[zephyr]

This was on the front page of the Seattle Times today. Cass Turnbull, a local author and activist, founder of Plant Amnesty has died while on vacation in Hawaii. A quote from the article: A staunch defender of trees and open space, she used humor as her secret weapon, starting with the name of her signature achievement, the founding of Plant Amnesty 30 years ago. The nonprofit’s aim was “to stop the senseless torture and mutilation of trees and shrubs.” Plant Amnesty, which now has nearly 1,200 members in 32 states and three countries, offers inexpensive pruning classes and workshops, as well as a referral service for arborists, gardeners and pruners. Mrs. Turnbull authored two books, including Cass Turnbull’s Guide to Pruning (Sasquatch, 2012), now in its third edition. She also created a political-action group to bring her fight for trees into the public sphere. TreePac took on the task of toughening the city’s tree ordinance, and digging into the minutiae of land-use laws to defend trees and green spaces. Some of you may have attended her classes or read her books. Sorry to see her go. ~z

[zephyr]

Today it was announced in the West Seattle Blog that there will be a Celebration of Life for Cass Turnbull next month in Shoreline. The Life and Times of Cass Turnbull Please join us as we honor her on Saturday, March 25th, 2017 1 pm--2 pm (reception to follow) Shoreline Community College Building #1600 16101 Greenwood Ave N, Shoreline A map of the campus can be found here. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to PlantAmnesty or TreePac.

[IanB]

A sad loss for both plants and the people who care about them. RIP