In partnership with Boeing, the Seattle Sounders established “Change Champions,” an initiative that highlights local organizations and the impact they have in their communities.
Prior to the Oct. 4 match against the Portland Timbers, the club honored Trust for Public Land (TPL), a nonprofit organization committed to ensuring communities can experience the benefits and joys of the outdoors.
“What we do is we really work with communities to create parks and protect public land where they're needed,” said Associate Vice President and Northwest Area Director Mitsu Iwasaki.
For over 50 years, Trust for Public Land has protected more than 4 million acres of land across the country and created 5,500 outdoor spaces, giving over 100 million people access to the outdoors. In Washington state specifically, the non-profit has preserved 150,000 acres of protected lands and connected about 150,000 people to a park within a 10-minute walk of home.
“Sometimes I think we are one of these really impactful organizations that no one knows about,” said Iwasaki. “For most of us in Washington, we probably touch a TPL project daily.”
A significant example includes the Olympic Sculpture Park in Downtown Seattle. Trust for Public Land did the land transaction underneath the park to take it from an industrial site to the ownership of the Seattle Art Museum. Additionally, they played a significant role in establishing the Mountains to Sound Greenway, which consists of one and a half million acres of green space from Seattle all the way out to Ellensburg, around the I-90 corridor.
“We helped to create that organization way back in 1991 and have done a number of [conservation projects] within that corridor like Rattlesnake Ridge, Cougar Mountain, Meadowbrook Farm and Camp Waskowitz,” said Iwasaki.
From parks, trails, to schoolyards, Trust for Public Land generates a sense of belonging through social connectivity while supporting healthier communities by increasing accessibility to outdoor recreational activities.
With the understanding that there is still a significant equity gap in recreation availability in this country today, TPL publishes ParkServe®, a tool that maps park access for every urban area in the U.S. to address park need, climate, equity, and health. This helps the nonprofit get a better idea of where they might have their next project, ensuring that every park they build has the most impact.
“We also put out what we call our ParkScore every year, that ranks the Top 100 most populous cities in the country, and Seattle actually ranks as number eight,” said Iwasaki. “There are five attributes to the ranking: It's acreage, investment, amenities, access and equity. And we know that Seattle ranks 100 points out of 100 in terms of investment, and 99 points in access. But then what we know is that it doesn't rank as high in acreage, amenities and equity. So that actually helps us to look at parts of the city that we might work on to help elevate that ParkScore ranking.”
Along with these two guides, Trust for Public Land relies on people in these communities to support the non-profit as it paves the way for a healthier country where everyone can enjoy the outdoors.
“Get outside, go to your park, talk to strangers, go play soccer, go play baseball, go for hikes, just rest and breathe in these parks that we help to create, and help to create welcoming spaces,” said Iwasaki. “Because, it's about connectivity in these parks and spaces where we can all feel welcome.
He continued: “Get engaged civically. Vote for resources for these parks, whether that's at the county level, the city level, or the state level. And I'd say, take care of those spaces. It's really important.”
For more information on Trust for Public Land and how you can support the cause, click HERE.
