Executive Summary
The intent of this proposal is to support the University of Washington’s student chapter of The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER-UW) to better achieve our mission of promoting restoration ecology as a means of sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and reestablishing an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture. We are requesting funds to develop interpretive displays, more useable spaces at our on-campus restoration site, and resources to keep pace with our members interest in conducting both restoration projects and community outreach events (e.g. collaborative meetings, seminars, and travel to conferences).
Our restoration site, The Whitman Nature Walk, is located on north campus between Whitman Court NE and the Denny Field IMA tennis courts along the Whitman Walk pedestrian path (Fig 1). The northern section of Whitman Walk is a small forest tract that has been restored by SER-UW over the past five years and is the nexus of our organizations efforts. This site embodies the mission of SER-UW and the proposed interpretive displays would be located here. SER-UW also participates in restoration activities at other locations across campus, and throughout King and Pierce Counties. We also maintain a native plant nursery at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH) and hold outreach events at the UW School for Environmental and Forest Sciences (SEFS). The total amount requested for these projects is $14,712 and would endow these increasingly popular activities.