West Seattle, Washington
05 Wednesday
Mandi is organizing weekly post-weekend community cleanups at Alki Beach and invites you to join her if you can: 9 am every Monday morning. Anyone interested in helping can meet her at Alki Beach Bathhouse (60th/Alki). Questions? Email Mandi at mandikhall@gmail.com.
P.S. Bring your own supplies (bag, grabber) if you can!
(WSB photos)
This half-mile-long Duwamish River shore site, where a groundbreaking ceremony was held today for a future park, won’t exist once the project is done.
This is T-117, a Port of Seattle=owned former industrial site in South Park (map) put on the Superfund toxic-cleanup list in 2003, and now destined for restoration to its roots as a tidal marsh. Since big ceremonial crowds are out of the question, a small group of Port and community representatives gathered for today’s event, which the Port streamed live.
It’s an “extraordinary project,” enthused Paulina López, executive director of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition.
DRCC has long been involved with this site (among others); this 2013 WSB story quoted one of her predecessors, describing early cleanup work at T-117. López spoke of the “hope” offered by the site’s transformation, both because it will open up more of the riverfront to a community with “limited public access,” and because the project also promises green job training, with opportunity for youth to learn how to work on habitat restoration and marine conservation.
Magdalena Angel-Cano, also with DRCC, embodies that opportunity – she joined the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps at age 13 and became a “first-generation college student.” She spoke of the need for a clear path for the community’s youth, so there can be more representation in the area’s industries, especially maritime.
The ceremony also included George Blomberg from the Port explaining what’ll happen at T-117.
The site’s elevation will be reduced to bring back the marsh; there’ll be an interpretive path, 8 viewpoints, a pier, and a hand-carry boat launch. Thousands of native plants will go into the ground. “This site has a memory,” observed Blomberg – a memory of its pre-industrial millennia – and that was affirmed by another speaker, Native storyteller/historian Roger Fernandes.
It’s a “powerful act” to see land like this returned to what it once was, Fernandes noted, before telling “The Changer Story.”
The changes here will take place over the next year and a half or so – more project details, and history, are here.
In our coverage last night, we asked for photos of fireworks debris readers found today. First, from Phil at Westcrest Park:
2:07 PM: From Christie at Highland Park Elementary:
From a texter at Alki Beach:
Next one is from Therese in The Junction:
She notes, “Partial debris pile from ONE household’s “celebration” in the alley directly behind Courtesy Tire, which went on until after 2:30 a.m. The smell is terrible, and of course it is impossible to pick up all the little bits.” Toxic, too. Photos from other areas? Send them and we will add – thank you.
ADDED 5:20 PM: From Jackie, near White Center:
Jackie says, “t was 3 am before the bombing stopped. I’ve never before seen residential fireworks the size of a case of beer.” Next, from Kayoko, at North Shorewood Park’s parking lot:
And from Laura at EC Hughes Playground:
Your neighbor Jessica is organizing community cleanups at Alki Beach every first Saturday, 10 am-2 pm. Yes, THIS Saturday – the Fourth of July – too! “Meet outside 2452 Alki Ave SW. Help pick up garbage before it ends in the ocean. Bring gloves, mask, and a bucket or garbage bag with handles for ease. I have 10 pick sticks provided by City of Seattle. Please RSVP at 206.769.6330. Supervised children welcome. FRIENDLY LEASHED Pets welcome but cannot be on Beach. Let’s keep Alki clean.”
Thanks to Lura (who sent the photo above) and Peter for the tips – the seasonal bloom of Noctiluca is back. Our archives have sightings going back a decade; the state Ecology Department says sightings were reported as far back as the mid-1940s. Sometimes (like last year) it’s been seen by mid-May, sometimes not until mid-July, sometimes not at all. The state has a simple explanation here – it’s NOT toxic, and it’s NOT a spill, though it’s also NOT a good thing – and more research details here.
Big installation project at historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse today – new energy-efficient windows for The Hall at Fauntleroy, at the schoolhouse’s south end!
A crane was needed to install the windows – we recorded some video:
Here’s what one of the new windows looks like:
The Hall is a popular venue for events and meetings – this was a perfect time to get the work done since those aren’t allowed to resume yet. (Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering, which operates The Hall, is offering weekly family meals for pickup, though – more info here.)
