays even and the wood keeps breaking down.

The city points to this kind of spread when it describes Normandy Park as home to one of King County's most significant urban tree canopies. The report's argument is simple. What volunteers learn in the park gets shared with neighbors, friends and family, and that adds up to a healthier forest across the whole city.

Nov. 6 and Dec. 4 on the plateau

The Normandy Park Blog covered the Oct. 2 planting. City Manager Amy Arrington's Sept. 25 weekly report lists two more 2026 dates:

• When: Friday, Nov. 6, and Friday, Dec. 4, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Where: Marine View Park, 20945 Marine View Dr SW
• Experience: None needed. Volunteers get hands-on training in native plants, invasive species and restoration.
• Sign-up: Email [email protected], or sign up in person at the park that day.
• What to bring: A water bottle, layers, sturdy shoes and clothes that can get muddy. Tools are provided, and RAD has gloves to lend.

RAD's volunteer page still mentions fall Saturdays with dates to be announced, while the city's newer report gives the two Fridays above. A quick email to the Community Foresters address before you go will confirm the details.

At Michelle Codd Homes, we follow the people and projects that keep Normandy Park's green spaces healthy. If you've joined a work party on the plateau, or you're planting natives in your own yard this winter, we'd love to hear how it's going. Get in touch and tell us what you're growing.