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Environmental Justice In Action: Rainier Beach Community Farm Stand

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This article is part of the series: “Seattle Environmental Justice in Action” — highlighting projects and organizations that are advancing environmental justice in our city. In 2017, the City of Seattle and the King Conservation District (KCD) to support projects that advance environmental justice along with improving natural resources in Seattle. Project proposals were required to address the goals of the Seattle Equity & Environment Agenda as well as natural resource priorities.

The Rainier Beach Community Farm Stand is a weekly event for the Ethiopian Community in Seattle (ECS). Every Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm, Liya Rubio, Rainier Beach Action Coalition (RBAC) Farm Stand Manager, and her team of staff and volunteers from RBAC and Roots of All Roads, set up a farm stand in the parking lot of ECS. The stand brings in locally sourced fresh produce from people of color (POC)-owned and operated farms to the Rainier Beach community. This is environmental justice in action.

The Farm Stand provides employment opportunities for five young adult fellows who attend weekly staff meetings and are provided with other leadership and learning activities such as field trips to meet the farmers, researching best practices at other farmers markets, and designing the Farm Stand’s logo and slogan – “Start Fresh.”

Michael, one of the Farm Stand Fellows, said he enjoyed working with the Farm Stand, especially learning how to handle cash, running a small business, and having the opportunity to go on field trips to explore other Seattle markets. Fellows are accompanied by three seniors recruited from ECS’ Senior Meal Program. The program is multi-generational, collaborative, and opens communication channels.

The goal of the Farm Stand is to help local POC community members make healthier choices about their diet, especially those with lower incomes on EBT and SNAP. Liya and her team create this safe space at ECS each week so that community members can ask questions about healthy food and how to cook the fruits and vegetables found at the stand.

As the weather starts to change in the next few months, the Farm Stand will transition into the ECS indoor space. The project is funded until February and will continue to bring healthy food and education to the Rainier Beach community through seed exchanges, cooking classes, and recipe sharing.

City of Seattle and King Conservation District announce funding for environmental justice and natural resource improvement projects

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Six organizations to receive a total of $395,458 through the King Conservation District – Seattle Community Partnership Grant Program

The City of Seattle and the King Conservation District have announced funding for projects that advance environmental justice and improve natural resources in Seattle. Six community organizations were awarded grants ranging from $50,000 to $75,000 for projects that will launch in 2019. A total of $395,458 was awarded.

The King Conservation District and the City of Seattle have worked together since 1995 to fund projects that support water quality, soil protection, ecosystem restoration, and urban agriculture within city boundaries. In 2017 the program guidelines and criteria were updated to reflect Seattle’s commitment to environmental justice. Project proposals are now required to address the goals of the Seattle Equity & Environment Agenda as well as natural resource priorities. The Office of Sustainability and Environment coordinates the City’s involvement in the program.

“Seattleites are proud of our natural resources and healthy environment,” said Jessica Finn Coven, the director of the Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment. “However, we know that not all Seattle residents benefit equally from our environmental progress and we have a responsibility to address those inequities. We appreciate the partnership with King Conservation District that enables us to invest in environmental equity.”

“King Conservation District values its partnership with the City of Seattle,” said Bea Covington, King Conservation District Executive Director. “We are committed to working together to develop community-based natural resource projects that address the priorities of the Equity and Environment Agenda and ensure that all Seattle residents have access to local food, healthy forests and clean water.”

The organizations receiving funding and their proposed projects are:

iUrban Teen: Yesler Terrace Goes Green
iUrban Teen is an African-American-led organization focused on career pathways for low-income youth of color. This project will create a durable, cooperative urban farm and promote environmental stewardship in the Yesler Terrace neighborhood by providing economic opportunities for the Black Farmers Cooperative and environmental education and career opportunities for youth.

Na’ahIllahee Fund: Seattle Urban Native Community Indigenous Food & Ecological Knowledge
This project will support a cohort of Native women & girls in learning permaculture design, increasing traditional knowledge, and engaging volunteers in ecological restoration (enrich ponds & surrounding wetlands, remove invasive plants, amend soil, plant native plants. This project will ensure the Master Plan at Discovery Park is informed by Native people.

Young Women Empowered: Y-WE Nature Connections
This project supports a mentoring program for girls (13-18 y.o.) of color and adult women of color that includes an Environmental Leadership Council that focuses on environmental justice and healthy food. Workshops and on-site learning at Marra Farm integrate STEM learning in real-world contexts: habitat protection, urban agriculture, fruit tree maintenance, food preservation, and animal care.

