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Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition

http://www.duwamishcleanup.org

The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition staff approaches every one of their many programs with a truly cooperative spirit, illustrated by the many organizations and community members who are welcomed and participate. The Duwamish Alive! program conducts restoration all along the lower Duwamish River. This creates a barrier to runoff and filters pollutants, making the surrounding community safer for residents. The following organizations cooperated in this tremendous effort: Duwamish Alive! is the collective effort of the Duwamish Alive! Coalition comprised of: Alki Kayak Tours | The Boeing Company | Cascade Land Conservancy | City of Seattle | City of Tukwila | CleanScapes | Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition | EarthCorps | Edwards Mother Earth | Elliott Bay Restoration Panel | Environmental Coalition of South Seattle | U. S. Environmental Protection Agency | Field Roast Grain Meat Co. | Friends of Duwamish Riverbend Hill | Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed Forum of Local Governments | Green Seattle Partnership | Georgetown Community Council | IM-A-PAL Foundation | King County | King Conservation District | Longfellow Creek Watershed Council | Nature Consortium | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | People For Puget Sound | Puget Soundkeeper Alliance | Port of Seattle | REI | Restore America's Estuaries | Seattle Parks and Recreation | Seaworld Conservation Fund | Veterans Conservation Corps | Washington State Department of Ecology. The Duwamish River Festival updates the community on progress made cleaning up the river, a high priority Superfund site: The annual free family-friendly environmental festival provides kayak tours on the river, live entertainment, water taxi rides, food, children’s activities, health information, natural yard care tips,. In an ongoing effort to involve all Duwamish residents and neighbors, the Duwamish Tribe's "Singing Feet" youth cultural dance group and Cecile Hanson, the Duwamish Tribe's chairwoman, followed by Joyas Mestizas - Mexican folkloric dance group spoke and performed. The Environmental Justice Youth Corps is an after-school and weekend program for youth who live in the neighborhoods surrounding the Duwamish. These students learn about environmental injustice from their leaders and experiences provided by program partners. They were able to learn about water quality on a Salish Seas boat, about environmental justice, watershed issues and water quality at the Seattle Aquarium, sustainable, toxin free farming at Marra Farm, among other activities. DRCC partnered with Alki Kayak Tours and the Seattle Aquarium to provide an up-close look at the lower Duwamish for the general public and community residents. This opportunity was also provided to the youth from the Environmental Justice Youth Corps. What better way to see, hear, smell and touch the issues the Duwamish and surrounding communities are facing? From sliding up to the Boeing plant to slipping through the Hamm Creek restoration, participants could see what the Duwamish could be once again. A very powerful, hopeful experience for all involved.

How do you come together and share a resource?

The Duwamish River is the catalyst for community members, agencies, and environmental organizations

How would your group use the award money?

We would use award money to create more opportunities for the community to come together to learn about and support the cleanup of the Duwamish River. This includes support for the Youth Environmental Justice Youth Corps, working with South Park youth on local environmental justice issues, and funding scholarships for boat and kayak tours of the Duwamish for the communities surrounding the river.

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Comments (2)

  • Brian Dougherty

    Seattle needs to recognize the only river it has for the amazing natural resource that it is.

  • Beth

    The DRCC has done an amazing job, especially with community outreach.

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