History of Grant Awards
Impact Of Our Work
Grantee Accomplishments
The impact Sustainable Path has in our region comes from the collective wisdom and focus of our community partners. By recognizing the interdependent nature of our world and using the principles of science, our Impact Circle partners strategically determine which projects our grants will fund and identify topics for our annual seminar series.
Read here about the impact of Sustainable Path’s Collective Impact grants. You can also learn more about our Grant Awards.
“Sustainable Path continues to support citizen science programs and critical data analysis that are the foundations for our conservation projects.“
– Toby Ross, Science Manager, Seattle Audubon Society
2021/2022
Spring 2022 Impact Circle 18 Grants
Northwest Natural Resource Group
Clean Energy Transition Institute
Center for Sustainable Infrastructure
Investigate Northwest
Earthcorps
Sightline
Fall 2021 Impact Circle 17 Grants
- VIVA Farms
- Established in 2016, Viva Farms’ (VF) college-accredited 8-month
Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture (PSA) is a bilingual applied course in
certified organic production and small farm business management,
offered at VF’s Skagit and King County, Washington locations. As a
cohort, participants go through an entire farming season and learn the
fundamentals including crop and whole farm planning, soil health, seed
propagation, tillage and cultivation, fertility and pest management,
irrigation, and harvest and post-harvest practices; as well as business
management topics like wholesale and direct marketing, business
planning, financial statements, cash flow management, farm taxes, and
land access. Upon completion of the course, graduates are eligible to
enter VF’s incubator program to start their own small-scale organic farm
business. Since 2016, the PSA has had 98 participants, 39%
self-identified as being a member of a historically-underserved group. In
the 2021 farming season, VF enrolled 50, the largest and most diverse
group of students ever, in our PSA with students of color representing
49% of the cohort, and women and non-binary students representing 48%
of the group. The demand for our programs is so high that we had to add
a third PSA cohort this year, as well as secure an additional 33 acres of
farmland to maintain the small group size most conducive to an optimal
experiential learning environment, and to accommodate the record 29
farm businesses incubating this season, 41% of which are owned by
farmers of color. This funding would support the continued growth of this
high demand training. - Washington Environmental Council
- Washington Environmental Council (WEC) works to restore Puget
Sound and its connected waters from over a century of harm. In this
project, we are working to reduce wastewater pollution in Puget
Sound by advocating for strong state requirements and holding local
governments accountable to them.
New state mandates call on large municipalities like King County
and Tacoma to make a major shift in wastewater management to
nutrient-removal technology, which will substantially reduce pollution
to Puget Sound. Wastewater treatment has critical environmental
justice and long-term planning implications, but local governments
are pushing back on these mandates. The last treatment upgrade
occurred in the 1980s, with utilities complaining upgrades were too
costly, did not help improve water quality, and were untested
technologies. These same arguments have resurfaced, with lawsuits
filed by the City of Tacoma and others to block these protections.
WEC’s role is to refute criticisms from local governments under
regulation and reinforce the broad support for this clean water
program.
We are engaging with a range of stakeholders to share perspectives
on the technical analyses that led to the decision to transition
treatment plants to nutrient-removal technology, and center impacts
to the marine environment and impacts to communities. We have
convened a coalition of Tribes, the Northwest Indian Fisheries
Commission, and non-profit organizations to drive advocacy and
local government accountability, grounded in a commitment to
upholding Tribal sovereignty. So far, we have been successful in
counterbalancing biased information, and have submitted over 4,500
comments on draft permits - Clean Energy Transition Institute
- Washington has set extremely ambitious goals to significantly
reduce greenhouse gas pollution from multiple sectors in the state.
The state’s electricity supply is already 69% clean, which can be
used to decarbonize other energy sectors. To achieve its building
sector decarbonization goals, Washington must remove fossil fuels
for heating and cooking, maximize efficiency, and increase energy
demand flexibility in more than 3 million buildings and homes in
less than 30 years. This large-scale transformation of the building
stock is a tremendous planning and logistical challenge, requiring a
high degree of alignment in terms of vision, goals, and
implementation across all relevant departments, agencies,
organizations, and market actors.
CETI launched Operation 2030 in partnership with the 2050 Institute
to meet the challenge of framing and jumpstarting the large-scale
mobilization required to achieve building sector decarbonization.