What a story something seemingly simple can tell – such as the moss that grows in so many places, so much of the year. The Duwamish Valley Cleanup Coalition shares this story of what’s being made possible by youth working on a community-science project:
Moss samples gathered by local youth can serve as reliable scientific samples to help guide air-quality improvements in the Duwamish Valley, a collaborative study has found. The study, led by Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition’s Clean Air Program, in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station and other partners, demonstrates the value of community-gathered moss data as living indicators of air pollution in Seattle’s Duwamish Valley. These data can help identify potential areas of high air pollution for follow-up monitoring and mitigation.
Air monitoring studies have shown the lower Duwamish Valley has some of the worst air quality in the region, but little is known about the local concentrations and specific causes of the pollution. A persistent barrier to cleaning up air pollution in major cities is that it is very difficult to identify localized pockets of pollution at the block or neighborhood scale. Sampling tree moss can help with this problem. “Our cumulative health impacts analysis has shown that people living in the Duwamish Valley have higher rates of diseases linked to air pollution than other areas of Seattle,” said Paulina López, Executive Director of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition. “We envision a healthy place to live and work where the air we breathe does not harm our health or livelihoods, and this study will help us achieve this vision.”
Using community-based participatory methods, 26 teens from the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps were trained how to collect moss samples to use as an indicator of air pollution, by Forest Service scientists and DIRT Corps members. In all, they collected 80 moss samples from street trees in a 5,300-acre grid covering South Park and Georgetown. Scientists then re-sampled moss at 20 locations sampled by the youth corps for comparison. All 100 samples were analyzed in the Forest Service’s Grand Rapids Laboratory for a suite of 25 metals and other elements — including heavy metals like arsenic, lead, and chromium — all of which occur naturally in the environment but which tend to concentrate in cities and industrial areas from sources like traffic and industry.
The study applies techniques developed as part of the Portland Moss and Air Quality Study, which, ultimately, helped to identify several previously undetected hotspots of air pollution in Oregon’s most populous city in 2016. The Portland study also demonstrated the ability of a species of moss commonly growing on trees in the Pacific Northwest, the same as the one gathered in Seattle, to serve as a bioindicator — or living barometer — of air pollution.
The Duwamish moss study’s overarching goal was to determine if community partners, with guidance from scientists, could successfully collect and prepare moss samples for heavy-metal analysis. If so, the study’s results could be used as a screening tool, to empower the community to take action in their own neighborhood by guiding placement of air-monitoring instruments in the Duwamish Valley as well as informing mitigation strategies.
Analysis showed that the samples collected by the youth were consistent with those collected by the scientists, demonstrating that trained youth could, in fact, collect reliable moss samples. Moreover, analysis of the samples yielded maps of concentrations of 25 metals in moss across the Duwamish Valley. “I did not know how much information you can get from moss, now I even look at the trees differently,” said Paola Silva [photo at right], a 15-year-old Duwamish Valley Youth Corps member who gathered moss in the study.
Moss data collected in the study are only an indicator of air pollution, not a direct measurement of metals in the air. Therefore, the relationship between metal concentrations found in the moss to what people might be breathing can only be known by taking air samples using air quality monitors. However, research — like that conducted by Sarah Jovan, a U.S. Forest Service research lichenologist who helped train the youth, coordinated laboratory analysis of the samples, and interpreted the data — shows that higher levels of metals in moss generally reflect higher levels of metals in the atmosphere, making moss invaluable for optimizing the placement of expensive—and, therefore, limited—air monitoring equipment. In addition to demonstrating the promise of community-gathered moss data, the study found that levels of arsenic, chromium, cobalt, and lead in the Duwamish Valley moss samples were higher than those found in similar studies of moss in Seattle-area parks and in residential areas of Portland, Oregon, that were part of the 2016 study. Arsenic and chromium levels in moss in the Duwamish Valley were generally twice as high as those in Portland.
In addition, metal concentrations found in the moss samples were highest in the industrial areas of South Park and Georgetown, especially along the Duwamish River, and lower in the residential areas. There are many potential causes of high metal concentrations in moss, and Forest Service scientists and partners at the University of Washington and Western Washington University are currently working to identify patterns of metal concentrations and possible causes and to study the potential value of different pollution mitigation approaches. The analysis can help the community, regulatory agencies, and the government to collaborate on next steps to address air quality issues in the Duwamish Valley and, in this way, empower the community to address local air pollution. In the meantime, the Duwamish Cleanup Coalition is sharing the study’s initial findings with local, regional, and federal regulatory agencies to begin conversations about potential mitigation efforts. “Even though the findings are still technically ‘preliminary’ and there is already widespread community concern about harmful agents in the air, given the potential public health significance of these findings, clean air is even more important now in protecting communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lopez.
