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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: 

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

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  

Join the Green New Deal Oversight Board’s Online Listening Session on Monday, April 18

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Seattle’s Green New Deal is moving our city toward becoming climate pollution-free while creating jobs and advancing an equitable transition to renewable energy by prioritizing investments in communities most harmed by economic, racial, and environmental injustices.

Seattle’s Green New Deal Oversight Board (GNDOB), established through legislation, connects frontline community-led voices and the Seattle city government in support of developing policy, programs and investments that advance Seattle’s Green New Deal. The GNDOB is developing recommendations for the Mayor and City Council on how to spend a percentage of money raised by the City’s new payroll tax.

To inform their budget recommendations, the Board would like to invite you to a virtual listening session on Monday, April 18 at 5pm to hear about your and your community’s priorities to address climate change. Please register here to receive the meeting link.

Getting to Know OSE’s New Interim Director, Jessyn Farrell

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We sat down with new Interim OSE Director Jessyn Farrell to ask a series of questions ranging from Seattle’s climate strategy to how OSE will continue advancing climate justice all the way to what’s your favorite donut shop. We’re excited for what’s to come at OSE and Seattle and are looking forward to collaborating, but for now, join us in getting to know Jessyn’s vision and ideas for building a more equitable and united Seattle.

Former State Representative Jessyn Farrell will help OSE and the City of Seattle implement a pioneering climate agenda, elevate communities most impacted by issues of environmental justice, and help to leverage millions in state and federal funds to address the climate crisis. We are so excited to welcome Jessyn into the OSE family!  

Jessyn is a leader in building public consensus on difficult issues related to the environment, housing, transportation, and the economy. A long-time environmental advocate, Jessyn’s career has spanned the public, private, non-profit, and philanthropic sectors as a state legislator from the 46th District, Executive Director of Transportation Choices and most recently as Senior Vice President at Civic Ventures. Jessyn passed ground-breaking legislation on oil-by-rail safety, affordable housing near transit centers, education funding for low-income and homeless youth, protections for pregnant workers, and restrictions to cell-phone use while driving. She also led advocacy efforts resulting in billions of dollars in regional light rail investments. Jessyn has three kids, a dog, a cat, and is working on her first book. 

See what others have to say about Jessyn:

Bruce Harrell, Mayor of the City of Seattle

“Jessyn Farrell understands Seattle must set the example for the nation as a bold, climate-forward City that leads by partnering with underrepresented  communities too often left out,” said Mayor Harrell. “Jessyn will bring the bring the ambitious policy ideas and experience, needed collaborative approach, and vision grounded in a true commitment to environmental justice necessary to make the most of this moment and ensure a healthy Seattle environment today and for future generations.” 

Michelle Caulfield, Deputy Director, Office of Sustainability and Environment 

“It’s been my honor to step up during this time of transition and lead an incredible team dedicated to advancing climate action and environmental justice. I couldn’t be more excited to welcome — and work alongside — Jessyn Farrell, whose policy leadership and comprehensive approach to the issues in front of us will drive urgent action, help leverage state and federal funds, and take the Office of Sustainability and Environment to the next level.” 

Food Equity Fund now accepting proposals for funding

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Department of Neighborhoods Funds available to support community-initiated projects working to advance food equity

Green and yellow lines with bold black text stating: Food Equity Fund, and a little tomato slice in the background

Seattle’s Food Equity Fund is now accepting applications for Tier Two grants that support community-based organizations working to address food education, access, and security. Grant funds will be prioritized for projects led by and for communities most affected by limited access to healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant food: Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), immigrants, refugees, low-income individuals, families with young children, youth, and elders.

The Food Equity Fund is funded by the Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT) and, in 2021, also received $750,000 in funding from the Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force. The fund was developed in 2021 in response to recommendations from the Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT) Community Advisory Board, a board composed of eleven members committed to centering the communities most impacted by health and economic inequities when advising the City on programs and services supported by SBT revenue.

