What’s the easiest way to stop climate change? 

It’s simple: Plant a tree.

While climate change is caused by the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, trees help by converting carbon dioxide to oxygen during photosynthesis and storing carbon as biomass, according to the U.S. Forest Service. 

On the city’s autumnal Arbor Day, members of the Admiralty Audubon Society and volunteers gathered at Kah Tai Lagoon Nature Park to do their part in fighting climate change by planting Douglas firs, shore pines and rose bushes on Oct. 21.

The group of volunteers also tackled invasive Scotch broom plants, which are a class B noxious weed in Washington state and can spread quickly, by pulling the difficult weeds out of the ground.

“We’re improving the wildlife habitat,” said Rosemary Sikes, who is a member of Admiralty Audubon. “It’s nice to have a place for the deer to go that’s not in people’s yards. … And there are tons of bird species that make this their home.” 

Sikes noted the hundreds of ducks that winter on the lagoon, which offers them food and shelter. She also hopes that as the trees they plant grow, they will offer nesting places for hawks and eagles. 

While the Audubon members worked hard to remove Scotch broom, member Debbie Jahnke pointed out a Monterey cypress growing tall and round in Kah Tai Park. 

“It’s a new generation of Monterey cypress in Port Townsend,” Jahnke said, comparing this young cypress with the Monterey cypress that came crashing down in uptown two weeks ago at the Blue Gull Inn. “This one will be able to grow tall, without anything bothering it.”