Those with a curiosity about West Seattle’s watershed and ecosystem have an upcoming chance to join a free Rain Water Walking Tour on August 13, put on by People for Puget Sound, Sustainable West Seattle, Stewardship Partners and the City of Seattle.

"Polluted runoff is the single biggest unaddressed source of pollution for Puget Sound and we organize these neighborhood walking tours to show people how the polluted runoff gets into our local creeks, and what people can do to reduce the runoff," Franziska McKay, community educator for People for Puget Sound said.

"We are going to tour the Highpoint neighborhood to show solutions, what can people do as a citizen and in their communities to help reduce this runoff," McKay continued. "The Highpoint neighborhood is a great example. It's created by the City of Seattle and they incorporated some of those low-impact development techniques ... for example rain gardens which are great ... for reducing runoff."

Here is the itinerary from the People for Puget Sound website:

Meet at 10 AM at Sealth High School to learn about the ecology of the Longfellow Creek watershed and continue to The Home Depot located at 7345 Delridge Way SW (between Orchard St & S Sylvan Way) to understand about traditional polluted runoff management methods and the effect of polluted runoff on local fish habitat.

The tour will then follow the legacy trail along Longfellow Creek, up 150 stairs, to the Highpoint neighborhood to view sustainable development solutions to polluted runoff. An optional discussion will conclude the event from 1 – 2 PM at the Highpoint Community Center.

• Learn about polluted runoff as the single biggest unaddressed source of pollution of Puget Sound

• Learn about solution to help reducing the runoffs

• Advocate to friends and networks to do the same

• Become citizen activists campaigning for clean water

There are only 30 spots available!

The tour is free and family friendly. Please wear comfortable shoes. This is an interactive walking tour.

Please RSVP: Emily Fales at EMfales[at]uw.edu

When: Aug 13, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 01:00 PM
Where: Chief Sealth High School, 2600 SW Thistle St, Seattle
Contact Name: Franziska McKay
Contact Phone: 206.382.7007 ext 161