Duwamish Valley Healthy Communities Project

In 2009, DRCC/TAG released the Duwamish Valley Vision - a comprehensive report detailing the community's vision for the future of the Duwamish Valley. The report focused on four areas identifies by the 500+ residents, workers and visitors who helped craft the vision - Environmental Features, Community Amenities, Transportation and Economic Development.

The #1 priority of the vision is to take steps in each of these areas to improve the overall health of the Duwamish Valley's diverse communities.

In response, DRCC/TAG is launching the Duwamish Valley Healthy Communities Project (click here to check out our flier. Para espaniol dale click aqui). Working with residents, businesses, workers, visitors, government agencies and non-profit organizations, we will identify, prioritize and develop action plans to address threats to the community's health from exposures to soil, air and water pollution as well as lack to healthy food, green space and other amenities.

• Location: South Seattle Community College - Georgetown Campus (6737 Corson Ave. S.)
• Time: 6 - 9:00 p.m.

Join us for this kick off event featuring guest speakers, complemetary light dinner and kids' activities. For more information, call BJ at (206) 458-0284 or email her at bj@duwamishcleanup.org.

Duwamish River Festival

This year's festival brought great entertainment, river tours, and important cleanup information to South Park. Just a few highlights from the sunny, summer festival

• Over 1,200 people attended the festival and learned, shared stories and celebrated the ongoing cleanup of the Duwamish River.
• Walkers, bikers, and kayakers accompanied by the Blue Heron native canoe arrived at the River Festival in “Seattle style.”

• Mayor McGinn attended the event, handed out raffle prizes, and talked about the need for a thorough cleanup of the Duwamish River to protect our health and our children.  Let’s make it happen, Mr. Mayor!

• 1,000 free (and delicious!) tamales and hot dogs were devoured in record time.

• Two stages with dozens of musicians and dancers representing the diverse and rich cultures of the Duwamish Valley performed for happy crowds.

• Over 40 community groups, businesses, non-profits, clubs, tribes and local, regional and federal agencies had interactive and educational booths about the river cleanup and community health.
• An Eddyline Sandpiper Kayak was raffled, courtesy of Mountains to Sound Outfitters, Alki Kayak Tours and Eddyline Kayaks. 100% of the proceeds go to supporting our ongoing education and outreach programs.

Check out some pictures of the event here.

T-shirts for sale!  If you missed this year’s event but want to support next year’s festival, or missed your a chance to buy a Duwamish River Festival or Walk/Bike/Paddle t-shirt, worry no more!   We have a few t-shirts left that we are now making available for only $10 (plus shipping!). 100% of the proceeds will go towards the organizing of next year's festival! Check them out!

If you have any feedback about the event (what went well and/or what can we improve for next year's festival) please contact us at contact@duwamishcleanup.org or call us at (206) 453-9803.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Duwamish River Festival from 2005-2009! Hundreds of people, young and old, came out to celebrate the cleanup and restoration of the Duwamish River. Click here to view photos.

Click here to view a short King County-produced video about the 2009 River Festival and Feasibility Study.

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Duwamish Alive!

October 15, 2011: Duwamish Alive drew almost 350 volunteers working at 14 sites across the watershed.

Thank you so much to all the community members that joined forces with DRCC/TAG and People For Puget Sound to make Seattle’s river a healthier place for our community, salmon and other wildlife.
We met at T-107 Public Access Site, which is an important archaeological, cultural and historical site that sits on the shores of the original Duwamish River.  Today, T-107 is an important habitat node, or oasis, where returning salmon and other wildlife can rest, feed and escape from predators… we want to keep it this way, and make it even better!
Community members made a difference on their (and your!) river, met people, enjoyed pastries and coffee, and got a free “workout.”

We'll keep you posted for our next Duwamish Alive meeting scheduled for next spring!

April 16, 2011: Duwamish Alive drew 1200 volunteers working at 13 sites across the watershed.

