By restoring lands close to home, we can improve our quality of life and the health of local communities.

EVERGREEN Restoration Program

Tackling a global problem through local action.

Together with corporate and nonprofit partners, field partners, and volunteers, Forterra’s Evergreen Restoration Program embraces a holistic approach to ecological restoration to improve our region’s resilience against climate change.

Your assistance helps Forterra fight against climate change, restore critical habitats for plants and animals, while providing greater access to clean water, fresh air, and natural areas. We invite you to join us.

Email us at:

restoration@forterra.org

Make a
Commitment

Drive Positive
Local & Global Change

Get Involved today

Invest in Change: Direct Impact

Fund Community Restoration Grants:

Support community-driven solutions to maximize social and environmental equity in restoration projects.

Fund trees for field partners:

Site preparation with invasive plant removal. Tree planting includes monitoring and a tree replanting protocol.

Fund a crew:

Support critical restoration tasks volunteers cannot do like using herbicide to remove noxious weeds.

To fund trees for partners, or to fund a crew, please email us at restoration@forterra.org

On the Ground: Employee Engagement

Explore:

Learn more about Forterra’s role in preserving land and the importance of ecological restoration, through Lunch and Learns, Forterra Fridays or a project field trip.

Get engaged:

Join in a Restoration Field Day or work party and actively participate in ecological stewardship of a project or a Restoration Field Day and work project.

For more information contact restoration@forterra.org

Adopt an Acre

This Program restores land in multiple phases.

Phase 1: Site Preparation: We will address noxious weeds that harm ecosystems and threaten native plant species.

Phase 2: Planting and Mulching: On sites with noxious weeds removed we will plant based on site conditions, ecosystem types, and climate resilience.

Phase 3: Plant Establishment: Ongoing invasive removal, mulching, and other maintenance to support native plant growth.

Phase 4: Monitoring and Site Support: Monitoring allows us to track progress and re-plant or re-enroll if needed based on several factors such as native plant density, and invasive species present.

Learn more about the science behind ERP

About the Evergreen Restoration Program

Forterra’s Evergreen Restoration Program engages in holistic restoration work by addressing all forest layers, managing invasive species, and implementing monitoring and maintenance programs throughout Western Washington. Tree planting is part of comprehensive habitat restoration efforts, so these actions not only mitigate the effects of carbon pollution but also help develop healthy, resilient forested parks and natural areas. We plant trees on lands we own or steward with our partners and provide trees to local stewardship organizations for their restoration efforts. We do this to provide critical habitat, clean air and water, and build our region’s climate resilience.

Your support can make a world of difference

Sequestering
tons of CO2

Planting
Trees

Partnering
with Forterra

Supporting
Local Action

Building Strong
Communities

2023 Evergreen Carbon
Capture by the numbers

Calculate your Carbon

Read the 2023 Annual Report

Explore Tree Map

Invest in Evergreen Restoration:
Grow Your Corporate Impact

Partner with Forterra to amplify your corporate responsibility efforts through our Evergreen Restoration Program. Reach out to restoration@forterra.org to explore collaboration opportunities today.

this is how we get it done

Local action to address a growing problem

Forterra created Evergreen Restoration Program (ERP) to provide local options to help address climate change. In addition to sequestering carbon, healthy local forests provide many other environmental and health benefits such as improving air quality, reducing soil erosion and water pollution, cooling cities and dampening noise pollution, recharging groundwater and sustaining stream flows, providing native wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation and reducing stormwater impacts.

Making change in the
region we love

Together with corporate and nonprofit partners, field partners, and volunteers, Forterra’s Evergreen Restoration Program plants native trees and plants around the Puget Sound, that improve our region’s resiliency against climate change.

Natural Climate Solutions

Land trusts conserve critical lands that help capture polluting gases, provide vital habitats for plants and animals, act as natural buffers along coasts and riverbeds, and absorb rainfall from intense storms. When we conserve land, not only are we permanently protecting that land for today and for future generations, we are also making progress in the fight against climate change, saving critical habitats for plants and animals, and providing greater access to clean water, fresh air, nutritious food and natural areas.

Forest Layers

Like an onion, forests are made up of different layers. For example, birds may nest in the canopy, while smaller mammals find shelter and food in the understory. Shrubs such as Salmonberry make food that is vital for several animal species. ERP will address all layers of the forest acknowledging the critical roles played by each layer.

Invasive Species Management

In many degraded ecosystems, invasive species have taken hold and can outcompete native vegetation. Simply planting trees without addressing these invasives can result in ongoing competition and the potential loss of newly planted trees. Noxious weeds are classified into distinct categories based on our ability to eradicate the weed, how widespread they are, and the threat they pose learn more here.

Monitoring and Site Maintenance

Forterra's accreditation as a land trust ensures these sites will be monitored annually for ecosystem health and threat assessment. This way we can proactively respond to disease, habitat degradation and other ecological threats. Sites enrolled in the Adopt-an-Acre program are monitored when enrolled and in years three and five using radial plots to estimate native plant cover and invasive species cover.

Plant Diversity

Broadening plant diversity to multiple species allows us to better fit each site’s needs and habitat types, fulfilling more ecological functions, and fostering more resilient ecosystems.

Empower Environmental Leadership:
Join Forces with Forterra

Stand out as a leader in sustainability – Demonstrate your commitment to preserving natural ecosystems while fostering a greener future.
Contact us at restoration@forterra.org to discuss how your corporation

Frequently
asked
questions

Why is Forterra moving away from the Evergreen Carbon Capture Program?

Forterra’s Evergreen Carbon Capture (ECC) program is becoming less relevant with the evolving climate markets. With the Evergreen Restoration program, we are shifting from carbon mitigation to embracing a holistic approach to ecological restoration. This means we are addressing invasive species, multiple ecosystem types, and all layers of the forest.

How will the Evergreen Restoration Program measure their impact?

We will continue to use the ECC Webmap, ECC Annual Report and ERP Quarterly Reports to demonstrate our impact.

For every Evergreen Restoration Program event hosted by Forterra, we will assess the following where applicable: number of trees, shrubs, and ground cover planted, mulch spread, specific invasive species removed (such as English ivy, Himalayan blackberry), and invasive species cover before and after.

How does Forterra take to address invasive species during restoration events?

We will follow Best Management Practices laid out by King County Noxious Weeds here.

What are some benefits of a healthy forest?

Over the next 100 years, the trees planted in Forterra’s Evergreen Capture Program in 2023 will…

Create 28 football fields of tree canopy
Absorb 9,350 tons of CO2
Intercept 183,004,387.4 Gallons of Rainfall
Stop 244,621,103.1 Gallons of Runoff
Tons of O3 Removed: 37.8
Tons of NO2 Removed: 26.8
Tons of SO2 Removed: 1.5
Tons of PM2.5 Removed: 2.9

You can learn more about the benefits of a healthy forest, at the science behind the Evergreen Restoration Program. Additionally, did you know that spending just 20 minutes in nature can significantly lower stress hormones? The Evergreen Restoration Program also offers other benefits, such as providing wildlife habitat and erosion control that are challenging to quantify but equally important.”that are challenging to quantify but equally important.

Partners

Drive Positive Change
with Forterra

Let’s shape a greener tomorrow and build a legacy of environmental stewardship.
Email us at restoration@forterra.org and be part of the solution today!