Research & Practice
Identifying Community Contamination Concerns in the Puget Creek Watershed
The Duwamish Valley Research Coordination Network: Building Capacity for Tribal, Community, and Agency Research in Urban Watersheds is a project funded by an EPA Star Grant to help identify locations for water and land-based sampling locations throughout the Puget Creek Watershed, near the Lower Duwamish Superfund area. Water sampling is an important part of the process to clean up the lower Duwamish, aiding salmon recovery (and safe consumption of other marine life), habitat restoration, water safety, and health equity.
This project involved working with the community to identify sampling priorities for the spring and summer sampling teams. To fully understand community needs and interests and to identify structural barriers to environmental justice, this process needed to be iterative, so the student attended community outreach events to connect with community members who live in and interact with the Duwamish Valley. These community members were presented with the opportunity to participate in a survey and one-on-one interview, yielding data from over 25 surveys and five in-depth interviews. Data analysis identified important priority sample locations and current environmental justice themes. Deliverables also included the development of a story map focusing on the sampling process which acted as a call to action and illustrated some of the collected data.
It was important to streamline community engagement activities and create an interview process and guide that would allow this work to continue. Since the project is currently in its pilot phase and will continue for at least two additional years, all processes need to be clearly charted so that other volunteers will be able to gather valid and reliable data with limited training.
Materials Available
Project Type(s): MPH Practicum, PH Concentration Poster
Author(s): Stephanie Turner
Program(s): Master of Public Health, RDN Training
Year: 2024
Adviser(s):