Check out the Hero for a Day: Rescuing a Seattle River video about Duwamish Alive!. The video features Dhira Brown, Restoration Ecologist with People For Puget Sound, our coalition member.

Duwamish Alive recently won the Evergreen Award, from the Alliance of Nonprofits and was honored at their 17th Annual Nonprofit Conference and Expo on May 6, 2011.

Alki Kayak Tours, Argosy Cruises, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, and ECOSS removed 750 pounds of trash and debris from the river, using kayaks, canoes, and other small watercraft.

DRCC, The West Seattle Rotary, the Port of Seattle, and People for Puget Sound dedicated a memorial bench and interpretive sign at T-107 Park. Volunteers finished improving the site from 10-1pm, and then celebrated a ribbon-cutting at the site from 1-2pm, with local Tribal Canoes will launch in the river alongside kayakers. Click here to view photos from the event.

Click links to news articles in the West Seattle Herald, and West Seattle Blog about Duwamish Alive!

Visit the Duwamish Alive web site today to see sites and get directions and other information.

Click here to download the full-size poster, or here for a low-resolution .jpg.

Your river needs you! Join restoration projects in these areas: Georgetown, South Park, White Center, Pigeon Point, Delridge, Tukwila.

The restoration of the Duwamish depends on community, non-profit, government and corporate partners working together to restore the urbanized environment. Our goal is to help bring back at least 30% of the river shoreline for wildlife habitat. So far we have acheived less than 5%, so we need YOU to join us too. We are looking for school, work, or groups to volunteer with Duwamish Alive.

The Duwamish River trash cleanup, sponsored by Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Argosy Cruises, Alki Kayak Tours, and Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, had over 80 volunteers in Kayaks and power boats, who pulled a literal TON of debris from the river including a toilet, washing machine, plastic, metal scraps, and more. Thanks to CleanScapes for taking the debris to be sorted and disposed of properly! Photos of the whole event can be seen here and here.

DRCC/TAG is a founding member of the Duwamish Alive! Coalition, which coordinates twice-yearly multi-site habitat restoration work parties within the Duwamish watershed.

T-107 Canoe and Kayak Launch

DRCC, People for Puget Sound, Port of Seattle, Duwamish Tribe, and West Seattle Rotary joined forces during Winter-Spring 2011 to create an improved hand-carry boat launch at T-107 public access site (photo to the left), across the street from the Duwamish Longhouse, at 4700 West Marginal Way SW.

The Duwamish River has seen a marked increase in kayak ‘eco-tourism,’ individual kayakers and canoes, and educational tours, including DRCC/TAG-led community kayaking with local recreation provider, Alki Kayak Tours. DRCC is also honored to work with the Blue Heron Canoe, a NW Salish cedar canoe (photo to the right), which helped open the launch site on April 16th during the Duwamish Alive event..

The T-107 Hand-Carry Boat Launch project includes removing debris and invasive weeds from the shoreline areas, mulching to suppress new weeds, and planting nearly 500 plants from over 19 species of cedar trees and plants native to this area. This prepared the site for a low-impact launch site for small boats.

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The 'Duwamish Vision'

A vision without a plan is just a dream,
A plan without a vision is just drudgery,
But a vision with a plan can change the world.

Creating the 'Duwamish Vision'

DRCC/TAG facilitated the Duwamish Valley Vision in anticipation of the EPA's River cleanup options (called the Draft Feasibility Study by EPA) proposed by its responsible parties (polluters).  But you know that the Duwamish River Valley is more than just a cleanup site – it is part of your city; your home or workplace.

The Duwamish Vision is an ongoing, comprehensive, community-based future visioning project, which engaged people who live, work or visit the Duwamish Valley through workshops, mapping and interviews. The project compiled over 500 diverse community ideas, concerns, and visions into a comprehensive ‘future map,’ which includes transportation, housing, recreation, jobs, and habitat restoration.

