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City of Seattle Blog

This year’s Environmental Justice Fund application is open! 

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Apply for a grant of up to $75,000 by 4 p.m. Friday, September 16.

The Office of Sustainability and Environment is now accepting applications for grants from the City’s Environmental Justice Fund. Established in 2017, this fund supports projects whose beneficiaries or leadership include those most impacted by environmental and climate inequities, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, immigrants, refugees, people with low incomes, young people, and the elderly. This year, a total of $750,000 is available, and grant amounts will range from $25,000 to $75,000. We’re seeking applications from nonprofit organizations and community groups working to advance environmental justice and respond to the impacts of climate change. 

The deadline is 4 p.m. on Friday, September 16. The application link and more information can be found on our website here.

For those with further questions or in need of assistance, we’re offering several ways to get in touch. Prospective applicants can: 

Interpretation is available upon request. 

To show off some examples of what the Environmental Justice Fund has helped Seattleites accomplish, we’ll be featuring past grant recipients here on our blog and on our social media throughout the application period. Stay tuned for more! 

Summer interns working for the Delridge Neighborhood Development Association – a 2019 Environmental Justice Fund grant recipient – transplant native vegetation into planters they built themselves. 

This week’s heat wave, and what we’re doing about it

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Seattle is in the midst of a record-setting heat wave, with high temperatures forecast to reach the low 90s each day through Saturday. (You can see the National Weather Service’s latest forecast for downtown here.) Evenings will not offer much respite from the heat. As our climate changes, extreme weather events like this one and last year’s unprecedented heat dome are happening more often and with greater intensity. 

While this might be normal summer weather for other parts of the country, here we are not as accustomed to such extreme heat – and neither are our homes and infrastructure. As of 2019, just 44.3% of Seattle households had air conditioning, and that percentage is lower for households who rent rather than own. Without air conditioning, this heat can be dangerous and even lethal. 

Please visit AlertSeattle for advice on heat safety, a list of air-conditioned cooling centers, resources for the homeless, and more information on the City’s response to the extreme heat. 

Planning for the future 

The extreme heat we’re all experiencing this week is a reminder of the immenseness of the climate crisis and the importance of combating it. OSE is working to address the causes of these extreme weather events and help Seattleites endure their consequences. 

We’re cutting down on the City’s contributions to climate change by transitioning our buildings and transportation away from fossil fuels. By assessing and supporting tree canopy cover, we’re helping to cool down neighborhoods and counter the urban “heat island” effect. We are especially concerned with making sure that frontline communities – those that face especially harsh impacts from climate change, and are often already disadvantaged in other ways – receive their fair share of support from the City. This has motivated efforts including our Equity & Environment Initiative and the Duwamish Valley Program. 

We encourage Seattle residents to take full advantage of our environmental policies by: 

Share your thoughts on the City of Seattle’s Food Action Plan before August 19 

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The City of Seattle is updating its 2012 Food Action Plan, our roadmap for an equitable, sustainable, and resilient local food system that supports healthy, vibrant communities. We are seeking public input on the draft plan until August 19. 

The food system touches nearly all aspects of everyday life, with significant impacts on our health, economy, climate, and environment. Food and meals are a large portion of most family budgets. The food system is also a major employer, and can provide communities with nourishing food from farm to fork. Unfortunately, persistent racial and social inequities exist in our food system at the local, regional, national, and global scale. COVID and climate change are deepening these injustices. The need to forge an updated Food Action Plan has never been more urgent. 

We have spent months consulting and engaging with a diverse range of food system stakeholders and experts representing the communities most impacted by racial inequities in our food system. Their input has helped us to develop seven draft Strategic Priorities and 40 draft Actions the City can take to move us closer to a local food system that: 

  • Ensures equitable access to healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant food; 
  • Supports locally grown food and urban farming, prioritizing those communities which were historically excluded from land access; 
  • Offers equitable economic opportunity and promotes fair labor practices; and 
  • Prevents food waste and climate pollution. 

From now until August 19, we are inviting your opinions and comments on the Food Action Plan’s draft Strategic Priorities and the actions associated with each priority. Please visit https://seattlefoodactionplan.consider.it/ to sign up and get started. As you will see, there is a lot to give input on. Please feel free to pick and choose the strategies and policy areas that are most important to you. 