Delridge Neighborhood Development Association: Delridge Wetlands Restoration
This project continues DNDA’s wetlands restoration project at Longfellow Creek, focusing on engaging neighborhood community groups and STEM K-8 teachers & students to restore habitat and native plants and plan a garden for residents and students to grow food. DNDA will engage diverse local organizations & stakeholders to participate in restoration, environmental education, and long-term stewardship of this wetlands area.

A Common Acre: The Green Line – Pollinator Pathway
This project supports the next phase of a demonstration pollinator conservation and native planting project along Seattle City Light’s Creston-Duwamish transmission corridor. In partnership with Unkitawa (a Native American coalition) and Rainier Beach Action Coalition, this project will engage local community members to inform, lead, and model long-term stewardship of this demonstration project.

Zero Waste Washington: Youth green jobs to reduce plastic pollution in the greater Duwamish Valley
This project supports a youth green jobs program in the Duwamish Valley that will assess litter and engage with local businesses to reduce plastic pollution in waterways. This project provides environmental education and career opportunities and engages local organizations in natural resource improvements.

Environmental Justice in Action: Native Food Systems Initiative

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This article is part of the series: “Seattle Environmental Justice in Action” — highlighting projects and organizations that are advancing environmental justice in our city. In 2017, the City of Seattle and the King Conservation District (KCD) to support projects that advance environmental justice along with improving natural resources in Seattle. Project proposals were required to address the goals of the Seattle Equity & Environment Agenda as well as natural resource priorities.

The Na’ah Illahee Fund’s Native Food Systems Initiative encompasses the planting, growing, harvesting, preparing and delivery of a mix of cultivated vegetables and native plants to urban Native people in need across Seattle. This is environmental justice in action.

A cohort member attends drop-in hours to water the garden

The program connects urban Native peoples across the Seattle area through a cohort model that builds community and shares knowledge. The current cohort consists of around 10-15 urban Native peoples from many Indigenous cultures, tribes, and lands. Most often, they are displaced indigenous peoples. In addition to not having access to their homelands, many urban Native people don’t have a garden space where they can plant something and return later to see it thriving.

The garden and greenhouse at the Arboretum provides this garden space.  Stephanie Reidl (Sts’ailes & Musqueam, First Nations) Indigenous Food Program Coordinator at Na’ah Illahee Fund has built the program from the ground up, including supplementing her own knowledge through permaculture training and recruiting cohort members. Many of the systems and principles Euro-Western people know as “permaculture” are appropriated knowledge of Indigenous peoples.

Corn, squash, and beans all grow together to provide complementary shade and ground coverage

The foods that the cohort members are growing and harvesting reflect a diverse group and diverse food traditions. The focus is cultivating heirloom seeds that can be regrown, re-harvested and redistributed to the community. These include Oaxacan green dent corn cultivated by Oaxacan peoples, 800-year-old squash and many others.

Stephanie’s hope is that by providing this garden space, cohort members will share their knowledge, grow together and re-create community. This initiative is part of a thriving food sovereignty movement led by Indigenous peoples that incorporates seed sharing and organized shared learning programs to expand interpersonal networks around plant education and traditional knowledge. In coming months, Stephanie’s goal is to cultivate more opportunities for cohort members to lead the program with more learning activities and field trips.

 

Environmental Justice in Action: Greening Concord Elementary School

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This article is part of the series: “Seattle Environmental Justice in Action” — highlighting projects and organizations that are advancing environmental justice in our city. In 2017, the City of Seattle and the King Conservation District (KCD) to support projects that advance environmental justice along with improving natural resources in Seattle. Project proposals were required to address the goals of the Seattle Equity & Environment Agenda as well as natural resource priorities.

A mural at Concord International Elementary School celebrates the multicultural and diverse roots of its students

Concord International Elementary School is located in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood. Three hundred and sixty-five K-5 students attend the school: 60% of the students are Spanish speakers and 75% are part of the free and reduced lunch program. The 98108 zip code has disproportionally poor air quality and higher rates of childhood asthma than other parts of Seattle.

“This neighborhood has lacked investment for many years. It’s really meaningful to have more beautiful space. Having beautiful surroundings is helpful to instill pride in our kids and show them that they are worth investing in because they are,” said Robin Schwartz, President of Concord PTA.

To ensure community ownership of the of the project, Angélica Mendoza, parent of a child at Concord serving in the role of Project Coordinator and Community Outreach lead, conducted 9 months of engagement and surveying in both Spanish and English on social media and at community and school events, PTA meetings and neighborhood community centers.

