Grantee Research Project Results
2023 Progress Report: The Duwamish Valley Research Coordination Network: Building Capacity for Tribal, Community, and Agency Research in Urban Watersheds
EPA Grant Number: R840483Title: The Duwamish Valley Research Coordination Network: Building Capacity for Tribal, Community, and Agency Research in Urban Watersheds
Investigators: Malone, Melanie , Almeida, Catherine De , Johnson, Brittany , Lopez, Paulina , Wolfle Hazard, Cleo A
Institution: University of Washington- Bothell , University of Washington , Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: November 1, 2022 through May 10, 2025
Project Period Covered by this Report: November 1, 2022 through October 31,2023
Project Amount: $1,267,559
RFA: Cumulative Health Impacts at the Intersection of Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Vulnerable Populations/Lifestages: Community-Based Research for Solutions (2021) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Endocrine Disruptors , Environmental Justice , Human Health
Objective:
(1) Build community capacity for data-collection, environmental assessment, visioning, and dissemination; (2) Use data-collection and predictive pollutant modeling to identify and prioritize cleanup and planning needs; (3) Develop replicable data collection, data storage, and dissemination methods to promote community data ownership and equip community members with the resources and techniques necessary to continue monitoring and implementing environmental improvements in the face of a changing climate.
Progress Summary:
Primary outputs related to contaminant sampling include:
• Collected 82 soil, sediment, and water samples for analysis of PCBs, PAHs, metals, and dioxin/furans and petroleum products
• Created maps showing concentrations and exceedances of screening levels
• Identified screening criteria and compiled list of missing screening levels
Primary outputs related to community centered research include:
• Conducted interviews and surveys to collect feedback about community areas of concern
• Compiled list of 139 locations of concern identified by community members
• Hosted a booth at the Duwamish River Festival to facilitate interagency cooperation and community input
• Held multiple meetings with over 20 agencies and community partners to connect about results, Environmental Justice (EJ) concerns, and areas of interest for sampling
• Held informational community workshops with youth at Duwamish Valley Youth Corp and Dirt Corps to conduct STEM workshops and share information about project findings thus far
Primary outputs related to mapping include:
• The creation of four 3-D interactive maps to gather community feedback during community engagement events.
• The creation of three story maps; one describing the project team’s sample process, one describing how to understand results, and one that the Landscape Architecture Capstone group (overseen by Co-PI De Almeida) created describing the historical background of some community sites of concern. Community partners are in the process of giving feedback about the maps before release to the wider public.
Future Activities:
Presentation: Project team. Malone et al., “The Duwamish Valley Research Coordination Network: Building Capacity for Tribal, Community, and Agency Research in Urban Watersheds”. Ecological Restoration Symposium. Invited speakers, UW Botanic Garden, University of Washington. April 2, 2024.
Presentation: Catherine De Almeida and Natalie Weiss. Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture Annual Conference Presentation “Radical Cartography”. March 21, 2024.
Presentation: Amir Sheikh and Melanie Malone. “Building community-capacity for contaminated riverscapes: Relational care-based approaches to Duwamish River stewardship”. Annual American Association of Geographers (AAG) Conference. April 18, 2024.
Community Event: Project Team. Sampling with displaced Khmer communities in the Lower Duwamish Valley. Will discuss the impacts of the December 2022 King Tides Flooding event with Khmer residents and will collect samples near homes. March 13-27, 2024.
Community Event: Project Team. Concord Elementary. Earth day community outreach and education in collaboration with DRCC and Seattle Parks. April 22, 2024.
Workshop: Project Team. Duwamish Valley Sampling Education Day. Will be demonstrating and conducting sampling with Duwamish Valley Youth Corps, Georgetown Youth Council, and Green Jobs Coalition. May 2, 2024.
Community Event: Catherine De Almeida and Landscape Architecture Capstone Students. Exhibition of student work on “Preventing Pollution” at the Georgetown Steam Plant. Date week of May 27, 2024.
Community Event: Project Team. Duwamish River Festival. Hosting a booth that will provide project updates and continuing community outreach. August 2024.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 1 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
environmental justice; climate change; flooding; reciprocal community science; contamination; human health; risk assessment; soil; waterRelevant Websites:
The Duwamish Valley Research Coordination Network Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.