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Four Duwamish River champions honored as volunteers dig in for spring Duwamish Alive!

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(Photos by Macey Wurm unless otherwise credited)

By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

The Duwamish Alive! Coalition hosted the spring version of its twice-annual multi-site volunteer work party today, after taking time to recognize four people with the John Beal Environmental Stewardship Award.

(Photo by Don Brubeck)

The day was kicked off by coalition executive director Sharon Leishman. She noted that typically, Puget Soundkeeper and the River Access Paddle Program would usually be part of the day via an on-water cleanup, but they had to do it last weekend (WSB coverage here) because today’s tide was too low. Last weekend’s cleanup, she announced, brought a quarter-ton of trash out of the river. She then introduced q́wat́É™lÉ™mu, or Nancy Bob of the Duwamish Tribe, who performed a traditional welcome chorus.

Seattle Port Commissioner Hamdi Mohamed thanked the coalition and volunteers. She shared thoughts on her two-month-old daughter’s future stewardship of the land, and expressed hope that her daughter’s children would also someday have an opportunity to engage in stewardship. “The investments we make today ultimately decide what that looks like,” she observed.

Leishman preceded the awards with the backstory of their namesake. John Beal was a Vietnam War veteran, who after suffering some serious medical issues, was informed that he only had four months to live. Within those four months, he dedicated himself to cleaning up Hamm Creek, which feeds the Duwamish River, and was one of the first to acknowledge the Duwamish as a river instead of a waterway, leading to increased stewardship and care. He ended up living 27 years past this initial prognosis, and died in 2006.

The award in his name is not given out often, but this year the coalition honored four individuals – Bob Weeks, Willard Brown, Vince Savery, and Whitney Fraser.

Bob Weeks of Seattle City Light was honored for his extensive work transforming a site at North Wind’s Weir, a transitional zone where freshwater and saltwater mix. The area, which is very important to juvenile salmon, was completely transformed into an incredible area of biodiversity after being dominated by invasive species.

Willard Brown, long known for his work with the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, has spent many years connecting school and community groups to the river and surrounding lands. “When you talk about boots on the ground in the community making a meaningful difference, Willard’s the first name that comes to everybody’s list,” said Leishman.

Vince Savery, with the Port of Seattle, stewarded a site on the lower Duwamish to take it from highly industrialized to a significantly healthier environment. The area serves as the last habitat for salmon before they go into Elliott Bay. He also started the local chapter of Pollinator Pathway.

(Photo by Don Brubeck)

Whitney Fraser of Puget Soundkeeper Alliance started a salmon survey that raised awareness of their pre-spawn mortality rates. Puget Soundkeeper was one of the first organizations to focus on Longfellow Creek in West Seattle. Fraser had advice for the audience of volunteers: “Start showing up and keep showing up, and learn, and try to make it a better place as much as you can.”

After the awards were presented, Andrew with Dirt Corps instructed the volunteers to follow different group leaders to their respective parks to get started on the work party. The Green Seattle Partnership occupied Herring’s House Park, with Dirt Corps at həʔapus, and a smaller group headed to Pigeon Point Park.

The Dirt Corps group went to work on removing the bluebells in the area. They aren’t a native species and are aggressive with their growth, and removing them gives native plants a better chance to thrive.

Green Seattle Partnership volunteers worked to weed and mulch so that the existing plants will be able to survive the upcoming hot summer. These preparations aided a long-term Herring’s House project, aimed at creating a native plant species area and an eventual incorporation of a native sculpture at the entrance of the park.

The Duwamish Alive! Coalition will muster volunteer groups at sites along the river and in its watershed again this fall – October 17 is the date, and when it gets close, volunteer opportunities will be listed at duwamishalive.org.

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