The seven draft Strategic Priorities are: 

  1. Food & Meal Programs: Increase access to food and meal programs that are culturally responsive and promote health and food security. 
  1. Land Access: Increase access to land for growing food as well as for community and economic development projects that involve food, prioritizing the communities most impacted by historically racist policies and practices. 
  1. Education: Expand access to culturally relevant and empowering food and nutrition education for youth, adults, and older adults. 
  1. Economy & Labor: Create an equitable, fair, and healthy local food economy for Seattle workers, businesses, and residents. 
  1. Supply Chains: Foster equitable, environmentally sustainable, and strengthened local supply chains.  
  1. Food Waste: Prevent food waste. Rescue and redistribute surplus food for people who need it and compost the rest into new natural resources. 
  1. Environment: Reduce climate pollution associated with Seattle’s food system and support food production that improves the environment. 

The finalized Food Action Plan is scheduled for completion in late 2022. 

Seattle’s Fresh Bucks program announces $25 summer bonus for fresh fruits and veggies, expands to Central Co-op 

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Exciting news to share from Seattle’s Fresh Bucks program, which provides customers with monthly benefits that can be spent on fruits and vegetables at Seattle farmers markets and partnered retailers! Fresh Bucks is now offering customers a summer bonus and has officially expanded to include Capitol Hill’s Central Co-op. 

Fresh Bucks Summer Bonus:  

On Friday, July 15, Fresh Bucks customers received an extra $25 in their Healthy Savings account on top of their usual monthly benefits. This bonus expires August 31.  

Fresh Bucks customers are encouraged to make the most of their summer bonus before it expires by purchasing fruits and vegetables at any of the program’s 38 partner locations, including farmers markets, independent grocers, and Safeway stores within Seattle. 

Fresh Bucks Now Accepted at Central Co-op in Capitol Hill: 

Fresh Bucks customers in the Capitol Hill area can now head to the Central Co-op, a community-owned natural foods store offering a wide selection of sustainable, fresh, and locally sourced fruits and vegetables. It is located at 1600 E Madison Street near King County Metro bus routes 2, 11, and 12, and is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. 

For more information about the Fresh Bucks program, visit seattlefreshbucks.org, call 206-256-5438, or email freshbucks@seattle.gov. 

Seattle “Clean Buildings Accelerator” Program Launching Summer 2022

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Clean buildings are essential for meeting City and State energy, climate, and equity goals. The Washington State Clean Building Performance Standards law seeks to lower energy costs and climate-polluting emissions from existing buildings and provides incentives to encourage building owners to improve energy efficiency.

The City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE) is working with Stillwater Energy to launch a new program focused on supporting under-resourced buildings to meet the WA Clean Buildings Performance Standards requirements and reduce emissions, prioritizing non-profit owned and buildings that serve or are in BIPOC communities.  

Two Offerings to Start:

  • Education: Self-led learning including pre-recorded webinars, common energy and carbon reduction opportunities, checklist, templates, examples, how to identify targets, energy efficiency and emissions reduction opportunities.  
  • Light coaching-style trainings: Tailored support, including live virtual workshops, site-specific virtual energy walk through, expert review of documents, project identification and prioritization. Seeking up to 30 participants for 2022.  

Register today for a 60-minute informational session to learn more about the Seattle Clean Buildings Accelerator: 

Or visit the Seattle Clean Buildings Accelerator webpage.

June 16: Join OSE for the Second Building Performance Standards Online Open House

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Developing a successful Seattle Building Performance Standards (BPS) policy will require understanding and offering solutions to meet the challenges – technical, financial, operational, or otherwise – that building owners, managers, and tenants may face in making upgrades. OSE is committed to a collaborative effort to maximize benefits to building owners and tenants and to ensure equitable pathways to high quality green jobs, especially for people of color and women.

On June 16th from 12pm to 1:30pm OSE is hosting a zoom webinar to give an update on our Building Performance Standard policy work to date and share highlights of stakeholder feedback received so far on the potential policy. In this open house, OSE will share the draft BPS policy framework and the policy timeline, and take comments and questions on the draft policy framework. Register for June 16th webinar.