The initiative consists of (1) the production of a white paper with
the required building sector decarbonization milestones for
Washington to meet to achieve net zero in 2050, and (2) convening
key stakeholders around the paper to inform, educate, and provide
unbiased information to accurately advocate for the best policies to
achieve building decarbonization.
We will know we have had impact when we see our research cited
by building decarbonization stakeholders during legislative and
policy discussions in 2022. - NW Straits Foundation
- This project supports implementation of the Puget Sound Kelp
Conservation and Recovery Plan (Kelp Plan) by placing college
students in field/research internships to work on kelp recovery.
Students from diverse backgrounds will be placed in positions
conducting today’s work and building for tomorrow’s challenges.
The Kelp Plan builds on best science and was jointly prepared by
national and state government agencies, the Northwest Straits
Commission, and marine scientists.
Kelp forms extensive habitats that provide an array of ecosystem
goods and services from fish habitat to buffering ocean
acidification. But we are losing our kelp forests. The Kelp Plan spells
out the strategic actions needed to protect and restore kelp.
Employing college interns supports Kelp Plan implementation and
will build academic connections, bring more resources to the table,
and strengthen community capacity.
NWSF is committed to implementation of the Kelp Plan and to
providing a pipeline for the next generation of conservation leaders.
This project serves both goals by engaging two college interns to
support citizen science actions led by our partners in the seven
county-based Marine Resource Committees (MRC) of the Northwest
Straits.
Collaborating with MRCs, we have a deep reach into local
communities of scientists, conservationists, and leaders. MRC
volunteers work with and mentor the interns to implement
conservation and monitoring projects. Together, we form a perfect
complement of MRC seasoned experience with bright and emerging
marine conservation leaders. The interns have opportunities to build
their skills and knowledge, while providing MRCs with capacity,
creativity, and enthusiasm. - Investigate West
- Since 2009, InvestigateWest (INVW) has invested in original
reporting and story development in the areas of environment,
public health, and government accountability. We have published
over 325 stories with the goal of engaging Pacific Northwest
citizens and residents in social issues by providing compelling,
changemaking investigative and explanatory journalism. We work
shoulder to shoulder with other newsrooms to increase capacity
for watchdog reporting nationally.
As our series, Getting to Zero: Decarbonizing Cascadia, wraps up
(which Sustainable Path supported through 2020 funding.), we
are interested in commissioning a multipart investigative series
diving deep into the long life of plastics and their impact on the
health of the region. This will connect to all three of our focus
areas and enable us to look at the environmental, health and
policy impacts regionally and at the local level as well as examine
solutions that other communities are using to address the
problem and subsequent impacts.
A sample of stories includes:
the ways local Washington communities plastic recycling rates
are being impacted by China’s refusal to continue to take
America’s trash;
the presence of plastics in the region’s waterways and their
impact on fish and human health, with a specific emphasis on
Puget Sound;
Washington state lawmakers’ stalled efforts to codify into law
“extended producer responsibility,” which would put more of the
onus of plastics’ end life onto the companies that create them.
Along with publishing these stories, INVW will host events,
engage in outreach and create distribution to the widest possible
audiences - RE Sources (Founders’ Award)
- RE Sources is spearheading a dynamic Climate Resilience campaign that
features the October release of an interactive StoryMap that features maps,
videos, photos, illustrations, and a narrative to raise awareness about
projected climate impacts in our County and to urge residents to support the
adoption of critical adaptation and resilience policies to mitigate those
impacts. Climate facts, climate science, and climate change are all central to
the unfolding story we depict in our StoryMap as are real on-the-ground
climate solutions that show we can protect residential neighborhoods,
agricultural and forest lands, rivers, estuaries, and more. The StoryMap’s clear
message is that bold policy action will result in long-term safeguards for
people, property, communities, wildlife, and the ecosystems on which we
depend .
Such action is urgent as neither the City of Bellingham nor Whatcom County
have adequately addressed climate adaptation planning or preparedness.
That’s why, through 2022, we plan to mobilize hundreds of people―through
action alerts and e-newsletters, activist meetings, media, and events―to
demand the policy protections that are so essential to our future. We need
decision-makers to prioritize safeguards for drinking water, shorelines,
watersheds, and salmon. We need the County to establish and staff an Office
of Climate Action to lead implementation of recommended climate actions.
