Greeks in the Park May 2, 2009

WHAT: A number of volunteers from Seattle area Greek-Letter organizations will focus on invasive plant removal – especially blackberry and ivy – from areas that support an abundance of bird species to take part in one of 24 scheduled TogetherGreen volunteer events celebrating Earth Day. These synchronized events – 240 annually - will take place over a course of three weekends, providing people with many opportunities to get involved. TogetherGreen(www.togethergreen.org) is an Audubon conservation initiative funded by a five-year grant from Toyota, the largest in Audubon’s history.

The Seattle event will offer excellent photo opportunities between 12pm and 2pm at Seward Park, providing great local stories on Earth Day, environmental volunteerism, and non-profit/corporate alliances for conservation. It’s an excellent chance to tell uplifting stories of Seattle residents taking action to make a difference for the community and the planet.

By assisting with this project, volunteers will be contributing to the long-term health of Seward Park and the many wildlife and native plants that inhabit this area. Volunteers will also have the opportunity to meet lots of enthusiastic like-minded people, get a
healthy dose of exercise and sunshine, hang out in the beautiful Seward Park, learn about birds and forest ecology, and have lots of fun!

WHO: The event is sponsored and organized by Seward Park Environmental & Audubon Center. Although the event is an opportunity for Greek-Letter Organizations to get involved in a day of service at the park, the event is all-inclusive and anyone is
welcome to participate.

WHEN: Saturday, May 2nd, 12pm-2pm

WHERE: The event will take place at Seward Park located at 5902 Lake Washington Blvd S.
I-5 Southbound

Take the W SEATTLE BR/COLUMBIAN WAY exit- exit number 163A.

Keep LEFT at the fork in the ramp.

Merge onto COLUMBIAN WAY S.

Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto 15TH AVE S.

Turn SLIGHT LEFT onto S COLUMBIAN WAY.

Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto S ALASKA ST.

Turn RIGHT onto RAINIER AVE S/WA-167.

Turn LEFT onto S ORCAS ST.

S ORCAS ST becomes LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD S. 0.14 miles
I-5 Northbound

Take the SWIFT AVE. exit- exit number 161- towards ALBRO PLACE.

Turn RIGHT onto SWIFT AVE S.

Turn LEFT onto S EDDY ST.

Turn LEFT onto BEACON AVE S.

Turn RIGHT onto S ORCAS ST.

S ORCAS ST becomes LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD S. 0.14 miles

CONTACTS: For media inquiries, contact: Gail Gatton, 206.652.2444 x101
Interested volunteers, contact Colina Barlow, 206.652.2444 x107

BACKGROUND:
With only 60% of the initial 240 events having occurred to-date, TogetherGreen Volunteer Days can boast some incredible figures: 28,000 volunteer hours; 5,850 volunteers participated; 3,521 new TG volunteers; 60% of TogetherGreen volunteers are
new to Audubon; 15% of new volunteers have returned at least once to another TogetherGreen event; and over 60 major partner organizations, including the Sierra Club, AmeriCorps, and the US Army Corps of Engineers have worked with TogetherGreen Volunteer Day participants, as well as local schools, businesses and government.

TogetherGreen volunteer events are designed to connect people with ways to make a conservation difference in their local communities. By building stronger alliances with other local organizations, Audubon hopes to attract new and diverse volunteers to help address pressing environmental problems and opportunities.

TogetherGreen volunteer events are being held at 24 participating Audubon sites in New York City, Los Angeles, Madison Wisconsin and numerous other cities. This coordinated effort is being synchronized to celebrate Earth Day, a time for all Americans to unite in defense and support of the environment.
Toyota employees from offices, sales and manufacturing facilities across the country
are expected to join various volunteer efforts over the five-year initiative to help build volunteer conservation impact.

For more information on TogetherGreen, please visit www.togethergreen.org.