Catching Up on the April 5 Open House

On April 5, OSE hosted the first open house, attended by 350 people, which gave an overview of how buildings contribute to climate pollution and the ways this pollution affects people’s health and our community, especially impacting communities of color. Staff presented on existing City policies to reduce climate pollution and discussed building performance standards (BPS) — what they are, how they work, how they might complement current state and city policies, and their benefits. Following the presentation, staff responded to audience questions and comments, which are summarized in the Q & A below. 

Why Building Performance Standards?

Seattle Building Performance Standards are projected to reduce building sector emissions 27% by 2050. They are the single most impactful building policy the City can implement in the next few years to reduce climate pollution and transition toward cleaner, healthier buildings.

Building performance standards are energy or emissions targets that existing buildings must meet over time to improve energy efficiency and reduce climate impacts. The City is developing an approach that would gradually phase out carbon pollution from existing commercial and multifamily buildings 20,000 square feet (ft2) and larger through mandatory emissions targets, beginning 2026 for the largest commercial buildings, that become more stringent over time, to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2045.

For more information on Building Performance Standards, see the OSE website at: www.seattle.gov/building-performance-standards.

King Conservation District Seattle Community Partnership Programs Awards $761,000 to 13 Organizations

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King Conservation District (KCD) and OSE are continuing their longstanding collaboration to invest in natural resource improvements that are led by or in deep partnership with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.

KCD received 35 applications from amazing community organizations requesting over $2.4 million dollars in funding. The program had $761,000 available to award this year and selected 13 organizations. Proposed projects represented a range of activities and ideas including community education and empowerment, green career pathways, youth leadership, food justice, habitat conservation, composting and soil health, urban forest restoration, watershed health, and many more.

The focus of this funding opportunity and the 2022 awards continues to be investments in natural resource improvements that are co-created, led by, or in deep partnership with communities disproportionately impacted by environmental injustice, climate change, and systematic racism: Black, Indigenous, People of Color, immigrants, refugees, people with low incomes, youth and elders.

This year, King Conservation District and the City of Seattle are thrilled to announce awards to the following community organizations:

2022 King Conservation District (KCD)-Seattle Community Partnership Grant Program Awardees

AmountOrganizationProject Details
$25,000Hip Hop is GreenCherry Street Farm and Lab: Youth Excellence Program (Y.E.P) Phase II
$70,000InterIm CDADanny Woo Community Garden and Cooking Project
$70,000iUrban TeenResilience, Innovation and Sustainability in a Changing World
$25,000Khmer Community of Seattle King CountyIntergenerational Khmer Land Ethic Internship
$50,000Na’ah Illahee FundContinuation of Daybreak Star Restoration for Sovereign Futures
$70,000Nurturing RootsUrban – Rural Food Connection
$70,000Plant Based Food SharePlant Based Food Share Project
$70,000Restaurant 2 GardenRestaurant 2 Garden Project
$70,000Somali Family Safety Task ForceSomali Community Growing Together
$58,000Sustainable SeattleRiparian Caretakers
$70,000Villa ComunitariaSalsa De La Vida
$70,000Windz of Change AllianceRestoring Native Stewardship in Urban Ecology
$43,000YouthCareYouthGrow Project
$761,000Total funds awarded for 2022

Listening to Community Priorities to inform Critical Climate Investments

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Green New Deal Oversight Board to present budget 2022 and 2023/24 budget recommendations in early June.

On April 18th, the Green New Deal Oversight Board held a public listening session to create a space for community input, build connections, and inform future priorities of the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal Oversight Board is comprised of 19 members who work to connect frontline community led voices and the Seattle city government to eliminate Seattle’s climate pollution by 2030, while resolving racial, social, and economic inequities.

The primary goals of the Green New Deal are:

  • Address the Climate Crisis and Environmental Injustice: reduce climate pollution and climate adaptation
  • Build an Inclusive Low-Carbon Economy: workforce development, contracting, and community wealth building
  • Promote Community Health and Well-being: reduce climate related health disparities
  • and foster resiliency

At the listening session, attendees were broken up into 8 small groups facilitated by Oversight Board members with notes captured by OSE staff. Each small group worked through the following set of questions:

  • Imagine it is 2030 Seattle is pollution free what lead us here? Share your idea in a headline form.
  • Do you know of an existing or new idea of a project, program, policy, that aligns with the
    following Green New Deal priority area?
  • Are there existing city programs or projects that you would like to see more of in your
    community? (Examples: Broader opportunities to sign up for the Utility Discount Program, more
    access to home weatherization rebates, or more environmental education programs in schools)
  • What are existing education programs, early career services, or entry level positions in the
    climate and environmental sector? How could access to these programs be expanded? What
    programs could be created in this space?
  • Of the ideas shared what things would you do immediately and what things would come later?

