WHS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center Reforestation

Reforesting 12 Acres of Whatcom Humane Society’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center

WMTP Successes to Date

We’ve planted 2,000+ tree seedlings and hundreds of understory plants so far in our multi-year phased restoration of approximately 12 acres at the Whatcom Humane Society’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center site. It’s a big win for both the trees and animals there!

Launched in Fall 2023, hardworking volunteers from WMTP and Whatcom Humane Society joined together on this expansive planting project at their remote Wildlife Rehabilitation Center site on Mission Road in the county. We’ve held many work parties annually in a multiple-year phased effort to reforest and restore approximately 12 acres of the former hay field at the back of this wildlife rehabilitation center site.

As of early 2025 we have planted over 2,000 native tree seedlings plus hundreds of native understory plants in this future forest. Approximately 1/3 of the site has now been successfully planted. We will keep chipping away at it each year until it is completed.

We thank Washington Conservation Corps crews for providing additional ground-clearing, planting, mulching, and caging support to increase the success of these efforts.

With the generous support of a Project Neighborly grant from Whatcom Community Foundation, starting in 2025 we have been synergizing with Kulshan Carbon Trust (KCT) and the Nooksack Tribe Education Center which is located immediately adjacent south of the project site. Youth from the Education Center will quarterly measure and monitor a special biochar-assisted test planting area within our project site established by KCT. Also, the grant supported our synergy with the Washington Native Plant Society Koma Kulshan Chapter to guide the planting of understory within the restoration area.

Wildlife Rehabilitation Center site reforestation area

Unlike the WHS main site in Bellingham, this site does not have regular public access since the wildlife that are being rehabilitated there should not bond to any form of human contact. So all of our work must carefully proceed in a quiet, non-obtrusive manner.

Over time, the reforestation will not only add substantial new native tree canopy to our region, but also will restore additional wildlife habitat for the wide array of animal species that are being rehabbed on-site. It’s a big win for both the trees and animals!

Tree seedlings purchased for the initial phases of this project were funded by Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA) and Whatcom County Library System (WCLS), both of which implemented collaborative programs in 2023 and 2024 to engage the public in creative fundraising efforts via WTA’s Transit for the Trees program and WCLS’s Summer Reads program!

Further ongoing funding for this project has also been generously provided by SeaWitch Botanicals and Trove Cannabis. We thank both of these terrific business partners heartily for their support.

We also have started early planning work for potential future tree plantings at the main Whatcom Humane Society campus in Bellingham on Division Street. Several hundred trees may eventually be planted around the peripheral of the large WHS dog-walking field (which is also where WHS holds their annual Dog Days celebration). Stay tuned for more news on this later this year!

Volunteer Opportunities

• Want to volunteer in a WMTP work party here? Meet other tree-lovers, enjoy fresh air, have fun, and contribute to a cool project and important cause? Please join our work party contact list!