The Duwamish River Valley Vision was released in February, 2009 and You helped make it happen!  The Duwamish Valley Vision Report explains our process and results, and is available to the public for downloaded here (6.7MB file).

Click here to view the poster-sized Duwamish Vision Map composite and layers (29MB zip file), or here for a smaller .jpg file.

The zipped file contains:
The Vision map composite, Green layer (Environmental Features), Red layer (Community Amenities), Blue layer (Economic Development), and Orange layer (Transportation).

Implementing the Duwamish Vision:

We are using the Vision to demonstrate to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the river's responsible parties that the Duwamish River is a living river and that the Duwamish Valley Vision is a living document full of ideas, big and small that YOU want to make happen. 

Key elements of the Duwamish Vision that relate to Superfund cleanup include:

• increasing living wage jobs through the impending cleanup work via partnerships with local businesses, schools, governments, and training programs;
• Advance a new ‘green’ economy with living-wage jobs and economic development through the proposed Duwamish cleanup and restoration;
• Remove toxic chemicals from the Duwamish River and ensure a risk-free place to fish and play;
• reducing ongoing sources of pollution through source control, including green infrastructure, natural drainage and 'green streets;'
• Increase equitable housing for a wide spectrum of incomes;
• Create and steward thriving wildlife habitat restoration sites;
• Enhance healthy recreation and eco-tourism opportunities;
• Plan with communities for sustainable, thriving, vibrant riverfront neighborhoods.

If you would like a copy of the full report and maps on disc, or would like DRCC/TAG to make a presentation about the Vision to your school, business, or organization, please contact us at: email or call (206)954-0218.

Eco-Industrial District development in the Duwamish

DRCC/TAG, ECOSS, Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin's office, and other stakeholders are beginning a process to explore 'eco-industrial development' in the Duwamish river valley. Andreas Koenig, a consultant who has worked on eco-industrial projects in Asia and Europe is in Seattle in June 2010 to talk with industry, community and government leaders. DRCC/TAG supports the process as a way to advance the Duwamish Vision and bring industry to the table to envision a sustainable future. Click here to view Andreas Koenig's City Council briefing on June 14, 2010; his presentation begins at 13:04 minutes.

Read additional articles about Eco-Industrial Development on our Media page, under the Duwamish Vision.

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Duwamish Community Environmental Health Fair

Held on June 5, 2010 at Concord Elementary School in South Park.

Since 2005, DRCC/TAG and its agency and NGO partners have produced the Duwamish River Festival at Duwamish Waterway Park. In 2010, as a consortium of groups, we decided to transform the event to reach more families living in the South Park and Georgetown area in advance of the upcoming Superfund public meetings. We hope you will join us for the first Duwamish Community Environmental Health Fair at Concord Elementary, to learn more about how the cleanup and restoration planning will impact human health and the environment.

Thank you to our 2010 Program sponsors: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Envioronmental Coalition of South Seattle; King County; Port of Seattle; Seattle Public Utilities; Public Health - Seattle and King County; Puget Sound Clean Air Agency; King County Local Hazardous Waste Management Program; WA State Department of Health; National Wildlife Federation; King County ECO-Net; WA Foundation for the Environment;

Poster design: Aaron Zimmern.

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"Industrial Strength" Natural Drainage Project

Recent News:

November and December 2010 brought record precipitation, testing our swales ability to hold water.

The two photos below illustrate that the swales are working! The photo on the right is the series of swales planted in early 2010. The photo on the left is just to the left of the swales, showing the flooding around the railroad tracks. Natural drainage, bioswales, or other forms of green infrastructure can have a huge impact on the built environment, even in industrial areas! Read more about the project below.

Photos courtesy of Tom Knoblauch.

The "Industrial Strength" Natural Drainage swales were planted with over 200 native species on Saturday, April 17th from 10-2pm, as part of the larger Duwamish Alive event. Click here for a press release and more information.