Apply for Funding

There are two funding opportunities within the Food Equity Fund:

  • Tier One grants have a maximum award amount of $75,000. Applications for this cycle closed in December 2021 and awards were announced on February 18.
  • Tier Two grants have a maximum award amount of $150,000. Applications for this cycle are open March 1 – April 30, 2022.

During the Tier Two cycle, approximately $2 million in funding will be available for community-led projects that seek to advance food equity. This includes but is not limited to projects that:

  • Increase access to culturally relevant food
  • Create a more equitable and sustainable local food system
  • Promote healthy eating and positive lifestyle changes
  • Partner with small businesses in the food sector to address food equity

For more information or to begin your application visit  seattle.gov/food-equity-fund.

Engagement Opportunities

To ensure equitable engagement and to help community leaders get information, fine tune project ideas, and submit strong applications, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods (DON) staff are offering a variety of community engagement opportunities, including:

  • Technical assistance via weekly virtual office hours every Wednesday, 4-8pm between March 9 – April 13.
  • A pre-recorded informational workshop video available on the Food Equity Fund website. This video will be made available in multiple languages in the coming weeks.
  • Targeted in-language outreach and one-on-one technical assistance via partnership with the City of Seattle’s Community Liaisons.

In addition, DON is offering three online informational workshops where community members can learn more about the application and project review process.

Workshop dates and times are as follows:

March 12, 2022, 10-11:30am
Register / Join Online: https://bit.ly/FEF_3-12-22
Join by phone: +1-206-207-1700 United States Toll (Seattle), +1-408-418-9388 United States Toll
Access code: 2498 200 1671

March 23, 2022, 10-11:30am
Register / Join Online: https://bit.ly/FEF_3-23-22
Join by phone: +1-206-207-1700 United States Toll (Seattle), +1-408-418-9388 United States Toll
Access code: 2491 162 7623

April 12, 2022, 6-7:30pm
Register / Join Online: https://bit.ly/FEF_4-12-22
Join by phone: +1-206-207-1700 United States Toll (Seattle), +1-408-418-9388 United States Toll
Access code: 2493 072 4349

Grant Review Process

All applications will be reviewed by a Food Equity Fund Grant Review Panel. The Tier Two review panel will consist of one Food Equity Fund project manager, one additional DON staff member, one staff member from another relevant City department, and two community members. The application review process will take place in May and June 2022. All reviewers will be required to attend an anti-bias training. Community members will be compensated $750 for their participation. If you are interested in serving on the grant review panel, please contact program staff at (206) 727 – FOOD (3663) or foodequityfund@seattle.gov.

Information, resources, and applications are available at seattle.gov/food-equity-fund.  

To speak with Food Equity Fund program staff, please call (206) 727 – FOOD (3663) or send an email to foodequityfund@seattle.gov.

City of Seattle’s Environmental Justice Fund Awards $750,000 in Grants for 14 Projects Led by and Benefiting Those Most Impacted by Climate Change

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2021 Grants Are Largest-Ever Amount Awarded and Continue Trend of Growth Each Year 

The City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability & Environment (OSE) is pleased to announce $750,000 will be awarded through the Environmental Justice Fund (EJ Fund) to 14 community-led projects designed to benefit those most impacted by environmental and climate issues, including communities of color, immigrants, refugees, and Indigenous people.

“In Seattle, we are confronting the intersecting crises of climate change, COVID-19, and systemic racism by leading alongside the community and working directly with the community,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “The Environmental Justice Fund is a critical tool to directly support community-based organizations led by communities of color that are bringing innovative, aggressive, and bold local solutions to achieving environmental and racial equity.”

The Environmental Justice Fund was developed in 2017 as part of the City’s Equity & Environment agenda to provide grants to community-led projects that improve environmental conditions, respond to impacts of climate change and get us closer to achieving environmental justice. Since its launch, the EJ Fund has awarded three grant cycles of over $1.1 Million to 26 community-based organizations, whose projects are led by or are in deep partnership with communities of color impacted by environmental injustices.