Ground has just broken on the site for Concord’s new pollinator garden, funded by a 2017 KCD grant

The final designs include a pollinator garden, funded by King Conservation District, and an updated front entryway, funded by the Duwamish Opportunity Fund and other foundations. The pollinator pathway is an S-shaped garden with native plants that will attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Beyond the obvious benefits of beautification and cleaning the air, children, many of whom live in apartments without garden spaces, will be able to learn about the flora and fauna through science classes and other outdoor learning opportunities.

The project is the culmination of significant community outreach efforts and years of community-led work. The original idea for greening Concord came from the South Park Green Space Vision process in 2014 where the local community identified their ideal updates to public spaces.

 

Seattle’s Benchmarked Buildings Reduce Emissions Nearly 5%

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NEWS RELEASE

FROM THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY & ENVIRONMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:              Sara Wysocki, Office of Sustainability & Environment, sara.wysocki@seattle.gov

 

Seattle’s Benchmarked Buildings Reduce Emissions Nearly 5%

City’s largest buildings are using less energy and reducing climate pollution

 

SEATTLE (Sept. 26, 2018) – A new report released today by the Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment reveals that Seattle’s benchmarked buildings are reducing climate emissions, saving money, and improving performance. Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking ordinance went into effect in 2011 and requires owners of commercial and multifamily buildings 20,000 sq. ft. and larger to track their energy performance and report it annually to the City of Seattle.

“Seattle’s buildings are responsible for one-third of Seattle’s climate pollution. City programs like Energy Benchmarking give building owners the tools they need to be part of our climate solutions,” said Jessica Finn Coven, director of the Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment. “Tracking and reporting energy use is the first step towards improving building performance and this analysis shows that Seattle is on the right track.”

The Seattle Energy Benchmarking program is a key piece of Seattle’s climate strategy. In addition to the climate benefits, the program also assists building owners and managers by showing how their buildings are using—and in many cases wasting—energy. Benchmarking helps building owners stay competitive in a market where tenants and prospective buyers are driving demand for increased for energy efficiency in buildings.

Highlights from the Seattle Energy Benchmarking Analysis Report include:

 

  • Buildings reporting three or more consecutive years of data have reduced overall energy consumption and greenhouse emissions. From 2014 to 2016, total energy use for these buildings declined 3.7% and total emissions declined 4.8%.
  • The median ENERGY STAR score for all buildings has increased by seven points—or 10%—since 2013 while the program has maintained over 99% compliance every year. Additionally, between 2013 and 2016, Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking program added 136 buildings and nearly 43 million square feet of space as Seattle’s construction boom has continued.
  • Although energy improvements since 2014 have led to reduced emissions, many buildings still have room for significant improvements. Hotels, hospitals, high-rise multifamily buildings, labs, and restaurants have the highest emissions per square foot and offer the largest savings opportunities.

 

Seattle’s benchmarked buildings include more than 3,300 properties, representing 323 million square feet of Seattle’s largest commercial and multifamily buildings. In almost every building category, including offices, residential buildings, retail stores, and educational institutions, median energy use per square foot is lower than previous years even when accounting for variations in weather. This is the result of owners adopting more efficient technology, improving building operations and implementing utility incentivized energy efficiency measures.

Data on Seattle’s benchmarked buildings is now easier for the general public and potential tenants to access. Earlier this year, Seattle moved to online building performance profiles to allow for easier public sharing and customized reports for all buildings including information on ENERGY STAR scores, fuel usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and EUI (energy use intensity). The online profiles also give an estimate of annual energy costs and savings opportunities.

 

More information on Seattle’s Energy Benchmarking program is here.

Energy Benchmarking Data Portal

 

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Environmental Justice in Action: Pilot Project with the Ethiopian Community in Seattle

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This article is the first in a series: “Seattle Environmental Justice in Action” — highlighting projects and organizations that are advancing environmental justice in our city. 

Created in 2017 as part of the Equity & Environment Initiative, the Environmental Justice Committee (EJC) supports City staff in creating and advancing environmental programs with strong ownership and collaboration from communities of color and connections to community-based solutions. An early priority for the EJC has been to support and cultivate projects and partnerships that demonstrate environmental justice in Seattle.

Last year, the EJC forged a partnership with the Ethiopian Community in Seattle (ECS) to develop a pilot project that achieved the goals of building partnerships between local government and communities of color and leveraging existing cultural hubs to support place keeping and maximize environmental benefits.

Public spaces represent an important bridge between the physical and symbolic capacity for critical civic engagement. Today, these spaces continue to be where communities of color can gather to exercise their civil rights through meetings, rallies, teach-ins, demonstrations, and celebrations of religious and cultural festivals with (minimal) fear of being targeted by law enforcement or explicit acts of racism. The EJC created and adopted the Principles of Public Space for Communities of Color to guide the process of the project.