Earth Day - Duwamish Alive! April 17, 2010, 10am-2pm nearly 1,000 volunteers joined forces at multiple sites in the Duwamish River watershed. Volunteers from Georgetown, CleanScapes and elsewhere finished planting an "industrial strength" natural drainage site, and marked the event with a ribbon-cutting by City Council President, Richard Conlin!

On March 10th, 2010 DRCC/TAG and EOS Alliance co-hosted an Urban Green Infrastructure workshop, with information about the "Industrial Strength" Natural Drainage project; view the Powerpoint from the workshop and a photo slideshow of the project's progress. Stay tuned for more workshops about urban green infrastructure!

View the 3/2/10 SightlineDaily article about the "Industrial Strength" Natural Drainage project.

Project History

8th Avenue South and E. Marginal Way South is currently a busy industrial hub, with manufacturing, recycling, warehousing, distribution, multi-modal freight transfer, and other activities occurring daily. The intersection of E. Marginal Way S and 8th Ave South is also a 'gateway' to both the Georgetown residential area, and a small street-end park called Gateway Park North, on the Duwamish River. The street still has original paving from the early 1900s, and was never upgraded with stormwater service through curbs and gutters. Rainwater stands in ever-growing puddles until they evaporate or move through the ground towards the Duwamish River. Pollutants in stormwater are one of the main threats to our aquatic ecosystem.

Since 2005, leadership from the Georgetown Community Council, residents, small business owners, local employees, City and County staff, urban design professionals, and students have collaborated through the "Georgetown Riverview Restoration Project" (GRRP). The GRRP Working Group began meeting to improve an industrially-zoned area of Georgetown for pedestrians, trucks, and the environment. Once the working group began to meet, common needs emerged between the truck drivers, pedestrians, and other employees along the street:

• Connecting the Georgetown community to the Duwamish River, and need for ongoing stewardship
• Pedestrian/traffic safety – for residents & businesses
• Stormwater drainage and pollution control
• Parking and truck mobility
• Traffic flow improvements

Click here to download the 8th Avenue South & East Marginal Way Intersection Design report, which addresses the above concerns.

The Working Group and design team began to work to address immediate drainage issues along 8th Ave South in front of two industrial properties using funds from Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and SDOT Neighborhood Street Funds. The properties along 8th Avenue have unimproved, potholed frontages. One industrial business, Markey Machinery, sought to pave their driveways as part of a larger site improvement project. Originally, Markey Machinery had trouble getting a permit for the project because there wasn't drainage infrastructure to handle stormwater on 8th Ave South. Staff from SDOT, SvR Design and SPU worked to develop a series of ‘industrial-strength’ bioretention cells to capture and filter stormwater that will flow from Markey's paved driveway areas.

Click on the image above to see a full-sized set of plans.

On December 5th, 2009, the GRRP and volunteers planted and mulched the newly constructed swales, with additional plantings needed in early 2010.

Click here for a comprehensive report about the project.

Read a December 22, 2009 Seattle Industry Bulletin article about Markey's natural drainage here.

If you are interested in getting involved, or would like more information about the specifics of the project, please contact us.

Click here to learn about a similar community-based Green Streets project in the International District.

We would like to thank our partners and volunteers, without their support this project could not have happened!

Patty Foley, Jesse Moore, Brian Dougherty, Sherell Ehlers, Lauren Knoblauch, Tom Knoblauch, Nate Cormier and the SvR Design staff, City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund Award, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Shauna Walgren from Seattle Department of Transportation, Katrina Mendrey, Lee Dorigan, Emery Bayley from ECOSS, Bob Lecoque from Markey Machinery, Chris Martin, Katie Collier, and staff from CleanScapes and CDL Recycle, the Whitehead Family, EE Foods, United Rentals, Alaska Logistics, the Coliman Restaurant, Caffe D’Arte, Michigan St. Starbucks, Greenfresh Market, EOS Alliance, Bagel Deli, Compton Lumber and Hardware, Emerald City Printing, Field Roast, GreenFresh Market, Portage Environmental: Karl Unterschuetz, REI, Sawdust Supply, Trader Joe’s, Two Tartes Bakery, Seattle Conservation Corps, University of Washington, and many volunteers!

