Soil & Water Stewards are students, parents, teachers, professionals and community leaders passionate about food, the environment and the health of our communities.
The Soil and Water Stewardship program offers a comprehensive, nine-month training in sustainable food production and environmental stewardship for King County residents. Apply what you learn in your own community through hands-on projects like building garden beds, installing rain gardens and creating habitat for wildlife and pollinators.
Soil and Water Stewards meet one weekend per month. In 2023, this includes both virtual training through Zoom and outdoor, hands-on volunteer projects. These projects will take place at Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands in Seattle, McAuliffe Park in Kirkland and many other community sites in King County.
Training and community resources are made possible by funding from: Cascade Water Alliance; the Giving Grove Foundation; the South King County Fund Environmental Grants Program from the Port of Seattle; and the WaterWorks Grant Program funded by King County Wastewater Treatment Division.
Learn How To…
- Improve soil health and build compost systems
- Reduce toxic runoff threatening Puget Sound, through rain gardens, cisterns and green infrastructure
- Get involved in addressing food equity and environmental justice issues that affect communities in King County
- Build garden beds, plant community orchards and grow food using organic gardening techniques
- Implement permaculture concepts and design sustainable landscapes
- Install rain barrels, drip irrigation systems and implement water conservation practices
Training Schedule
Participants will meet one weekend each month, March–November. Saturday mornings will consist of interactive classes held over Zoom with Tilth Alliance educators and guest instructors. On Sundays, we will apply what we’ve learned through outdoor, hands-on projects.
Activities will take place on the following Saturdays (9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.) and Sundays (9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.):
March 25 and 26; April 22 and 23; May 20 and 21; June 24 and 25; July 22 and 23; August 26 and 27; September 23 and 24; October 28 and 29; November 11 and 12.
Qualifications
- Interest in environmental and food-related issues, and enthusiasm for collaborating with community members and partner organizations.
- Willing to commit to the entire program, meeting one weekend per month, March – November. This includes both the Saturday Zoom session and the Sunday volunteer project.
- Live in King County (Seattle residents may also consider the Master Composter/Sustainability Stewards training program).
- Commitment to community service and engagement as an effective means to promote positive change.
- Participants contribute a materials fee to the program, which will go towards community projects. This is on a pay-what-you-can sliding scale from $0-$300.
- A limited number of stipends ($50/month) are available to help offset barriers to participation, such as the cost of transportation, arranging childcare, etc.
Apply
We typically receive more applications than we have space for participants. In reviewing applications, our priorities include: 1) people living or working in areas related to our funding sources (including Bellevue, Burien, Des Moines Federal Way, Kirkland, Normandy Park, Redmond, Issaquah, SeaTac, Tukwila, and neighborhoods in South Seattle); 2) commitment to community engagement; and 3) applicants who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (BIPOC).
The deadline to apply for 2023 has passed. Please try again next year!
Questions?
For more information, contact Anita Waghani or Kalee Snorden.