It is commonly known that the Duwamish Valley in Seattle has a high concentration of industry and is a major transportation hub with rail, marine, and trucking routes traversing the communities that make up the valley. Thus air quality and other environmental factors are greatly impacted. There are many community organizations that have been working tirelessly on efforts to create a healthy environment for local residents. In 2016, local community organizations, the Duwamish River Clean Up Coalition and Just Health Action used grant money from King County Wastewater Treatment Division for constructing a green wall in Georgetown. Together, they put together a large vertical living wall as a symbol and first step in trying to mitigate air pollution from industrial sources from entering the residential areas. At 126 feet long and 13 feet high, it’s the largest such structure in the city.
It has taken some time in order for the green wall to grow and mature. Although planted with drought tolerant and local species, this wall is large and requires regular maintenance and weeding to keep it viable. Bricktree, another local community organization that has been a pillar in the community for some time, has been busy maintaining the green wall for the past few years.
On a cold and wet Saturday in October, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency's Adam Petrusky and Erik Saganic got dirty and beat the plants off those weeds. Bricktree’s Andrew Schiffer was very happy to see the turnout for this event and all the progress that the cleanup team made. The living green wall is a not only a symbol of mitigating air pollution, it is also a symbol of people coming together to nurture and care for their community overtime.