Over the course of the pilot project, the partners worked together to co-create an outdoor gathering space for community that also connects to environmental investments in the neighborhood. The collaborative design process with ECS ensured that the voices of their members and residents were centered throughout the development. The process created space for ECS staff to gain insight into city design and environmental solutions while increasing the capacity of government to listen to community and build environmental solutions that center the local users.

The pilot project redesigned a 20 x 21-foot space for an outdoor style “parklet.” The Ethiopian Community of Seattle staff led and leaned into a collaborative design process with the City of Seattle, Framework, and the University of Washington.

The focus from the outset was to enhance multigenerational gathering while supporting culture, growing food, showcasing plants that are native to Ethiopia or similar in type/look to Ethiopian plants, and including outdoor “classroom” elements to share about Seattle’s environmental programs and protections and East African heritage.

The project was also an opportunity for the City to invest in providing an outdoor “cooling” spot in an area that is exposed to heat events and supports climate preparedness in communities by increasing social cohesion.

During the process of creating the pilot project, ECS was able to participate in other built environment projects both on their own site and in their neighborhood. In the summer of 2018, ECS was selected as a recipient of the Equitable Development Initiative Capacity Building Grant for the community center to move forward on their plan to redevelop the property into senior affordable housing with a senior center and daycare on the ground floor.

The EJ pilot project is a model for local government to support community lead design projects that provide quick wins while planning for longer-term projects. ECS was able to go through a quicker, tailored, and implementable design process. The ability to continue to run through a design process and then see it come to fruition, allows community members involved to have a deeper ownership of a space and the learned experience that will carry to future design projects. The collaborative design process of the EJ Pilot Project had an overarching goal of increasing environment investment but did so through a tailored community process that responded to a community priority.

 

City of Seattle and Safeway Partner to Launch Fresh Bucks at Safeway for Residents with Low Incomes

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Residents with low incomes now have greater access to fresh fruits and vegetables

Today, the City of Seattle announced a new partnership with Safeway to make fresh fruits and vegetables more affordable for Seattle residents with limited incomes. Fresh Bucks at Safeway—a healthy food incentive program for SNAP/EBT (food stamps) recipients—launched today at all Safeway locations across the city. Seattle Safeway shoppers can now leverage their purchase of fruits and vegetables into additional healthy produce.

OSE Director Jessica Finn Coven at Fresh Bucks at Safeway launch

“Some of our neighbors in Seattle have to choose between paying their rent, paying medical bills or buying groceries. Cost should not be a barrier to buying healthy food for our children and families. The Fresh Bucks program makes healthy food more affordable, and by partnering to expand these benefits, Seattle families will get the good produce they deserve,” said Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.

Fresh Bucks at Safeway gives shoppers who buy at least $10 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables using their SNAP/EBT and Safeway Rewards card a Fresh Bucks coupon for $5 off their next purchase of produce. There is no limit as to how often shoppers can qualify for a Fresh Bucks coupon. Fresh Bucks at Safeway will be available at all Safeway stores in Seattle.

“Safeway is committed to meeting the needs of our customers in Seattle,” said Sara Osborne, Safeway Director of Public Affairs. “Fresh Bucks helps customers afford the foods they need to lead healthier lives and we are proud to serve them. We look forward to continuing this program and working with the City of Seattle on this partnership.”

Another aspect of the program is Fresh Bucks Rx. Qualified shoppers can receive Fresh Bucks as a “prescription” from participating health systems and organizations. These fruit and vegetable Fresh Bucks prescriptions can be redeemed at face value for fresh produce at all Seattle Safeway locations with no purchase necessary.

Jeri, a Fresh Bucks recipient who regularly shops at her neighborhood Safeway, looks forward to spending more on fresh fruits and vegetables with Fresh Bucks, “I live on a limited budget and that means I am always looking for ways to stretch my dollar, especially when it comes to buying healthy foods. Fresh Bucks means I can shop for a variety of fresh produce, which also helps improve my diet. My food budget is supported by programs like Fresh Bucks.”

The City of Seattle partnership with Safeway is funded through revenue from the City of Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT). SBT revenue is used in part to make healthy food choices more accessible for low-income communities and expand food access programs like Fresh Bucks.

Fresh Bucks first launched in 2012 and includes strategies to increase healthy food access for families with low-incomes and underserved communities, while also keeping food dollars circulating in our regional economy. Fresh Bucks is also available at farmers markets and neighborhood grocery stores. The Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE) administers the Fresh Bucks program in Seattle. To learn more about Fresh Bucks, visit www.freshbuckseattle.org.