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Award-Winning Green-Duwamish Watershed Map

Explore the Green-Duwamish Watershed's Past, Present and Future

The original map was printed in 2008 with over 25 partners and sponsors. DRCC/TAG reprinted 30,000 copies of the map in April 2011, with both the original partners and some new organizations added. 

Michele Savelle created the original map design, and worked on the reprint design changes.

The colorful map is designed to raise awareness and public involvement within the Green-Duwamish watershed, and includes information about parks and public access sites, habitat restoration, history, public art, and information about the pollution and cleanup of the river, with helpful tips on reducing household toxins.  

Click here to order a Green-Duwamish Watershed map through DRCC/TAG

The Green-Duwamish Watershed map won the 2009 Association of King County Historical Associations (AKCHO)'s prestigious annual award for Exhibits. Thanks to everyone involved for making the project possible.

The map also serves to illustrate the "current conditions" of the watershed. The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition hosted a 'future visioning' workshop series, with workshops in Georgetown, West Seattle, South Park and other locations, resulting in a future Vision Map, released to the public in February 2009. The Vision Map has been used to guide the ongoing Superfund cleanup of the Duwamish, to make sure that the cleanup is aligned with the future goals and needs of the community.  View the Vision Map at: www.duwamishcleanup.org. To read an article about the results of DRCC/TAG’s Duwamish Valley Vision Project, click here.

The map was produced with grant funding from 4Culture, as well as in-kind and financial contributions from project partners: American Whitewater, Cascade Land Conservancy, Cleanscapes, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, Duwamish Tribe, Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, FeetFirst, Green-Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Forum of Governments (WRIA-9), Museum of History and Industry, City of Kent, King County Parks, The Mountaineers Foundation, Muckleshoot Tribe, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Nature Consortium, People for Puget Sound, Port of Seattle, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, City of Renton, City of Seattle, Seattle Aquarium, Seattle Southside Visitors Center, City of Tukwila, and Washington Water Trails.

Thanks to Holly Taylor and PastForward NW Heritage Consulting for providing historical information, map editing and other map project considerations.

Additional support provided by: Abelard Foundation, Acorn Foundation, Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, Edwards Mother Earth Foundation, and Seattle Foundation.

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Environmental Justice Youth Corps

DRCC/TAG’s Urban Environmental Justice Youth Corps is a bilingual (English/Spanish) after-school and weekend service learning program for high school students in South Seattle. The free program teaches young people about environmental health and justice issues, and blends community service and field trips with social and environmental issues in South Park and nearby neighborhoods. Students attended classes every Wednesday after school and Saturday afternoons to learn about the environment of the Duwamish River. As part of the curriculum, they went on the Salish Seas research sailboat in Puget Sound, visited the Westpoint Waste Treatment center, went on a kayak trip in the Duwamish, volunteered at Marra Farms and the South Park food bank, and developed their own 'community action' project, which consisted of painting out gang grafitti in South Park, and talking with neighborhood children about the dangers of gangs and the importance of improving the environment within communities.

The 2009 Environmental Justice Youth Corps is provided at no cost for participants, and was in session from March 11th through May 30th 2009. DRCC/TAG is raising funds for the next session, and is looking for in-kind contributions and funding to make the program a success! Please contact DRCC/TAG for additional details.

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Northwest Toxic Communties Coalition

The Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition (NWTCC) is comprised of community groups and tribal members who live near areas identified as hazardous waste sites in the Pacific Northwest and EPA’s region 10. The coalition works to locate, network with, and empower its member groups to share resources, information and support.

For information about activities of community groups affected by toxic sites, or information on how to join, please contact the NWTCC.
Northwest Toxic Communities Coalition

www.nwtoxiccommunities.org
(206) 941-9549.

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