“The Environmental Justice Fund plays a critical role in supporting community-driven projects especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Edwin Hernandez of Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association, a newly awarded Environmental Justice Fund grantee. “This funding will allow us to engage youth in exploring ways to accelerate a transition to renewable energy sources in the Duwamish Valley.” 

Overall, OSE received 44 proposals totaling nearly $2.8M. Proposals focused on a range of climate and environmental justice topics including food justice, workforce development, environmental education, renewable energy, and youth leadership.

“These 14 grantees represent the breadth of creative efforts that advance climate and environmental justice and are designed and led by frontline communities harmed first and worst by climate change,” said Lisa Chen, Equity & Environment Manager, OSE. “The EJ Fund advances the goals and strategies of the Equity & Environment Agenda by directly investing in community-led efforts that advance environmental equity in Seattle.”

Select EJ Fund grantees and select members of the Environmental Justice Committee served on the seven-member review committee to ensure continuity in a community-led process, a cornerstone of the Fund since inception.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has left many seniors feeling isolated, struggling to access critical services and culturally appropriate foods as well as reduced opportunities to connect with fellow seniors and community members,” said Senayet Negeusse, 2021 grant review participant and who’s organization, East African Senior Meal Program, was awarded a grant in 2020. “Funding from grant programs like the Environmental Justice Fund helped our organization weather the most severe impacts of the pandemic, and I’ve been thrilled to help continue the legacy of the EJ Fund by serving as a grant reviewer this year. I hope the City will continue to expand and manage this program for years to come.” 

Three of these organizations (Doorways Project, Y-WE, and Delridge Neighborhood Development Association) are past recipients of the EJ Fund. Funding these proposals deepens the relationship and investment in their work and within their communities.

“We were thrilled to be part of the 2019 EJ Fund cohort and support community workshops and habitat restorations with neighborhood youth at the Delridge Wetland Park,” said David Bestock of the Delridge Neighborhood Development Association. “With this year’s funding, we can expand our work to empower and equip local youth with a deep understanding of environmental justice and connection within the neighborhood.“

The increase in this year’s EJ Fund is a result of 2021 recommendations from the Equitable Communities Initiative (ECI) Task Force, adopted by City Council. This allocation increased the Environmental Justice Fund by $550,000, bring the total award amount available to $750,000.

The organizations receiving funding and their projects are:

  • Delridge Neighborhood Development Association (DNDA) – $56,012

DNDA’s project aims to provide paid opportunities for high school-aged, primarily youth of color from South Delridge to connect and build a relationship with their natural environment. They plan to lead youth in developing a deeper understanding of environmental justice and exposure to community and federally driven efforts within the neighborhood. They plan to empower youth to develop a project of their own choosing that relates to the environmental justice issues discussed in the program and work with youth to develop digital media skills. This program will focus on the historical ecology of our local landscape, traditional Indigenous approach to ecosystems, specifically looking at Roxhill Bog located in South Delridge.

  • The Doorway Project – $64,450

The Doorway Project will expand their Bloom Urban Gardening Internship, a place-based educational internship aimed at developing critical consciousness around the relationship to land and self. This internship serves youth and young adults experiencing homelessness in the University District. Funding will support the growth of the program to host two internship cohorts per year.

  • Y-WE (Young Women Empowered) – $75,000

Funding will support the Y-WE’s Nature Connections (NC) program, with a focus on environmental justice and healthy food systems in marginalized communities of color. In this time, Y-WE Nature Connections will directly benefit young women in Seattle, primarily from communities of color and of immigrant and low-income backgrounds. Young women will engage in food systems learning and food production, gaining facilitation skills and leading community environmental health and food justice activities. In Y-WE Grow program activities at Marra Farm in the South Park neighborhood, participants will connect with the Earth in reciprocal relationship and gain practical gardening skills while increasing environmental justice knowledge, confidence, and commitment.

  • Basilica Bio – $61,050

Gardening Under the Microscope will expand current efforts at the Garfield Community Center Garden. In addition to maintaining the garden and producing food for the community surrounding them, Basilica Bio will continue to use the spaces as an avenue for their interactive mobile classroom. Participants leave each event with knowledge of important farming and gardening techniques and greater context for why developing local food systems is so important.