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Announcing the Environmental Justice Fund

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Deadline for proposals is October 15.

In partnership with the Seattle Foundation, the Office of Sustainability & Environment is excited to announce the Environmental Justice Fund, a new grant opportunity for community-led projects that improve environmental conditions and respond to impacts of climate change.

The Environmental Justice Fund was co-created by the Environmental Justice Committee—12 people with deep community roots who work closely with communities on environmental justice issues—with support from the Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment.

The Environmental Justice Fund recognizes that the most effective environmental and climate solutions come from the community itself and that community members are in the best position to design and carry out projects that include community, culture, nature, family, health, food and/or education.

Communities of color and people of color-led organizations are invited to submit proposals for projects. Projects should be led by and benefit the people most affected by environmental inequities: communities of color, immigrants, refugees and Native people—including people with low incomes, youth, and seniors—who live, learn, work, worship and play in the City of Seattle.

There is $250,000 in funding available from the City of Seattle, with grants administered by the Seattle Foundation. The maximum grant award will be $40,000. Projects may begin as soon as January 2019 and must be completed by June 2020. Proposals are due by 4:00 pm on Monday, October 15, 2018.

Environmental Justice Fund Guidelines (PDF)
Environmental Justice Fund Application (Word Doc)

 

Creating a Roadmap to Becoming a 100% Renewable Energy and Carbon Neutral City

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OSE is embarking on a 100% Renewable Cities Project, a three-year effort to develop equity-centered climate strategies with members of the Environmental Justice Committee and the community. OSE is partnering with Puget Sound Sage, SDOT and City Light in this work. Actions will focus on reducing climate emissions by transitioning to fossil fuel-free heating & hot water, increasing efficiency, electrifying transportation & reducing VMT, and expanding solar and other renewables. A potential initial priority for the group is developing a residential roadmap to achieve carbon neutrality in residential buildings by 2050.

With a generous grant from the Kresge Foundation, Puget Sound Sage is partnering with the City to work with the community to co-create a roadmap to become a 100% renewable energy and carbon neutral city. The City/Community collaboration will work to 1) embed equity in the policies and programs developed to implement the Mayor’s climate agenda and 2) design a roadmap to fully transition Seattle to an equitable, renewable, and carbon-neutral energy future.

Mayor Durkan recently released an updated Climate Action Strategy, a suite of actions designed to significantly reduce GHG emissions from the buildings and transportation sectors, Seattle’s largest sources of emissions. The overarching strategy is to transition these sectors to Seattle City Light’s clean and carbon neutral electricity. The Equity and Environment Agenda includes a suite of process and outcome recommendations to embed equity in the city’s environmental work and creates the foundation for advancing equity through climate action.

Fresh Bucks helping Casa Latina clients eat healthier

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Clients at Casa Latina recently had front row seats to a live cooking class as they learned about healthy, affordable meals on a budget. And now, buying fruits and vegetables to make healthy meals for their families just got easier thanks to a partnership between Casa Latina and the Fresh Bucks program.

The Fresh Bucks program is working with Casa Latina to provide Fresh Bucks vouchers for Casa Latina clients to buy high-quality, local produce from any of the 33 farmers markets or six neighborhood grocery stores participating in the Fresh Bucks program in Seattle and King County.

Casa Latina, an immigrant worker rights organization, empowers low-wage Latino immigrants with knowledge and resources to achieve their goals. Araceli Hernandez, Director of Day Worker Center at Casa Latina says, “Our clients face a number of barriers when it comes to accessing federal resources and we work to identify and address gaps— such as food insecurity—that are disproportionally affecting our community. Partnering with the Fresh Bucks program gives our clients the ability to choose healthy foods, regardless of income.”

This year, Fresh Bucks is serving more shoppers by expanding the program from EBT/SNAP (food stamp) recipients to also providing the benefit to families who may not meet the federal requirements for food assistance programs, but still face hardships when it comes covering their food expenses. This expansion is made possible through funding from the City of Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax.

“This program allows me to stretch my dollar,” said a program participant. “Buying fresh fruits and vegetables can be expensive, but with this support, I can now regularly visit the farmers market to get my produce, and the kids love going too. I want to teach them what I’ve learned about cooking with fresh ingredients.”

Shoppers can use Fresh Bucks at 33 farmers markets in Seattle and King County, as well as six, ethnic grocery stores open year-round. To find participating locations or to find out more about the Fresh Bucks program, visit the Fresh Bucks website.