Several dozen King County REALTORS, affiliates and family members will convene at the Cavanaugh Pond Natural Area on Friday, Oct. 12 to help Friends of the Cedar River Watershed with a restoration project.

Volunteers from The Realtors Environmental Council (TREC) will lead efforts to help control invasive vegetation and establish native forest for the 44-acre natural area, located east of Renton on the Cedar River. Cavanaugh Pond, part of King County Parks, supports spawning sockeye salmon in the fall and provides year-round habitat for other fish and wildlife species.  It is the only Class 1 wetland in the Cedar River Valley, denoting it is the highest quality of wetland ecosystems.   

This marks the sixth year of a TREC work party, which takes place regardless of weather conditions.  In pat years, volunteers ranging in age from 8-to-85 have cleared non-native blackberries and other invasive vegetation, planted native trees and shrubs, and spread mulch at parks and open spaces around King County.

Area residents are invited to join REALTORS at the work party, which is scheduled from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.  Volunteers must pre-register at nwrealtor.com or by calling 425.974-1011. No experience is necessary and all tools and supplies, as well as lunch, will be provided.  Participants will be asked to sign the Parks Department’s volunteer waiver form.

The Realtors Environmental Council (TREC), is a combined educational/volunteer initiative of the SEATTLE KingCounty REALTORS.  David Crowell, SKCR’s director of governmental & public affairs, said the annual project helps underscore the importance of volunteering and enhancing our quality of life.  “Realtors don’t just sell homes – they sell communities and work to promote sustainability and environmental stewardship,” he remarked.

About The Realtors Environmental Council (TREC)

SKCR established The Realtors Environmental Council as a nonprofit affiliate to promote environmental stewardship among REALTORS, its affiliate members and homeowners, and to support projects and policies to preserve a healthy natural habitat.

At its inaugural on-the-ground project in 2007, REALTORS spent a day at the Hylebos watershed in Federal Way.  The following year, volunteers devoted their time to the Kelsey Creek West Tributary Restoration Project in Bellevue.  In subsequent years, projects took place at Seward Park in Seattle, near the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center in Bellevue and at Kirkland’s Everest Park.

In addition to “on-the-ground” projects to promote green practices, REALTORS can earn a Green Designation, a professional credential that signifies proficiency on issues of energy efficiency and sustainability in various facets of real estate.

About SKCR

The Seattle KingCounty Realtors is a nonprofit professional trade association whose goals include promoting business practices that reflect a strict code of ethics, and supporting policies that preserve and expand real property rights and housing affordability.  Based in Bellevue, SKCR is one of more than 1,700 local associations of the National Association of Realtors. Membership is voluntary, and only members may use the term Realtor, which is a licensed collective trademark.

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