And, we need to raise our Conservation Futures Fund levy so funding is
available to finance scientifically sound conservation projects. These are just
a few examples of the sweeping policies we expect to realize with extensive
support from the public.
Spring 2021 Impact Circle 16 Grants
- Sightline
- Sightline envisions in the Pacific Northwest an economy and way of life that are environmentally sound, economically vibrant, and socially just. We believe that social change occurs when engaged citizens create policies and practices that are fueled by facts, clearly articulated values, and lasting solutions. Sightline fuels thisvision by empowering citizens with relevant information, considered solutions, and effective tactics.
This program promotes sustainability and community health by reducing our region’s reliance on
fossil fuels. Over the past decade, Sightline has built the case for a fossil-fuel free Northwest to help
ensure access to clean air, clean water, and clean energy for everyone in the region, especially
those communities that have been most impacted by industrial pollution.
Decommissioning the five Puget Sound oil refineries would fundamentally transform the region’s
energy economy, marking a shift from industrial pollution to a decarbonized future. The refineries are
among the region’s top contributors to climate change, air pollution, and ecological degradation,
levying steep costs on everyone on the region. Yet their impact is felt most profoundly by their
neighbors, including the Lummi, Swinomish, and Puyallup tribes whose health and livelihoods have
been profoundly impacted by more than a half century of industrial-scale oil refining. We believe the
time is ripe to plan for a Puget Sound that is free from large-scale dirty energy operations.
Decommissioning oil refineries would make the Northwest, once again, the leader in rejecting fossil
fuels, making space for a way of life that can last. - Zero Waste Washington
- Most often, the focus of climate change policy has been on energy and transportation. Waste-related issues, which are significant, are often considered less important.
Last year, a new report demonstrated that landfills in California are the #1 source of methane
emissions in the state. This overturned the previous assessment that landfills are the 3rd largest
source, thus increasing the urgency of the need to divert organic material from landfills for the sake
of our climate and the health of future generations.
Washington State Department of Ecology, in its 2016 Waste Characterization report, identified that
28% of our landfill load is organic material, by weight. Food waste totals 17%, and about half of that
is edible and half is inedible. Both of these statistics are problematic. We need to take action to first
reduce the waste, then feed people (edible excess food) and animals, make compost, create biogas
via anaerobic digestion, and, most importantly, avert the climate impacts of the degradation of these
material in the landfill which leads to high methane emissions.
This problem is solvable. It will not happen overnight, but the imperative of our changing climate
gives us no choice to find and enact solutions. National opinion shifts are favorable, and have
actually been amplified by COVID-19, which exposed some of the major flaws in our food supply and
disposal chain.
The most successful approach will be a collaborative one, involving working through the options and
creating bold action to solve the organic waste problem in Washington. - Emerald Cities
- Too often we tackle complex problems by making good efforts but
without the discipline to define the problem in precise terms and
then to identify the solutions in equally precise terms. We have
done a good job of identifying the performance characteristics for
new buildings and then through the efforts of the International
Living Futures Institute, LEED, Passive House and others, have
developed processes to implement solutions and measure results.
But, for existing multi-family buildings we do not have such a
structured approach. We need to apply the same rigor to our
existing buildings since 80% of the buildings that will exist in 2050
already exist today. Targeting the affordable housing sector
promises to increase community resilience with a focus on equity.
The Sustainable Path Foundation seeks to increase sustainability
and climate resilience using science and processes to do so. We
suggest that by precisely defining the outcomes that are needed
and creating trial retrofits we can begin the solutions development
that we need for this singular building sector. These trials and the
learning that results uses systems thinking to provide the
information that policymakers and building owners need to
integrate solutions for this building sector into the larger efforts to
dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The process for
setting a goal, developing trial projects and using that to drive
policy and actions has successfully been demonstrated in the
Exemplary Buildings Project for new construction. The same can
be done to retrofit our buildings - Center for Sustainable Infrastructure
- CSI’s big 2020 report offers a blueprint for action in the Northwest that aligns powerfully with SPF’s mission to promote sustainability, health and climate solutions through collaboration, science, and systems thinking.
“From Waste Management to Clean Materials” details a vision and strategy for the Northwest to
transform waste and recycling. Its animating vision: To build a world-class Clean Materials
infrastructure and economy that by 2040 shrinks the Northwest’s environmental footprint dramatically
while creating tens of thousands of good jobs.