  • Beacon Hill Council – $75,000

This work advances ongoing efforts to mitigate air and noise pollution that impacts the Beacon Hill community, comprised of 32,000 residents of which 70% identify as BIPOC and 44% identify as immigrants and refugees. Specifically, funding will provide organizational capacity to educate, activate, and mobilize the Beacon Hill community members to be able to claim their voice and stories to testify in writing or in person to the proposed SeaTac Airport expansion of capacity to accommodate the increase from 47-66 M passengers, the doubling of international flights and the tripling of air cargo.

  • Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association (DVSA) – $75,000

The organization seeks to accelerate the transition to renewables in the Duwamish Valley, starting in South Park, by facilitating a youth-led process to design, engage, and implement a community-wide project to establish a decentralized biofuel and solar energy system. The project deliverable will be a roadmap towards a zero-waste energy system for South Park, which is scalable to the Duwamish. While building the roadmap, they will create a medium and long-term strategy plan for DVSA. This project also includes a skill building component for youth to position them to join the green workforce.

  • International Capoeira Angola Foundation – $30,000

This grant would launch the Nourishian Training pilot program to reconnect Black, Indigenous, and People of Color with the land and cultural traditions, building leadership within community to advocate for their needs, and leveraging the basic human need for nourishment and food as a tool for resistance and healing. The International Capoeira Angola Foundation views shifting power dynamics in health, education, and agricultural systems as a key aspect of advancing environmental justice. The goal of the pilot is to support twelve Nourishians in developing knowledge about how food choices are connected to health, community, and the health of the land.

  • Khmer Community of Seattle & King County (KCSKC) – $69,826

KCSKC will partner with Department of Neighborhoods to bring Khmer youth to the High Point P-Patch to learn how to grow food from the Khmer elders who currently steward the Market Garden plots of the P-Patch. This project will support intergenerational activities outdoors while teaching youth about localized food systems.

  • Muslimahs Against Abuse Center – $30,000

This organization seeks to launch a weekly series to educate and build awareness about food insecurity and poverty in with the East African community. They will facilitate workshops, cooking classes that provide healthy food alternatives, and create a guide to local food resources accessible to community. The organization will also establish a local food pantry that will offer culturally-relevant halal food as well as water and air filters for those who need it.

  • Raíces Verdes – $30,000

Raíces Verdes is a platform by and for BIPOC artists and storytellers dedicated to highlighting the stories of BIPOC people in connection with the environment in a multidisciplinary and living archive. Their mission is for Black, Indigenous, and other racialized people to reconnect to their ancestral “green roots.” This funding will create an Environmental Justice art series, a photo essay of the Seattle-area P’urhépecha diaspora, and video storytelling on food justice and Black liberation. Funding will also support a paid social media fellow and a small summit for BIPOC environmental justice storytelling.

  • Serve Ethiopians Washington – $30,000

Through this project, Serve Ethiopians Washington will conduct community outreach activities to raise awareness on environmental justice issues affecting the East African community. The organization will host educational events on different topics, including indoor and outdoor air quality, to build awareness of the health impacts as well as identify community priority areas regarding environmental justice.

  • The Backpack Academy – $43,300

The Backpack Academy strives to ensure Rainier Valley BIPOC youth have access to up-to-date information about job readiness and workforce marketplace opportunities. To this end, they will launch a 6-month workshop series for youth ages 16-24 to learn about transportation mobility, carbon footprint reduction, and clean energy alternatives. Through the hands-on component to convert manual bikes to electric bikes, youth will learn engineering and green energy concepts and develop new skills.

  • Sawhorse Revolution – $35,362

Sawhorse Revolution will develop and pilot a “Y/our Green Impact Handbook” to teach high-school-aged youth furthest from educational justice about fundamentals of green building and design, introduce them to a variety of green jobs, and interrogate the intersections of environmental, social, and racial justice built into our landscape. Working with the Northwest Eco-Builders Guild, A&R Solar, and, crucially, a board of Black and Brown designers, builders, urban planners, and educators who are living this work, they will undertake the necessary research and program revisions needed to incorporate green design and construction practices into our full suite of programs. The curriculum will be piloted in a Sawhorse design/build program in mid-2022 and published/widely implemented by end of 2022.

