information from Duwamish Alive!

Volunteers at sites up and down the Duwamish River Watershed will join together for Duwamish Alive! on April 18, 2015 to roll up their sleeves, connect with the community, and keep these sites beautiful and healthy for people and wildlife.

This year, Duwamish Alive! is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of what has become a collaboration of over 30 partners that include community organizations, municipalities, non-profits, and businesses working together to build awareness about the Duwamish River, improve water quality and community health, and to preserve and enhance native habitat.

“In addition to environmental improvements, Duwamish Alive! brings this beautiful river to the attention of people from all over Seattle,” says James Rasmussen, Coordinator of Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group. “While many think this river is dead, this event and the thousands of those who have volunteered their time are keeping this river alive!”

In honor of the 10th Anniversary, the Duwamish Alive Coalition is taking the opportunity to celebrate the impact of this event on the health of the watershed and to honor these thousands of volunteers who have contributed to the restoration of the Duwamish River and its watershed.

“Duwamish Alive brings together families, employees from influential Puget Sound businesses, youth and school groups, and individuals from across the region to restore a river vital to our economy and the community,” says Steve Dubiel, Executive Director of coalition member EarthCorps. “Working side by side, the volunteers are doing more than improving the health of the Duwamish River, they are strengthening connections to each other and our city.”

As part of the celebrations preceding the restoration work, select volunteers will be presented with the John Beal Environmental Stewardship Volunteer Award, an award designed to recognize the contributions of individuals to the overall health of the Duwamish River. The Awards are named in honor of John Beal, who dedicated decades to the health of the Duwamish River and the Puget Sound.

A US Marine and Vietnam veteran, Beal suffered from a series of heart attacks stemming from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was given only a few months to live. During that time, he chose to clean up his neighborhood stream, Hamm Creek. Over the next two decades, Beal became a beacon of all the good a single person can accomplish directly benefiting our only river, the Puget Sound and the overall health of our communities.

“I am so proud that the legacy of my friend John Beal will be remembered in this way,” says Rasmussen, who worked with Beal first as a representative of the Duwamish Tribe in the early 1980s. They continued working closely until Beal’s death in 2006. “He loved the Duwamish River and inspired so many people to also love it and to take action.”

Award recipients will be announced as part of the 10th Anniversary celebrations at T-107 on April 18 prior to the work happening on site. Volunteers will receive an award featuring a photograph by local photographer Tom Reese taken at Hamm Creek.

This event will also feature keynote Tukwila City Councilmember Dennis Robertson who is also the chair of the WRIA 9 Management Committee.

“I love the Green/Duwamish and I’m almost as excited about the chance to talk about the river as I am to sweat a bit restoring it,” says Robertson.

Also on site will be artists from Duwamish Revealed, a summer-long exhibition exploring the unique beauty and history of the Duwamish River through outdoor art installations, performance, film, events, and other adventures along the river. T-107 will be home to five of these temporary installations.

“Art and restoration go hand in hand to build a culture of appreciating and caring for the river. The first Duwamish Alive! cleanup event featured The Living Barge as an artistic statement about the river’s history and future,” said Sarah Kavage and Nicole Kistler in a statement released by the Artistic Directors for Duwamish Revealed, a project of ECOSS. “A decade later, Duwamish Alive! is thriving, and over 40 artists will be celebrating this unique place through art, culture, and performance this summer through Duwamish Revealed. We could not be more proud or honored to be part of this great event.”

On April 18, Duwamish Alive volunteers will be at 11 sites in the Duwamish River Watershed from 10am to 2pm. Media event and the presentation of the John Beal Environmental Stewardship Volunteer award will take place at 9:30am at T-107 Park.

About Duwamish Alive Coalition
The Duwamish Alive Coalition is a partnership of local nonprofits, community groups, businesses, Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments working together to improve the health of the Duwamish River Watershed. The partnership holds two major watershed restoration events each year with this Spring event expected to include close to 1000 volunteers. The events are designed to increase the public’s awareness of the impact of urbanization on the natural environment and promote community stewardship of the entire watershed, especially in our open spaces.

Volunteer Event: April 18, 10am to 2pm, 11 sites in the Duwamish Watershed

This restoration works supports 5 Pacific salmon species including populations of threatened or endangered Chinook and Coho salmon, bull trout, rare native salt marshes, migrating birds and other wildlife, once common in the vast Duwamish Delta prior to Seattle’s industrial development over the past 150 years.

Work sites include a river cleanup by kayak and canoe, shoreline salmon habitat restoration, and native forest revitalization. Activities at all sites begin at 10 AM and conclude at 2 PM. Refreshments, tools, and instructions will be provided. All ages and abilities are welcomed as no experience is necessary; families, company groups, clubs, individuals, schools, are encouraged to participate. Duwamish Waterway Park and T-107 has support for both Spanish & English languages. Children under 10 must have 1-to-1 supervision.

Event Sponsor: Rose Foundation

To volunteer, visit www.DuwamishAlive.org and RSVP to the contact of the site you choose, or email volunteer@duwamishalive.org.

Duwamish Alive Coalition Partners: Boeing Employees Credit Union, City of Seattle, City of Tukwila, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG, Duwamish Tribe, EarthCorps, Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, Friends of Roxhill Bog, EPA, Forterra, King Conservation District, King County, Nature Consortium, Port of Seattle Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Recology, Seattle City Light.