More than 150 Seattle Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena staff volunteered to restore Camp Long
Mesha Florentino, co-executive director of DNDA, walking with Buoy the sea troll, mascot of the Seattle Kraken hockey team. Photo by photographer Jamison A. Johnson.
On Wednesday, Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (DNDA) hosted more than 150 employees of the Seattle Kraken, Climate Pledge Arena, Kraken Community Iceplex, and Oak View Group at a forest restoration event at Camp Long.
The volunteers — which included the Kraken’s mascot, Buoy the sea troll, as well the team’s co-owner and co-chair, Samantha Holloway — collectively restored about 30,000 square feet of the forest floor (nearly the area of two ice hockey rinks). Seattle Kraken staff showed up for the cause, achieving the highest number of volunteers DNDA has hosted since 2018.
“Our team showed up and showed out, ready to get their hands dirty in support of sustainability and social impact. Even Buoy lent a hand!” said Rob Johnson, senior vice president of sustainability for the Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena. “We’re proud of the work we did with DNDA and look forward to more opportunities to make an impact in our community.”
Mascot Buoy helping volunteer with Seattle Kraken, Climate Pledge Arena, Kraken Community Iceplex, and Oak View Group staff. Photo by photographer Jamison A. Johnson.
DNDA’s restoration program — part of the Green Seattle Partnership — helps improve and preserve public natural areas across West Seattle. Our Nature team has been working at Camp Long for nearly a decade and, with the help of the community, they are slowly welcoming back the conifer-dominated forests that once proliferated. The forests will improve air and water quality in neighborhoods surrounding the park.
“We were thrilled to see our corporate partners join us in one of West Seattle’s community green spaces,” said Imani Sims, DNDA’s co-executive director of people and programs. “The Kraken, Climate Pledge Arena, and their partners set the example for how companies can tangibly advance climate goals on a local level… and how to have fun while doing it.”
Co-executive directors of DNDA, Mesha Florentino (left) and Imani Sims (right), joining forces with Buoy to volunteer and restore Camp Long. Photo by photographer Jamison A. Johnson.
The Seattle hockey volunteers installed 250 trees and shrubs — the last of the season, with native planting ending in March — and removed invasive plants from the remainder of the forest, nearly 20,000 square feet of the park. Volunteers cut down swaths of invasive and fast-growing blackberry and ivy. The invasive plants will be fully dug out by future volunteers this summer and replaced by more native plants later this year. Visit dnda.org/nature to volunteer with us this summer.
The volunteers spent a total of five hours working to restore Camp Long. Seattle Kraken staff joined us in the field after back-to-back games earlier in the week and just two days before the National Hockey League’s trade deadline on March 8.
The ice-cold weather didn’t phase the volunteer crew, either, with each team member bringing endless energy and dedication. After one volunteer dug up a large blackberry root, they exclaimed:
“It’s nature’s Stanley Cup!”
Volunteers victoriously holding up a large blackberry plant with root, an invasive species in the Camp Long forest. Photo by photographer Jamison A. Johnson.
DNDA looks forward to hosting more corporate partners outside in West Seattle to restore our shared natural areas. These events make great occasions for team building, opportunities to give back to community, or just an excuse to get outside and play in the mud. We host events on Tuesdays and Saturdays throughout the year that are free to attend and open to the public, and groups can inquire about the cost of holding an event on a custom schedule.
Interested organizations can fill out the group inquiry form at dnda.org/nature for DNDA to host them at a future volunteer work party.
— Written by DNDA Restoration Program Manager Ben Antonius