Additional study partners include the U.S. Forest Service, State and Private Forestry, Pacific Northwest Region; Just Health Action; Street Sounds Ecology; The City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment; Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment; and the University of Washington’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. The partners were identified and convened as an Urban Waters Federal Partnership project.
Thanks to the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps for the photos.
(Taproot School students created flags at home to brighten the release bridge where teachers released their fry. Photo by Michelle Taylor)
By Judy Pickens
Special to West Seattle Blog
When school closures started in March, most of the 72 teachers leading Salmon in the Schools projects across the city immediately released their tiny fish into the wild on the chance that some might survive. In West Seattle, however, most salmon teachers found ways to keep growing their fish and to share releases electronically with their students.
Arbor Heights Elementary‘s tank tender Kristin Waitt Hutchinson spun into action as soon as the closure notice came. She quickly got a freshwater tank ready in her garage for the 150 coho fry she had been helping teacher Angie Nall care for at the school. Two months later, she brought the robust fish to Fauntleroy Park, where Angie shared the release as it happened with her students on Zoom. Read More
Beth sent that photo of illegally dumped items along a West Seattle street. The state Ecology Department noted earlier this week that illegal dumping statewide – including toxic items – has risen during the pandemic. But it’s as illegal as ever, so if you see items dumped on public property within city limits – including roadsides, as shown – here’s what to do: Fill out an online report (linked from this page of the city’s website, which also shows locations already reported) or call 206-684-7857.
P.S. If you absolutely have to take something to the city transfer station – here’s the latest on their status.
Three years after we first mentioned Seattle Public Utilities‘ Longfellow Creek Natural Drainage System project – to get polluted stormwater runoff out of the creek – it’s reached a design milestone, and an online open house is ready for your feedback. It’s not just about the creek, SPU says, but also includes a “partnership with SDOT to include pedestrian improvements near the NDS project sites,” which are focused at Sylvan/Orchard, 24th/Kenyon, and further south along 24th. Check out the online open house here; they’re looking for feedback by May 15th.
2:25 PM: It’s Earth Day! Last week, we published a call for signs/displays in West Seattle. Here are some of the photos we’ve received. First – Terry Blumer and family created this in North Admiral:
The call was from the Care for Creation team at Our Lady of Guadalupe and Holy Rosary parishes, both of which have sent contributions – From OLG math teacher Bridget Lawler, on Charlestown Hill:
These were sent by Sr. Juanita Kialkial of Holy Rosary:
From Lucy Johnson, co-chair of the Care for Creation committee with Vince Stricherz, who sent us the announcement last week:
Vince sent this:
From Kanit Cottrell in Gatewood:
Debbie saw this chalk art at Hiawatha Community Center Park:
We’re adding more! Email westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 – thank you!
ADDED WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Two more photos – this one is from Noodle and crew, a photo they took in Tanzania a year ago, displayed as a reminder that the Earth is a home shared by many cultures:
And Clare sent the next photo, explaining, “My 4 (John) and 2 (James) year old have been busy making Earth Day art.”
Thanks again to all!
Something to do on this gray afternoon, if you haven’t done it already – make your window/yard display for Earth Day – which is tomorrow! Last week, we published the call from the Care for Creation team (from Holy Rosary and Our Lady of Guadalupe parishes) to “place Earth-related photos or illustrations in windows or signs in yards to demonstrate solidarity with our planet.” Businesses are participating too – here’s the very first photo we received, from Cynthia at West Seattle Chiropractic, who says this is in the window at their (temporarily closed) clinic:
We’ll be showing more tomorrow – send a photo of YOUR display to westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Through these stay-home weeks, we’ve seen – and heard about – displays from teddy bears in windows to chalk art on sidewalk. Here’s a suggestion we’ve received for next Wednesday, April 22, in honor of Earth Day. From Vince Stricherz:
To mark the 50th anniversary celebration of Earth Day on April 22, the Care for Creation team from Holy Rosary and Our Lady of Guadalupe parishes is urging people all over West Seattle to place Earth-related photos or illustrations in their windows or signs in their yards to demonstrate solidarity with our planet. 
for a Board of Supervisors seat, and now the results are in – Chris Porter of West Seattle 
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