Neighbors near Ingraham High School fight to save evergreens

More than 80 trees, many of them decades-old evergreens, are slated to be cut down on the Ingraham High School grounds as part of a $24 million renovation project authorized by voters last year that would add a new classroom wing to replace portable buildings.

But people living in the area, who've found an ally in the Seattle Audubon Society, argue the stand of trees provides a welcome buffer between their homes and the school.

An official with the Seattle Audubon Society has asked the school district to take a closer look at potential environmental impacts of the project, noting that mature trees can be important habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife.

New trees would be added around the campus — more new trees, in fact, than the number to be cut down.

But opponents and some neighbors doubt that smaller "street trees" and other plantings will replace the canopy, serenity and bird habitat the tall trees now provide.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Seattle Times and on seattletimes.com.