Last weekend, on January 28, Swansons partnered with the King County Parks Department to create a wildlife hedgerow of native trees and shrubs at Tolt-MacDonald Park in Carnation, Washington.
Volunteers planting in Tolt-MacDonald Park
Swansons was thrilled to participate and to donate over 200 plants the restoration project! We were able to do so in part because of our Gift that Grows program. Participating in a Gift that Grows is a great way to make a difference during the holidays with the purchase of buttons and living Christmas trees. For every button and living Christmas tree sold, Swansons donated one native plant to King County Parks. Customers were also able to bring their purchased living trees to Swansons after the holidays as a donation to King County Parks.
This year, our customers donated 20 living trees and we were able to donate an additional 220 native shrubs for the project. These plants - along with about 300 more from King County Parks - found a new home at Tolt-MacDonald Park in Carnation!
We had the pleasure of meeting with Tina Miller, Volunteer & Restoration Coordinator for King County Parks Dept., and her associate, Theresa, who helped bring together volunteers from Swansons, AmeriCorps, and generous families around the community for this fun planting event.
We even saw some of Swansons’ local neighbors there! Three generations of one family came to the volunteer planting event: Martha, Kirsten, and the youngest, Annika. Not only did they come to join the planting efforts, but they got to plant the living tree that they actually had in their home over the holidays, lovingly nicknamed “Short Round” (pictured below, right) through The Gift that Grows program.
We're grateful for all of the restoration efforts that King County Parks works hard to continue and we couldn't be happier to be a part of the effort.
Most importantly, thank YOU to everyone who donated a sustainable living tree after the holiday season or purchased a 'Gift that Grows' button this year! You helped make this event possible. Many thanks to all of the volunteers we had the pleasure of planting alongside!
Learn more about a Gift that Grows and about King County Parks volunteer efforts.