Download - Cascade Land Conservancy

meeting the challenge of
SEVEN GENERATIONS AT THE
DUWAMISH HILL PRESERVE
By Guest Writer De’Sean Quinn, Tukwila Councilmember
14
hen I was in the third grade, I learned the power of
W people working toward a common purpose. It was
something my parents instilled in me as a young child.
And it is represented by the people willing to volunteer
their time restoring the Duwamish Hill Preserve.
The Preserve started with a collective vision backed up
with robust volunteerism. Eight years ago, the Friends
of the Hill partnered with Forterra and a willing property
owner—a true “public-private partnership”—with a
mutual commitment and ability to embrace a very unique
project. My wife and son have joined me volunteering
along with many others at restoration events at the site.
Those of us who live in Tukwila regard the Preserve as a
shared community project of historic significance.
Thanks to the dedication demonstrated by all who
volunteer, championing this issue through the city council
with my fellow council member Verna Seal was an
opportunity to honor volunteers with sound public policy.
The combination of a slowing economy and growing
demands on taxpayer dollars is forcing all policymakers
to make tough choices. Those choices do not, however,
have to include abandoning our responsibility to preserve
our natural heritage and protect our quality of life
through protecting our environment. How a community
treats its environment defines our moral and ethical
commitment to social and environmental justice. We are
demonstrating that commitment through this project.
There is much more work to do. This 10.5 acre property
was acquired in 2004, in Partnership with Forterra and
the City of Tukwila. The Hill is part of a mid-Duwamish
Valley cultural landscape significant in Puget Sound Salish
traditional stories known as the “Epic of the Winds.”
As a council member the significance of supporting
Duwamish Hill Preserve took me back to my childhood.
My parents taught me about the seven generations
of sustainability—the concept of urging the current
generations to live sustainably and work for the benefit
of the seventh generation into the future. They were
taught it by friends they protested with during the civil
rights movement in Seattle, where community activists
worked together toward the common purpose of equity
and social justice. In my career as a public servant I’ve
worked hard to meet this standard of planning through
progressive public policy.
Working toward preserving Duwamish Hill allows the City,
Forterra and volunteers the opportunity to realize the
“concept of benefiting children seven generations into
the future.” In order to benefit the seventh generation
of our region we must reclaim our environment through
the protection of open space and natural areas and the
improvement of our water quality. We are seeing these
efforts in the work to restore Puget Sound.
FORTERRA.COM
Photo by Elsa Sargent