  • Wa Na Wari – $75,000

Funding will support Wa Na Wari to focus on a comprehensive garden redesign that implements both a learning lab space and a spring to fall co-design workshop where local BIPOC community members have access to green space and community building opportunities amid the ongoing COVID pandemic. They will design young adult and intergenerational learning labs for soil remediation that are both culturally attuned and deeply scientific at the same time to seed deeper cross-cultural understandings.

2021 OSE Year in Review

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Michelle Caulfield

Letter from Interim Director, Michelle Caulfield

Dear OSE Friends & Colleagues,

The start of a new year is always a time of reflection – an opportunity to consider the past year and look boldly toward the opportunities ahead. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, OSE hit the ground running in 2021, working with City departments and community stakeholders to advance equitable communities and reduce climate impacts. I am proud of our accomplishments and the way our team – along with City staff from every department – stepped up to meet unprecedented community need.  

In 2021, we awarded the most-ever in funds for BIPOC-led grantees through the Environmental Justice Fund. We saw the implementation of the new building energy code to eliminate most fossil fuel uses in commercial and large multi-family buildings. We launched the Transportation Electrification Blueprint, Seattle’s strategy for electrifying everything that moves people, goods, and services throughout our city. All the while, our food team continued to address rising food insecurity due to COVID and expanded Fresh Bucks to include more customers and more retailers.

OSE also supported the establishment of the City’s first-ever Green New Deal Oversight Board and worked with the Mayor to assemble $8.5M of Duwamish Valley investments to implement community priorities, a $14M package of investments to advance Seattle’s Green New Deal, and a Climate Executive Order to eliminate fossil fuels from existing buildings, expand transit access and Healthy Streets, and advance clean energy workforce development.

Looking ahead, the OSE team continues to advance climate and environmental justice priorities under the leadership of Mayor Bruce Harrell and in partnership with all of you. We are over-the-moon excited to leverage new federal investments and Seattle’s Green New Deal to make big climate and community resilience impacts in 2022 and the years to come. I am hopeful that 2022 will be another unprecedented year – but with a record level of progressive policies and investments to combat the climate crisis, protect natural ecosystems, advance environmental justice, foster healthy food systems, develop a more resilient and healthier communities, and keep Seattle green.

As we close out 2021, we want to thank you for all you do for sustainability and the environment. We wish you a wonderful holiday season and a very Happy New Year. As is our tradition, we leave you with OSE’s 2021 by the numbers, with thanks to so many organizations and community members whose partnership made these activities possible.

Thank you for your partnership.

-Michelle 

Michelle Caulfield, Interim Director
Office of Sustainability and Environment

OSE’s 2021 By the Numbers: 

