NEWS RELEASE

March 29, 2011
Contact: Cari Simson, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG (206) 234-5102
DUWAMISH ALIVE! HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS WORK TO RESTORE SEATTLE’S ONLY RIVER ON SATURDAY, April 16, 2011

(Seattle WA) Environmental forces will join together at the semi-annual Duwamish Alive! Earth Day river restoration event on Saturday, April 16th. Starting at 10:00am volunteers will roll up their sleeves at multiple sites along Seattle’s industrialized watershed to perform cleanup and restoration work in the ongoing effort to keep Seattle’s only river alive.

Duwamish Alive! brings together over 30 conservation groups, businesses, and government entities, organizing hundreds of volunteers to work at 13 work sites in the river’s lower watershed.

Work sites include a river cleanup by kayak and canoe, shoreline salmon restoration, and native forest revitalization. Families, company groups, clubs, individuals, schools, fraternities and sororities are encouraged to participate, and no experience is necessary.

These volunteer restoration projects complement government efforts to clean up the contaminated sediments at the bottom of the Duwamish River. Improvements in the health of the river will benefit people, wildlife, and runs of threatened salmon on the Green/Duwamish River.

At Codiga Park in Tukwila, volunteers will remove invasive plants and spread mulch to protect recent native plantings. Leading the work at the Codiga Park Site are People For Puget Sound and Tukwila Parks and Recreation.

“The restoration of the Duwamish depends on community, non-profit, government and corporate partners working together to restore the urbanized environment,” said Dhira Brown, restoration ecologist for People For Puget Sound. According to Brown, the Duwamish River Estuary has less than three percent of its original habitat remaining.

At Duwamish Waterway Park in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle, volunteers take to the river in kayaks and small boats to remove marine debris and plastics which are harmful to both water quality and marine life. Also at this site, volunteers will conduct park beautification and pick up trash in the surrounding neighborhood. Working at Duwamish Waterway Park are Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, Argosy Cruises, and Alki Kayak Tours.

“It is great to see how people from the surrounding communities and from all over Seattle are reconnecting with their river,” said Chris Wilke, Executive Director of Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. “This personal connection is a key element in the cleanup and in recovering the river’s natural character”.

A special ribbon-cutting and site dedication will happen at T-107 Public Access site on West Marginal Way in Delridge/West Seattle. The West Seattle Rotary, People For Puget Sound, the Port of Seattle, and Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG partnered to improve a hand-carry boat launch for kayaks and canoes. Volunteers are needed to remove invasive weeds and spread mulch around native plants installed earlier this winter. The ribbon-cutting and site dedication will be from 1-2pm, and joined by the Duwamish Tribe, the Blue Heron Canoe, a NW Native cedar canoe, and local kayakers from Alki Kayak Tours.

“Volunteering at Duwamish Alive is a great first step for citizens to get involved in restoring the Duwamish River; people love to see the positive results of their hard work at the end of the day,” said Cari Simson, Program Manager for Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group. DRCC/TAG is a non-profit organization providing citizen involvement in the Lower Duwamish Superfund Cleanup process.

Another large project will take place at the West Duwamish Greenbelt site in the Delridge neighborhood, where volunteers working with EarthCorps and Nature Consortium will improve Seattle’s largest urban forest through native tree restoration work.
The workday at all 13 sites begins at 10 AM and concludes at 2 PM. Refreshments, tools, and instructions will be provided. All ages and abilities welcomed. Children under 10 must have 1-to-1 supervision.

After the work parties, Nature Consortium is sponsoring an Earth Day Festival that includes free food, hands-on arts projects, live music, and informational booths from local organizations. The Festival takes place from 2pm-4pm at Pathfinder K-8 School, on SW Genesee Street in the Delridge neighborhood of West Seattle.

To volunteer, visit www.DuwamishAlive.org and RSVP to the contact for the site you choose, email contact@duwamishalive.org, or call 206.923.0853.

Media Contacts:

Overall event: Cari Simson, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG (206) 234-5102
Shoreline Restoration sites: Dhira Brown, People For Puget Sound (206) 382-7007 x182
Forest Restoration site and Earth Day Festival: Amy Truax, Nature Consortium (206) 923-0853
In-water debris cleanup site: Nick White, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, (206) 297-7002

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