Breakout Group Discussion Themes

  • Decrease our reliance on fossil fueled vehicles
    • Develop programs and incentives for people with low incomes to access EVs such as a community car share program
    • More public transit electrification
    • Subsidize energy transition for community members with low incomes
  • Decrease our reliance on fossil fuels in buildings
    • Scale up our oil to electric home heating program and include gas
    • Support more solar energy generation
    • Expand weatherization programs for residential buildings
    • Close the financial gap between developing affordable and low income housing & green building
    • Subsidize energy transition for community members with low incomes
  • Invest in youth and community education efforts
    • Invest in community based organizations to provide critical education and technical assistance to community members who are eligible for incentives and assistance programs
    • Invest in education for young people
    • Environmental and climate justice curriculum in schools
    • Develop a youth workforce training & education center
  • Ensure that workforce development strategies are developed as part of climate policy development
    • Invest in pathways into apprenticeships to meet the workforce demand
    • Invest in ways that connect youth into career pathways that are a part of decarbonization and climate adaptation efforts
    • Support accessible avenues for community land ownership
    • Develop creative ways to bring people together to foster community building, community cohesion and relationship building while raising awareness around climate change and inspiring collective action & solutions development

Overcoming Challenges & Building Opportunities Together

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2021 Duwamish Valley Program Update & Progress Report 

By Alberto J. Rodríguez (OSE) & David W. Goldberg (OPCD) 

It is no secret the last couple of years have been extremely challenging. But, due to the incredible grit, perseverance, and community leadership, we have overcome many challenges and built opportunities — together. In this update we describe some the Duwamish Valley Program’s highlights from 2021.

Throughout the years, the South Park and Georgetown communities have identified priorities and developed plans in collaboration with volunteers, universities, non-profits, philanthropic entities, and government agencies, many of which are led by communities of color and low-income communities and thus ensure that racial and social justice are front and center. None of these efforts would be successful without the many community members who contributed countless hours of volunteer time and labor to improve their neighborhoods and help deliver projects and programs. To all of you, THANK YOU! 

Since 2016, the City of Seattle’s Duwamish Valley Program and Duwamish Valley Action Team (DAT) have worked to create positive change in the Duwamish Valley and build a more just and equitable city. Despite encountering many obstacles and delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the DAT continued to work collaboratively to break silos, use an intersectional approach, and build partnerships with community, other agencies, and philanthropic organizations to deliver on the actions included in the  Duwamish Valley Action Plan.

We would like to share some highlights from 2021:  

2022 Duwamish Valley Package of Investments: 

The City’s 2022 budget included one of the largest packages of investments since the release of the Action Plan in 2018 (approximately $9 million). These investments will expand youth leadership and capacity building, fund essential improvements to community gathering spaces, improve mobility and access to greenspace and the Duwamish River, improve air and environmental quality, and support local businesses and workforce development. Many of these were supported by and will be aligned with Seattle’s Green New Deal.

COVID-19 Relief & Response: 

Photo Credit: Rosario-Maria Medina

The Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE) supported 12 women- and BIPOC-owned small businesses in Georgetown and South Park with technical assistance and/or four rounds of protective supplies and gear. Additionally, in partnership with community-based organizations, we supported more than 100 South Park and Georgetown families and individuals with rental assistance, utility payments, emergency grocery vouchers, and healthcare costs. 

Reconnect West Seattle:

The unexpected closure of the West Seattle Bridge dramatically impacted the Duwamish Valley communities. In 2021, Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Department of Neighborhoods (DON) worked with South Park and Georgetown community members to identify, design, and implement traffic calming and pedestrian safety projects to mitigate for the bridge closure. Among other things, together we planted 100 street trees each in South Park and Georgetown; established Home Zones in both neighborhoods; built a new sidewalk and finished the Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center interim crossing signal to provide safer access to those visiting the Longhouse and people walking and biking on the Duwamish Trail; and many other things.  