  • Grant proposals received for the 2021 Environmental Justice Fund cycle: Dollars requested: $2.8 million. Dollars granted: $750,000
  • Dollars of COVID emergency grocery vouchers distributed before sunsetting the program in July: $25.4 million. Households served: 14,000
  • Appointments made to the Green New Deal Oversight Board: 15
  • Members of the GNDOB Inter-Departmental Team, to support the Green New Deal from inside City government: 21
  • Number of people who attended the Environmental Justice Committee’s panel on Tribal and Native Perspectives on the Connection of Energy and Climate Justice: 173
  • OSE staff members interviewed on live TV, talking about electrifying “everything that moves people, goods, and services” & educating viewers about Seattle’s first-in-the-nation Transportation Electrification Blueprint: 1
  • Equitable Road Pricing Strategies Workshops with BIPOC Community leaders: 7
  • Fresh produce boxes distributed to SPS students to help meet food insecurity needs: 221,000
  • Fresh Bucks customers enrolled to receive $40/month: 12,000. Percent of those customers from priority RSJI communities: 75%. Community-based organizations contracted to support that enrollment:
  • Dollars secured from King County’s Conservation Futures Tax to acquire property in South Park to expand an existing park, increase river access, and site a building for community-supportive services (in collaboration with SPR and OPCD): $2,000,000
  • Affordable housing units that will be created in South Park with OH’s purchase of 2 properties, advancing the priorities of the Duwamish Valley Action Plan: 100+
  • Small businesses in South Park and Georgetown provided with COVID support through a reallocation of OSE general funds: Percent of these businesses that are BIPOC-owned: 92%
  • Listening sessions held with stakeholders and BIPOC community members to inform tree protection updates (with SDCI): 12
  • Percent energy reduction in municipal buildings since 2008: 23.5%. Percent above target: 3.5%
  • City-owned buildings occupied by CBOs providing community services with completed energy efficiency upgrades: 3 (South Park Neighborhood Center, NeighborCare at Columbia City, and Daybreak Star)
  • Percent of Seattle’s largest buildings compliant with Tune-Up law: 91%
  • Number of Seattle buildings that will save significant energy via a tune-up: 660
  • Benchmarking & Tune-Up technical assistance inquiries handled to help owners comply: 3,325
  • South Seattle College Sustainable Building Science Technology benchmarking outreach interns sponsored: 4
  • Households the City helped convert from oil to heat pumps since the Clean Heat program inception in 2017: 850. Gallons of oil per year avoided: 425,000. MTCO2e avoided: 63,000
  • Followers on OSE’s Twitter: 2,003. Total tweets throughout the year: 400. Impressions from those tweets: 435,000
  • News articles placed about OSE’s work or featuring OSE staff members: 35. Average per month: 2-3
  • Number of state legislative climate-, environmental- and food-related bills reviewed by the OSE team: 50
  • Major climate Executive Orders passed: 1
  • Number of OSE staff members thankful for your service and wishing you a Happy New Year: All of us!

Reflecting on My Time as an Intern with OSE

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Hello, my name is Aditi, and I was the communications intern for the Office of Sustainability and Environment for this past summer and fall. As my internship comes to a close, I wanted to reflect on what I did and learned over the past six months.

One of the biggest responsibilities I had during this internship was managing our social media accounts, and I focused on Twitter in particular. I think communication from the government to the people we serve on a platform that is accessible and easy to follow is very important and can help bridge the gap that can often exist between them. Paring down important information and communications to 280 characters can make it easier to digest and help us focus on what’s significant.

During this internship, I started a series on twitter that I called the OSE Happy Series. Every so often, I tweeted out some uplifting climate news or stories that emphasized and encouraged hope in the future of our planet. Climate change is scary, but there is still so much we can be and are doing right now, and I believe that fearmongering and nihilism only slows progress. I think important to remind people to be hopeful that we can still work to combat the climate crisis, and that it’s not too late. That’s why I really wanted to tweet out little bits of positivity whenever I had the chance.

I also wrote for this blog, which really allowed me to strengthen my writing skills. The posts that I am the proudest of are Reflecting on the Big Day of Play and Reflecting on the PNW Heatwave (they both start with the word reflecting… and so does this one… I must really like that word). I was able to put more a more personal touch on those and write about topics that particularly interested me. I also thoroughly enjoyed being able to chat with Alyssa Patrick for the former blog post.

Being an intern and working what was functionally my first office job during a global pandemic was a rather unique experience, but I am so grateful that I was still able to connect with the others in the office remotely, and even meet up with some of them at Gasworks Park once. I met some really impressive and amazing people in OSE. Some cool things happened at OSE and the City of Seattle while I was interning with them, like the executive order announcement on November 1st, Fresh Bucks launching electronic benefits, and the $1.7 Million budget announcement for oil-to-heat-pump conversations for low- and middle-income households. My experience with this internship has given me vital experience in government and public service, which is what I want to go into after I graduate from UW this spring.

I am so grateful for this experience, this office, and all the amazing people that I was able work with. Thank you!