Nurture our Environment

“Accessible beaches, recreational waters, public parks, and public lands provide opportunities for respite, recreation, ecological discovery, and cultural enjoyment. We all need more of that.” – Traci Park

Thriving green environments are linked to increased creativity, improved social interactions, and even lowered crime rates in surrounding neighborhoods.

Traci will prioritize sustainable policies that protect and enhance our natural surroundings. She intends to develop projects that build awareness of the critical role of habitat conservation and restoration, such as:

• Protection and expansion of parks and recreational spaces
  • Native plantings
  • Dune restoration projects
  • Additional green parks and pocket parks

• Increased biodiversity in our Westside landscapes
  • Urban habitat conservation
  • Wildlife corridors
  • Green space connections
• Regenerative green infrastructure
  • Urban community farming
  • Tree planting and maintenance/urban forestation
  • Living rooftops
  • Rainwater irrigation projects

• Pollution mitigation in all waterways
  • Green streets/alleys stormwater runoff filtration
  • Stormwater filtration tree wells
  • Illegal dumping/pollution enforcement
  • Trash interceptor projects

Greening public spaces promotes community, makes cities more resilient, and provides habitat for wildlife.

Urban habitat protection projects contribute to resiliency by providing a range of ecosystem services. These include mitigating climate change, in part because healthy vegetation captures carbon from the atmosphere and stores it in plant matter and soil. Urban forests also deliver cooling relief from the heat island effect plaguing cities that are over-reliant on artificial surfaces.

Traci will work to preserve or develop many different types of value-enhancing environmental spaces within our district. They will serve multiple, integrated ecosystem functions — and she will make sure that these precious spaces, and their essential functions, are protected over time.