Duwamish Valley Resilience District:  

OSE, the Office of Planning & Community Development (OPCD), and Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), launched, paused, and re-launched our efforts to establish a Resilience District in the Duwamish Valley. While delayed, we made progress last year, including hiring Equitable Future to lead community engagement efforts and Environmental Works as the landscape architecture firm to support the design and implementation of two pilot projects (i.e., Unity Electric site planning in South Park and improvements to 8th Ave. S in Georgetown). In the next few weeks, we will begin broad community engagement. Stay tuned for more information.   

And there’s even more!

We also want to celebrate progress on all seven priority areas in the Action Plan, including:  

Healthy Environment:

Photo Credit: Hannah Letinich

Parks & Open Spaces:

  • Duwamish Waterway Park. Seattle Parks & Recreation (SPR) has been making improvements to the park. Construction is nearing completion and work is underway with the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) to define final environmental remediation actions. 
  • South Park Community Center. SPR finalized design, is currently working on corrections, and anticipates bidding this summer with construction starting in the fall of 2022. 
  • South Park Plaza. SPR has been leading this work. The project is nearing completion of construction documents and permits have been submitted to King County for their review and approval.  
  • Unity Electric. SPR purchased a 1-acre site on the Duwamish River (Unity Electric site), next to Duwamish Waterway Park to support community interests in open space, increasing access to the river, habitat restoration, and developing community-supportive nonprofit spaces. 
  • Georgetown Flume Off-Leash Area. SCL transferred part of the property SPR to develop a new off-leash area and pedestrian thoroughfare in the Georgetown neighborhood. After meeting with Ecology, SPR learned that the project is now required to submit an Interim Action Work Plan (IAWP) that Ecology must approve. Consequently, construction must be delayed until summer of 2023, contingent upon Ecology’s approval of the IAWP. 
  • 8th Ave. S and Gateway Park North. SDOT continues working with community, SPR, and the Port of Seattle on plans to improve the 8th Ave. S Street End/Gateway Park North in Georgetown, and to develop an environmental testing and remediation strategy.  

Community Capacity:

Seattle Human Services Department and OSE supported the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps and Georgetown Youth Council; OPCD and Finance & Administrative Services continued supporting tenants with developing long-term plans for managing and improving the South Park Neighborhood Center; DON, OSE, and OPCD funded community-based organizations  via the Food Equity Fund, the Duwamish River Opportunity Fund, the Environmental Justice Fund, and the Equitable Development Implementation Fund; and OPCD and SPR launched community engagement for site planning for the Unity Electric property. 

Mobility & Transportation:

SDOT secured funding for the construction of the Georgetown to South Park Connection/Trail (including the intersection at 16th Ave. S and E Marginal Way S) and SPU and SDOT began a project to improve chronic flooding and drainage issues in South Park. 

Economic Opportunity & Jobs:

Several departments increased local access to contracting and jobs and the Office of Economic Development and OSE provided support to small businesses via COVID-19 relief funds and Neighborhood Recovery Funds.   

Affordable Housing:

The Office of Housing entered into a purchase and sale agreement on two adjacent properties in South Park. They expect to complete the acquisition in the first half of 2022. 

Public Safety:

SDOT implemented pedestrian safety and traffic calming projects as part of Reconnect West Seattle and supported improvements to the Duwamish Bikeway/8th Ave. S Trail in South Park 

In 2022 and 2023, many of these projects will go from planning and design to construction, so you will be seeing on-the-ground improvements.  

We look forward to continuing working with you to advance environmental justice, equitable development, and climate and community resilience in the Duwamish Valley. 

Thanks for your ongoing support! 

Alberto & David  

Seattle Confirms Six Members to the Urban Forestry Commission

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The City of Seattle set the bold goal of achieving 30% tree canopy cover by 2037 to increase the environmental, social, and economic benefits trees bring to Seattle residents. The Urban Forestry Commission (UFC) is composed of thirteen members, six appointed by the Mayor, six appointed by City Council, and one (Position #9) is elected by the Urban Forestry Commission. Commissioners have knowledge in the areas specific to the position for which they are applying, including skills such as architecture, environmental justice, ecology, community outreach, and more. For more information

The UFC’s newly confirmed members include:

Hao Liang:

Hao Liang is a landscape architect. He devotes his academic and professional interests to design, cultural landscape, urban forestry, and marginalized communities. As a designer, he thinks cross-disciplinarily about social and environmental issues at different scales. He has worked on a wide range
of projects including public space, green infrastructure, campus planning, commercial development, and residential design. Hao enjoys the process of collaboration, learning from communities, and watching the daily changes of our built environment. In the context of the Urban Forestry Commission, Hao sees identity, inclusion, and equity as situated in different layers on a given topic, which are policy, planning, design, practice, and outreach. Hao is familiar with planning studies and design implementations. He will strive to communicate his specialty to others, make the process easier when it can be, and encourage everyone to participate. Hao is being appointed to serve the remainder of a three-year term ending March 31, 2024.

Rebecca B. Neumann

Dr. Neumann leads the hydro-biogeochemistry research group in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Washington. The group investigates transport and reaction of chemicals in the environment, tackling societally relevant topics, such as food and water quality and global climate change. Dr. Neumann was the 2018 recipient of the American Geophysical Union’s Charles S. Falkenberg Award, which recognizes “an early- to middle-career scientist who has contributed to the quality of life, economic opportunities and stewardship of the planet through the use of Earth science information.” Prior to UW, Dr. Neumann worked as a NOAA Climate and Global Change postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University in the Department of Organismal and Evolutionary Biology. She received a Doctorate degree in Environmental Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and baccalaureate degrees in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Art and Art History from Rice University. Outside of work she enjoys exploring the mountains with her husband and two kids. Rebecca is being appointed to serve the remainder of a three-year term ending March 31, 2024.

Lia Hall

Lia Hall was born and raised in Seattle by an ethnically and culturally mixed family. After a short stint as an adult in New York City, she returned to the Emerald City of her youth. She resides in Rainier Beach near her sanctuary, Kubota Garden. With her husband/business partner, Cedar, they have two small children and run a neon sign shop mostly producing signage for small businesses in and around Seattle. Lia also has taught yoga classes since 2006, prioritizing offering classes for BIPOC communities and pregnant folks. She has a Permaculture Landscape Design Certification through Seattle Tilth and is passionate about planting, propagating and sharing native plants. Lia wants to help bring our city into alignment with its sustainability goals through advocating for our tree relatives while ensuring our community members have a voice. She believes we can all have a more equitable, happier, healthier future if we plan and design for the needs of a growing city while protecting our urban forests. Lia is being appointed to serve the remainder of a three-year term ending March 31, 2024.

Joseph Sisneros

Joe Sisneros has a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Resource Management from the University of Washington, with a concentration in the Sustainable Forest Management option. He has field and research experience in forestry and riparian restoration. Born on Coast Salish lands and raised in what is now Everett, WA, Joe loves to backpack, loves to read, and loves live music. With a formal education in forest ecology and oceanography, Joe has immense appreciation for the ecology of the Pacific Northwest and a deep passion for people that inhabit this incredibly special part of our Earth. Joseph is being appointed to serve the remainder of a three-year term ending March 31, 2023.

Falisha Kurji

Falisha Kurji (they/she) is a graduate of the University of Florida with majors in Sociology and Sustainability Studies. They are deeply passionate about the intersections of environmental and social justice, and seek to advocate for BIPOC, lower-income, and unhoused communities’ access to green spaces. They are an alum of the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at the University of Washington, where they developed a strong foundation and experience working on environmental justice issues. They are currently the Community Partnerships Coordinator at Seattle Parks Foundation, where they work with various community-led groups who are working to create safe and accessible public green spaces. In their free time, they enjoy learning about ethnobotany, connecting with their South Asian heritage, and dancing. Falisha is being appointed to serve a three-year term ending March 31, 2025.

Joshua N. Morris

Joshua is the Urban Conservation Manager at Seattle Audubon. In his role, Joshua leads engagement on
local conservation issues and coordinates coalition building, advocacy and outreach to support urban
conservation priorities which include our urban trees. Joshua holds a Master of Arts in international environmental policy and brings over ten years of professional and volunteer experience in environmental conservation to the Urban Forestry Commission. He is being appointed to a second term ending March 31, 2025.

Learn more about Seattle’s Urban Forestry efforts at Seattle’s Trees for Seattle website and the Urban Forestry Commission site.