(emotional music)
We're in Cheasty Greenspace
on Beacon Hill in Seattle.
It's a 33 to 43 acre forest,
depending on who you ask.
We're working on restoration and trail building in here.
The forest was covered in ivy and blackberry.
We're replanting conifer
ferns and salal and Oregon grape.
That's been the work of the community.
And we need more green space.
We need more accessible space.
We're looking for ways to reimagine the space
and to invite more people
to recreate in their own backyard.
So 2011 we proposed mountain biking.
It's a pilot program with the city of Seattle,
where if this goes successfully,
we can build some more of these
throughout Seattle.
A place designed, built
and made for the community.
Oh, perfect.
Yeah, yeah.
Where, when someone gets off work
they can do some laps.
Some kids in neighborhood
can do some laps after school
and keep them active.
Give them a place to volunteer
to build something in their community.
To be a part of it.
We've gone through public process.
We've heard voices
with different perspectives on this project.
This is too invasive as it were, into the space,
really, to the exclusive use of
of mountain bikers.
We have issues about safety,
preserving the wetlands
and the impact on wildlife and other things.
Green spaces
should be lightly used, lightly traveled.
Once you put a bunch of people
or cut a bunch of trails
or or develop an area, it's not going to go back.
What we do know
is that restoration is needed here.
We know that people need connection to nature
to live a healthy lifestyle.
And when you have a resource
like a forest right here in the city,
it makes sense to open it up
and make it as accessible as possible.
The first phase of trails that we're opening here
are going to be two mountain bike trails,
descent trails that connect to a shared use trail
to climb back up.
(relaxing music)
There's some rollers, stuff to
get a of speed going downhill
but not progressively
jumping and ripping down a hill.
But now we've made for four feet wide
walking trails
for bikes, for hikers, for people to walk their dogs
throughout the whole park
and keep them separate from the downhill trail.
(music is building)
So one of the aims for these trails
is to make it accessible
to the most amount of riders.
So we want people who have never mountain biked before,
we want them to be able to come here and feel
okay about riding these trails.
What kind of stuff might be on a trail,
do you think that you'd want to lift
your wheel over? Yes. - Sticks
Sticks. What else?
So if you can get kids
stoked on bikes at a young age,
that carries over into life. Yeah.
We're going to be partnering
with the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club to do some camps
at the new Cheasty Hill trails.
It gives kids a great
opportunity to find a new passion
that is a little bit outside
the realm of traditional athletics.
- All right,
let's come over and talk about the ramp
for a second.
Into something that's positive,
good for their health.
Being outdoors.
They're going to peddle, peddle, peddle.
We'll do our best
to stand up in our pouncing Puma position.
[Ed Ewing] What's going to activate
the space is youth programing.
And it's more than just mountain biking.
It's environmental stewardship,
you know, trail building.
Just getting students out in their
in nature in their community
and where they might not have access to this.
I did it!
Let's head up to the trails.
[Ed Ewing] You plant the seed.
Well, hopefully the students will ask,
what else is out there?
It's not about is hardness.
And it's more - it's more of funness.
It's like scary, but really, really fun.
Everybody ready?
Let's do our best to think about our s'mores braking.
Here goes nothing... help me.
We'll teach them
all the different skills from cornering
to wheel lifts
to get over obstacles on the trail,
to how to climb up a trail,
how to go down a trail safely,
how to use your brakes
correctly will give them all that foundation.
And to use this
not just for this community,
but to study how this can work
in other communities,
especially kids that have low access to nature.
Did she fall? Yeah.
It scared me Damara. - My pants are all dirty.
Damara are you okay?
I think it's really fun.
Welcome to the grand opening of the Cheasty trails.
There has been over 5000 volunteers
that have helped build this place.
It's not just about the bike trails.
It's about leaving the park
and the area
better than when we even got it in the
first place.
Three, two, one...
Because we all know that
the way we preserve something is by using it.
This trail is really gonna encourage
people to come in, see the space, use the space,
and that's how you get people to commit
to making it better and preserving it.
Yeah!
Our hope is that as these trails open, as more
and more people use them,
and enjoy it,
they'll really see that it's a positive thing for everyone.