40th Earth Day Anniversary Celebrated April 17 on Duwamish River

Where were you 40 years ago when the first Earth Day was celebrated?

For an estimated one thousand volunteers, this Saturday April 17 is when they will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day by gathering at 12 sites along Seattle’s Duwamish River to work on projects to bring the river back to health.

The fifth annual Duwamish Alive! brings together over 30 conservation groups and governmental entities to engage volunteers in weeding, planting, mulching and cleaning up the river.

These volunteer restoration projects complement government efforts to clean up the contaminated sediments at the bottom of the Duwamish River.  Improvements in the health of the river will benefit people, wildlife, and runs of threatened salmon on the Green/Duwamish River.

A noontime ceremony will be held at the North Wind’s Weir work site at 2914 S. 112th St. in Tukwila where volunteers will begin at 10 am planting thousands of marsh plants and spreading mulch around the sapling trees and shrubs at the newest restoration site on the river.  A ribbon cutting ceremony and a ‘run of wild salmon’ will celebrate the official “opening” of the North Wind’s Weir Estuary Restoration Area at noon.

From 2pm to 4pm, volunteers are invited to the annual Earth Day Festival at Pathfinder K-8, 1901 SW Genesee St. There will be free food, live musical performances, hands-on art activities for youth, a forest film, and a slideshow with pictures from all of the Duwamish Alive events! There will also be tabling by several local environmental organizations and a special appearance by Bert the Salmon! E-mail for more information.

More information on sites, volunteer signups, sponsors and participating organizations is found at DuwamishAlive.Org.

To volunteer, email or call (206) 382-7007.
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Save Our Sound.

People For Puget Sound works with people for a clean and healthy Sound. Since 1991 we have protected and restored habitat through education and action. www.pugetsound.org