About the event
We proudly present Seattle's Earth Day Run April 22nd . Come run or walk one of our many race distances and at the same time you can feel good about supporting the environment. Each finisher will receive a native sapling tree + an additional tree will be planted for each finisher we have. Make sure to stop by our tree hugger station where you can pot a tree to take home or pot one and leave to donate to the parks department and other local environmental organizations. We also will have a Magnuson Park gardener there to answer all questions you may have about native plants and trees. Over the years at our Earth Day events we have handed out thousands of trees that grow and sequester more and more carbon each year. On top of all that you can bring your used running shoes as we will be donating them to the More Foundation. Tell your friends and come out for this great event!
Early packet pickup is available at the Green Lake Super Jock n' Jill Thursday April 20th from 3pm to 7pm. Picking up your bib before the race will save you time race day.
Day of race registration and bib pick up: 8:15am-10am
Kids Dash: 9:45am
Race start of all event distances: 10am
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Visit our potting station after the run...
At the Tree Hugger Station you can pot a tree for the parks department, take a sapling home with you as well as learn about native trees and best practices for planting.
Different ways to plant your tree for Earth Day:
- At our potting station
- In your yard
- Give it to a friend for their yard
- Pot the tree at the event
- At a park, traffic circle, sidewalk or other outdoor areas. (more info click here)
- Pot it and bring it back to our Fall Planting Party at Magnuson Park
Our recommendation is to plant the tree in a pot and let it mature for a couple years then find a suitable place to plant it. You can always bring the tree to our Fall planting party as well; details will be emailed to participants before the event. Don't forget to read our Proper Tree Placement page when deciding where to put your tree. To view click here.
Sponsors
How Green is the event?
Best in the nation. We give out a native sapling tree for each participant to plant themselves or donate to the park to be planted. A portion of each registration will go to the following environmental organizations to help plant trees locally and globally. Green Seattle, Seattle Parks Department and Earth Runs. We also mitigate all participant driving via sustainabletravel.org. We donate used running shoes to the More Foundation. Proceeds fund their ongoing reforestation projects in Accra, the capital of Ghana. MORE has distributed millions of free tree seeds to thousands of poor rural farmers, establishing a Tree Seed Bank to assist in the reforestation of Ghana. Students have been planting trees as part of their curriculum while learning the benefits of agroforestry. We are moving towards using paper bibs for the race that can be recycled or composted instead of the standard plastic Tyvek bib. All end of race fruit is organic, and we recycle and compost all waste.
400-meter kid's dash
15 minutes before the main event we always hold a 400-meter dash for the kids.
On site planting location
If you want to plant a tree in the park, we will have a few staged at the parkin strip. Ask one of our volunteers at the tree hugger station.
Great articles on planting and native plants
1. Planting natives in Western Washington
2. Native Plants and Trees of Western Washington
Investing in trees is one of the best investments you can make:
1. A single tree can absorb 10 pounds of air pollutants a year, and at the same time produce nearly 260
pounds of oxygen- enough to support two people.
2. Forests provide natural filtration and storage systems that process nearly two-thirds of the water supply
in the United States. Trees help filter water, help prevent soil erosion, moderate runoff during rain storms as well as increase groundwater aquifers.
3. Trees also reduce the greenhouse effect by shading our homes and office buildings. This reduces air conditioning needs up to 30%, thereby reducing the amount of fossil fuels burned to produce electricity. This combination of CO2 removal from the atmosphere, carbon storage in wood, and the cooling effect makes trees a very efficient tool in fighting the greenhouse effect.
4. Crunch the numbers: Over a 50-year lifetime, a tree generates $31,250 worth of oxygen, provides
$62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycles $37,500 worth of water, and
controls $31,250 worth of soil erosion.
5. A U.S. Department of Energy study reports that trees reduce noise pollution by
acting as a buffer and absorbing 50% of urban noise.
6. Mature trees can increase property value 5-15%.
