Hilltop Park Activation and Reimagination Project

Project Overview

The City of Burien Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services (PaRCS) Department, as part of the Green Burien Partnership, will work with the community to remove blackberry, establish native plantings, conduct ongoing park improvements, and develop future park plans at Hilltop Park. This 7.4-acre undeveloped park is the only park in the northeast corner of Burien. EarthCorps, Partner in Employment, and Skully Serves are partners in this project. Funds for this project were provided by the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program, administered through the State of Washington Department of Natural Resources Urban and Community Forestry Program.

Project Timeline

Summer 2021

  • Youth interns and EarthCorps crews begin work in Hilltop Park. Work will include removal of 60,000 square feet of blackberry.
  • PaRCS begins outreach to Hilltop Park neighbors.

Fall 2021

  • EarthCorps will work with PIE Youth Interns to plant 270 trees in the space where blackberry was removed.
  • We will celebrate removal of blackberry at Green Burien Day!
  • Youth from the Hilltop neighborhood will take part in a five-week afterschool program with an environmental justice focus.

Spring 2022

  • Youth from the Hilltop neighborhood will take part in a five-week after-school program with an environmental justice focus.
  • We will celebrate the end of the program with an Arbor Day celebration.

Project Goals

  1. Remove Invasive Species: Partner with EarthCorps to remove 60,000 square feet of invasive Himalayan blackberry funded through a current South King County Fund Grant.
  2. Outreach: Engage the Hilltop neighborhood through outreach and Green Burien Day restoration event in order to receive park master plan guidance. 
  3. Collaborate: Partner with Partner in Employment to recruit paid Park Stewards and for the 2021-22 school year.
  4. Develop a stewardship plan for the park: As part of the Park Steward’s work plan and skills development, a stewardship plan will be developed for Hilltop Park. 
  5. Engage students in urban forest management: Provide enrichment and work force training to Hilltop neighborhood middle school and high school students through an incentivized afterschool program in partnership with Skully Serves.
  6. Partner with EarthCorps to install approximately 270 native trees using young adult crews, youth afterschool program participants, and community volunteers.
  7. Ongoing engagement: Continued work with the Hilltop Park neighborhood to recruit Park Stewards and continue to identify funding sources for park improvement projects.

Project Documents