Help our Duwamish Watershed’s Health

Our partners with your help in a collaborative stewardship effort across our watershed, are making lasting, positive improvements in the health and vitality of the Green-Duwamish Watershed. Volunteers work at multiple sites in the river’s watershed, connecting the efforts of communities throughout the watershed from the river cleanup by kayak/shore patrols, shoreline salmon habitat restoration, and forest revitalization.  This effort continues throughout the year with our partners offering opportunities to care for our water, lands and communities.

 The following partners have volunteer opportunities for individuals, families or groups, just click on their link to connect with their events listing or email info@duwamishalive.org for additional information:

Delridge Neighborhood Development Assn

DIRT Corps

Earth Corps

 Green Seattle Partnership, Seattle Parks

Green Tukwila Partnership, Tukwila Parks

Heron’s Nest

 King County Parks 

Mid-Sound Fisheries Enhancement

Puget Soundkeeper Alliance

Green River Coalition  

 Green-Duwamish River Salmon — Do You Know —

Our river’s 5 species of salmon are fearlessly returning from their amazing life journey which started as eggs in gravel nests (only less than 1% will return to spawn) in the southern part of the watershed’s river, creeks and channels.  As the young salmon grew, they started their great journey traveling down the river towards the ocean, where their bodies changed from living in fresh water to adapting to the salt water of the ocean.  This change starts in the river where tidal flows start to occur in Tukwila and is know as the important transition zone, making the young salmon ready for their life in the ocean.  As the young salmon reach Elliot Bay, they move along the shoreline feeding and resting with the Pacific Ocean as their destination.  They have lived in the ocean from 2 – 7 years before they start their long journey home to their birth place, sometimes traveling thousands of miles to the creek of their birth.  These amazing salmon have survived predators, shrinking habitat and climate change to give life to their next generations.

Can you name all 5 of the river’s salmon species?

(Chinook/King, Coho, Pink, Chum, Sockeye)

Not only is their life journey amazing but the salmon web of life which has developed over thousands of years with over 130 wildlife species dependent on salmon, trees which have salmon DNA from salmon carcasses fertilizing the soil, and their cultural and economic regional importance.  You can see these astonishing salmon on their journey in spring to the ocean as juveniles and then as adults returning at these locations along the river :

t̓uʔəlaltxʷ Village Park,  4260 W Marginal Way SW, Seattle 98106

Herrings House and həʔapus Village Parks,  4750 W Marginal Way SW, Seattle, 98106

Duwamish River People’s Park and Shoreline Habitat, 8700 Dallas Ave S, Seattle,  98108

Cecil Moses Park and North Wind’s Weir,  2914 South 112th St. Tukwila,  98168

Codiga Park, 50th Place South, Tukwila, 98178

Fort Dent Park, 6800 Fort Dent Way, Tukwila,  98188

Longfellow Creek Diary Project

Our iconic Longfellow Creek runs the length of West Seattle, From its headwaters at Roxhill Park to Elliot Bay, the creek is an important part of this city’s story and that of our community.  We want your personal stories of the creek in this community Diary of Longfellow – past experiences, current activities or special memories, all help to tell the tapestry of Longfellow’s story throughout time.  If you have historic photos of the creek that you would like to share as a part of this project, please email:   museum@longhousemuseum.org

This is a collaborative project with Log House Museum, Duwamish Alive Coalition, Delridge Neighborhood Development Assn, and Tom Reese.

                             SHARE YOUR LONGFELLOW CREEK STORIES

Rescuing Roxhill Bog …. Why it matters, What has been accomplished so far.

As one of the last remaining ancient peat bogs (over 10,000 years old) in Seattle, Roxhill Bog has a unique ecosystem and is the headwaters of Longfellow Creek, which runs 3.5 miles through West Seattle before it reaches Elliot Bay.  Roxhill Bog plays an important part of the creek’s watershed, as the drainage basin for sixty surrounding acres, collecting sediments and pollutants from rain and storm water run off. Plants absorb some pollutants while the spongy peat soil helps filter sediments, essential for providing healthy water quality. Longfellow Creek is one of Seattle’s few salmon spawning creeks.

Climate change and urbanization has impacted the health of Roxhill Bog, reducing the amounts of water flowing into the wetland to maintain its healthy ecosystem.  Water that would normally flow into the bog has been diverted into storm drainage systems while climate change has increased summer temperatures and reduced rainfall causing the peat to dry and degrade.  Visit our Roxhill Bog page for additional information and to get updates on the restoration project.

Download your     Green Duwamish Journey Guide Book 

 Free   Nature Vision Student Packets (K – 12)