Pollinator Pathway NW and FHNA Grant Project
"Yard by Yard"
Helping to Protect Finn Hill Waterways with the "Yard by Yard" Project
What is the Yard by Yard Project?
Finn Hill Neighborhood Alliance and Pollinator Pathway NW received funding from King County WaterWorks to test a grassroots solution to preserving our local watershed: using our own yards to restore some of the water conserving native plants we’ve lost to residential development. The solution is the planting of native plant gardens.
We selected ten homeowners from a pool of over forty who were eager to participate. We prioritized teams of neighbors whose yards were close together so their gardens could create a stronger habitat corridor. Each yard was unique—some bordered sensitive natural areas, others were small residential lots—but all had the potential to make a difference.
With help from Landscape Architect Page Crutcher, each homeowner chose a palette of native plants that fit their yard’s conditions and personal style. Between December 2024 and May 2025, volunteers and project leaders planted over 1,400 native plants across nearly 4,000 square feet of yard space.
In September 2025, our team visited each of the newly planted gardens to see how they were doing after the summer drought. We were thrilled to find that the plants looked surprisingly healthy—proof that native species are well adapted to our local climate and can thrive with minimal watering. We’ll continue to check in on these gardens to see how they grow and change over time.
We’re also excited to be partnering with Veronica Cassone McGowan, Ph.D. and Ash Putzke from the CoSEE of UW Bothell to plant additional gardens and gather data on how these small changes can make a big impact on our watershed and local wildlife.
Every yard we transform is a step toward a healthier, more connected ecosystem—and we’re just getting started.
Why is the project important?
Once diverse native landscapes have been replaced by lawns, these lawns and other non-native plants need maintenance with fertilizers and pesticides. These chemicals end up polluting our waterways and harming pollinators and wildlife. This grant makes it possible for Finn Hill neighbors to make positive changes in the health of our local watershed by reducing the size of our lawns and planting more native plants on our properties.
Contact
If you are interested in being considered for installation of native plants in your yard or would like to become a part of the. movement, please contact lynne@finnhill.org
