Camp Brown group gathered

The Greenway Coalition: How We Work 

The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust leads and inspires action to conserve and enhance the landscape from Seattle across the Cascade Mountains to Central Washington, ensuring a long-term balance between people and nature. 

How does the Greenway Trust achieve all that? Over the years, we’ve developed a way of doing things that is unique. We believe that our values are responsible for our success, indicative of our character, and result in positive civic action.

The Greenway Way

Share a Long-Term Vision 
Long-term visions are inspiring. Once people are excited and motivated, they take the lead and divide a vision into achievable steps. Looking ahead also means passing it on. Through mentoring relationships, and our education and stewardship programs, we build knowledge about the landscape and our vision. 

Under-Promise, Over-Deliver 
It is far better to surprise than to disappoint. When people see results that are better than expected, their confidence in who we are, how we work, and a shared vision gets stronger. 

Break Bread 
The Greenway sets the table. After all, everyone likes food! Sharing a meal has a special magic, helping coalition members establish strong and lasting relationships and a sense of common purpose. 

Find the Middle Ground 
Sometimes, agreeing to disagree can get you far: no matter how big differences are, we have found that there is always a middle ground. We work hard to find places where we can say yes, and move forward. 

At the Greenway, we figure that since we are conserving the Greenway for everyone – not just environmentalists, or ORVers, or anglers, or hikers – compromise aimed at agreement is always worth the extra effort. 

Compromise and Collaborate 
Working together builds ownership. Giving credit for achievements builds a coalition. Admitting mistakes and asking for help makes room to grow. Sharing needs, resources, ideas, and energy has great results. 

Greenway Collaboration in Action

The Tiger Mountain trailhead is just one small example springing from a board meeting: the trailhead was overflowing with cars. The Department of Natural Resources thought it would have to cut down surrounding forests to expand parking. Meanwhile, Puget Sound Energy needed to continuously clear trees under some neighboring power lines. The solution? Put a new parking lot under the power lines. More forest, less maintenance work. 

Without board meetings and other venues, collaborations like this would not have the chance to flourish. We find that if you give folks the space, wonderful things happen!