Blackberry plants, clover, nightshade, morning glory and other invasive species didn’t stand a chance as 28 Seattle City Light volunteers, including employees and family members, removed the pesky plants at the Duwamish Hill Preserve during the Duwamish Alive event on April 20, as part of Earth Month. 
Blackberry plants, clover, nightshade, morning glory and other invasive species didn’t stand a chance as 28 Seattle City Light volunteers, including employees and family members, removed the pesky plants at the Duwamish Hill Preserve during the Duwamish Alive event on April 20, as part of Earth Month.
From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., the volunteers worked relentlessly to weed the area and bring in mulch to help protect the native species they planted at the site. The work is part of Seattle City Light’s employee volunteer program, which focuses on environmental stewardship and projects to help low-income customers.
Hundreds of volunteers joined forces at the Duwamish Alive event on Saturday, working on dozens of projects that all will help preserve and enhance the DuwamishRiver watershed and help improve the health of Puget Sound. The event is sponsored by Forterra and the Duwamish Alive Coalition.
In 2001, Forterra, the City of Tukwila and local citizen group Friends of the Hill formed a partnership to work toward the preservation of a 10.5 acre parcel slated for industrial development. The land was successfully acquired in 2004 by Forterra and the City of Tukwila. In September 2010, after many years of hard work by volunteers, the Duwamish Hill Preserve was officially opened to the public.
The Duwamish Hill Preserve is being managed as a public open space devoted to the interpretation of the site’s Native American cultural significance and other aspects of Duwamish River Valley natural and cultural history.