Help restore the Duwamish River this Earth Day

Volunteers can plant native vegetation at Duwamish Waterway Park, other areas

Volunteers can help improve the shoreline of the Duwamish River by planting native plants at Duwamish Waterway Park in South Park this Earth Day, Saturday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The plants for the restoration will be provided by King County's Wastewater Treatment Division.

The volunteer event is part of the Earth Day program Duwamish Alive!, which brings together citizen groups, tribes, government agencies and businesses to plant trees, remove invasive weeds, restore shorelines and collect garbage along Seattle's hometown river.

Duwamish Waterway Park is at 7900 10th Ave. S. Those who are interested in volunteering on this project can contact Frana Milan, 206-767-0432, or frana@ecoss.org.

Additional volunteering opportunities for Duwamish River restoration projects include:

• Herring's House Park, Terminal 107/Puget Creek, where volunteers can weed an existing restoration site and plant the shoreline. People For Puget Sound. Contact Robin Clark, 206-382-7005, ext. 209, or rclark@pugetsound.org.
  
• Gateway Park North/Eighth Avenue South, where volunteer can weed, plant trees, and maintain a street end that will soon be a park. Duwamish River Community Coalition. Contact Cari Simpson, 206-231-5102 or cari_simpson@antiochsea.edu.
  
• West Duwamish Greenbelt, Highland Park Way Southwest and West Marginal Street, where volunteers can weed one of the city's largest green spaces. EarthCorps and Cascade Land Conservancy. Contact Chris Lapoint, 206-322-9296, ext. 217, or chris@earthcorp.org.
  
• Turning Basin III/Kenco Marine, South Park where volunteers can plant vegetation in a recently completed restoration site and celebrate the completion of a series of projects along the river. Muckleshoot Tribe and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Contact John Kern, john.kern@noaa.gov.

Work is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at all five work sites. Other Duwamish Alive! highlights include a noontime Earth Day ceremony at Georgetown's Gateway Park, an afternoon celebration at the South Park Neighborhood Association building and an evening party at the County Line Tavern in South Park.

Duwamish Alive! is organized and supported by the following citizen groups and government agencies: King County, People For Puget Sound, EarthCorps, Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, the Living Barge Project, Cascade Land Conservancy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NOAA Fisheries, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Washington State Department of Ecology, City of Seattle, Port of Seattle and the Green/Duwamish and Central Puget Sound Watershed Forum of Local Governments.

For more information or to sign up for an event, contact Robin Clark, People For Puget Sound, at rclark@pugetsound.org or 206-382-7007. Information is also available at the People for Puget Sound Web site, www.pugetsound.org.