EarthCorps

“You can’t separate people from place and you can’t separate place from people. Both are interconnected and essential for a healthy, thriving planet.”

Those words are from Quena Batres, who joined EarthCorps as a Crew Member in 2016. Now, 10 years later, Quena is the President of EarthCorps’ Board of Directors.

We sat down with Quena to talk about leadership, community, and how restoration work shapes her work and life today:

“I joined EarthCorps a year after graduating college. I loved being outside and working with people and communities. I had no field experience at the time, but joining the Corps changed the course of my life.

What surprised me most was the strong sense of community: EarthCorps creates such an intentional culture around relationships, connection, and shared growth, and I carry this approach in my work and relationships to this day.

In my second year with EarthCorps, as a Volunteer Specialist, I spent a lot of time restoring parks in West Seattle. Seeing those sites change over time was really meaningful. You could point to a space and say, 'We clearly helped make this healthier.' That’s one of the most rewarding parts of this work.

For me, leadership is about modeling the way. A constant mantra I have is, “How can I model good leadership to other people?” Often for me, it’s by being approachable, authentic, and transparent. I think EarthCorps was where I learned that. Even in my role as board chair, I continue to feel that commitment to leadership development from EarthCorps.

When I look at the state of the world today, I'm motivated by collective action. Whether it's a local volunteer restoration event, or preparing our nation for climate change, if many of us come together around a shared mission, we can make a really big impact."

Thank you, Quena, for your leadership, care for community, service to EarthCorps, and continued commitment to people and nature thriving together. 💚

Science and research 🤝 stewardship and restoration. The best kind of collaboration!

🔬 🌿 Our EarthCorps crews, along with Northwest Youth Corps and researchers from Washington State University's Urban Forest Health Lab, recently got a deep dive into how science and stewardship work together to protect local ecosystems:

Joey Hulbert, Research Assistant Professor in WSU’s Department of Plant Pathology, opened the day with an educational tour and introduced us to the Sentinel Tree Monitoring Program with the Port of Tacoma: This project monitors trees near the Port, checking for invasive insects and plant diseases that can spread through international shipping. Programs like this require scientists and community volunteers to partner together to track tree health and identify threats early.

Afterwards we toured WSU Puyallup’s research campus to see rain gardens, stormwater systems, nurseries, and research labs, including some close-ups of plants and insects with Marianne Elliott, a Plant Pathologist at WSU. It gave us the perfect energy to take on a riparian forest site along the Puyallup River, where our crew prepared the site for future restoration.

What a fantastic day. A big thank you to everyone involved for this valuable opportunity. 👏

Magnuson Park is a little healthier today.

More than 60 volunteers from Boeing's Accelerated Leadership Programs joined us in Magnuson Park to pull invasive blackberry and care for the native habitat that makes this park feel like home for so many of our neighbors. Their hands added to the work of countless community members, partners, and crews who have been tending to this place for years.

That's what restoration looks like in our region. Neighbors, volunteers, and partners showing up — side by side — so that local habitat can recover, Puget Sound's waters can stay healthier, and this shoreline can remain a place where people and wildlife thrive together.

We're also grateful to Boeing for a $75,000 Global Engagement Grant that will help carry this work forward at the Qwuloolt estuary — one more chapter in a long-standing partnership rooted in care for this region.

To every volunteer, every community member, and every partner who showed up for the land over the years: thank you. The work is bigger than any one of us, and that's exactly the point.

Read more about the day through the link in the comments.

In a joint effort across EarthCorps crews, we're helping to restore and care for an important watershed in Tacoma which includes the Puyallup River, the Hylebos Waterway, and the nearshore of Commencement Bay. 💧

It's part of our Commencement Bay Stewardship Collaborative, involving long-term stewardship of 17 sites affected by pollution or contamination.

Recently, our crews cleared large areas of blackberry and ivy to make space for native plants: these stewardship actions help restore critical estuary and mudflat habitat that supports juvenile Chinook salmon and shorebirds.

This hands-on work is an important step toward rebuilding this ecosystem. Learn more about our work at Commencement Bay at www.earthcorps.org/key-initiatives/commencement-bay.

Last weekend, students from the University of Washington Consulting Association helped EarthCorps remove 1,045+ square feet of blackberry, reed canary grass, and knapweed. 🤯 🙌 Volunteers win the day! 👏

This important work at Union Slough Park in Snohomish County creates space for native plants to return to this ecosystem. In just a few short years, this site has already begun welcoming wildlife back and, with continued care, will play an important role as salmon habitat for years to come.

Thank you to our partners at Port of Everett for collaborating with us on this restoration work, to Jack Lockhart at the UW for your leadership and supporting this effort, and to Jasnoor, a volunteer that went above and beyond to protect young trees in a sea of reed canary grass. This is what community-powered restoration looks like. 💪🌎

Huge congratulations to EarthCorps alum Lylianna Allala, newly confirmed as Director of Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment!

From her early days with EarthCorps to leading climate policy for our city — Lylianna's journey embodies the values that connect environmental stewardship and community care. 'Caring for the environment must begin with caring for one another.' 💚🌱

We couldn't be more proud of you, Lylianna!

No better way to celebrate Hug a Tree Day than by planting trees of our own. 🌳 Our crew spent a sunny day in Tukwila planting (and hugging) more than 200 baby trees and shrubs, helping bring new, native life to a site that’s been in active restoration. 🌱 🪴

Just one year ago, this space was overrun with invasive species and in need of removal and treatment. Now, it’s entering a new chapter with native plants taking root, creating healthier habitat, cleaner air, and a more resilient community for the future.

We hope you hug a tree today! They deserve it. 🌲 🤎

Tucked in the city of Tukwila is the hidden gem of Southgate Park (also known as Lewis Creek Park). 🌿 This 11-acre green space sits on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Duwamish and Muckleshoot Peoples. While no longer an active public park, it remains an important place for wildlife, water systems, and community connection.

Over time, dense ivy, holly, and laurel have taken over, leading to major canopy loss and a decline of the ecosystem's health. This EarthCorps' Crew worked to slow that spread using targeted methods like herbicide pellets and hand tools to manage invasive species and create space for native plants to return.

This is long-term work: restoring the forest and riverbank will take time, care, and continued partnership. Every step brings this landscape closer to a healthier, more resilient future. 🌎

Our crews love to make unexpected friends at project sites. 🐍🌿 For our Corps Members, working to support wildlife habitats can include visits from curious "locals": squirrels, birds, snakes and more.

While helping improve water flow and support restoration near Brightwater Treatment plant, our crew spotted a few garter snakes making themselves at home. These small but important predators are a great sign of a functioning ecosystem, helping keep insect and rodent populations in balance.

Every project is a chance to support habitat, not just for plants, but also for the wildlife that depend on it.