Clean materials is the next frontier for climate solutions. Oregon’s DEQ’s research shows that
materials embedded in the products we consume are a major, but largely ignored, component of our
climate footprint. When life cycle impacts of materials are counted, total state climate pollution nearly
doubles. Impacts from materials on toxic loading, water, land and other urgent environmental
challenges are equally serious.
CSI is already forging remarkable bipartisan coalitions for industrial symbiosis and clean production
that are aligning people across the partisan, rural-urban, east-west divides in Washington around
common ground solutions that support the environment and economy.
This project to accelerate the clean materials industry sector is a common ground solution that can
garner broad support and catalyze systemic change to benefit health and sustainability in the
Northwest.
An SPF grant will help CSI turn interest into action. Our event series will generate strong interest in
this opportunity; with SPF support, CSI will work to provide effective vehicles for the emerging
leaders to engage collaboratively to grow the CM industry sector. - Long Live the Kings
- LLTK’s mission is to recover wild salmon and steelhead and support
sustainable fishing in the Pacific Northwest. In Puget Sound, salmon
represent a keystone species for fragile ecosystems, support
thousands of jobs in the ecotourism and fishing industries, and
maintain the Treaty Rights and Traditions of 23+ Federally
recognized Tribal Nations. SPF’s vision for a sustainable Puget
Sound cannot be realized without the environmental, economic, and
cultural benefits generated by strong salmon runs.
This pilot clearly demonstrates SPF’s commitment to science and
evidence-based environmental solutions. The project embraces a
rigorous study design, is being undertaken by highly qualified staff
and local watershed partners, and utilizes leading laboratories to
accurately monitor the effectiveness of this compost-based filtration
system. Your support will help drive a science-based and
collaborative solution to a pressing environmental challenge that not
only benefits salmon, but also the countless organisms that benefit
from reduced contaminant loads in our shared freshwater and marine
environments
2020
Fall 2020 Impact Circle 15 Grants (General Operating)
Investigate West
Northwest National Resources Group
WSU Bread Lab
Clean Energy Transition Institute
Viva Farms
Summer 2020 Covid Grants (General Operating)
- Earthcorps
- Zero Waste Washington
- Jefferson Land Trust
- Oceans Initiative
- WSU Bread Lab
- Center for Sustainable Infrastructure
- Community 2 Community
- City Fruit
- Common Acre
- Investigate West
- ReSources for Sustainable Communities
Impact Circle-14 Spring 2020
EARTHCORPS:
Innovations in Water Quality Improvement: Incorporating Mycoremediation into Green Stormwater Infrastructure
SIGHTLINE
Thin Green Line: Phasing Out Gas Infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest
RE SOURCES FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
Climate and Ecosystem Resilience Project
INTERNATIONAL LIVING FUTURE INSTITUTE
Water Toolkit for Net Positive Water
2019
Impact Circle-13 November 2019
CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE: Breakthrough Sustainability Through Clean Manufacturing
JEFFERSON LAND TRUST: Olympic Peninsula Climate-Focused Conservation Planning
PCC FARMLAND TRUST: Land and Water Strategy
WASHINGTON ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL: Building with Wood – Climate Smart Forestry
ZERO WASTE WASHINGTON: Reducing Food Waste and Increasing Composting in Washington State
Impact Circle-12 June 2019
Focus: Air Quality in Puget Sound
CITIZENS FOR A HEALTHY BAY: Strengthening Tacoma: Leveraging Community Engagement to Combat Air Pollution and Climate Change
INVESTIGATE WEST: Breathing Uneasy: Smoke, Health and Forest Fires
EMERALD CITIES COLLABORATIVE : Advocating Electrification of Buildings
2018
Impact Circle-11 November 2018
Focus: Climate Change, Human Health and Nutrition
COMMUNITY 2 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT : Tierra y Agua Farmland and Watershed Stewardship
VASHON MAURY ISLAND LAND TRUST: Closing the Loop: from Tofu to Farm to School
THE COMMON ACRE: Wild Bee Education Initiative
Impact Circle-10 June 2018
Focus: Resilience of Food Systems
PCC Farmland Trust : Farm to Farmer
EarthCorps: Green Line Pollinator Planting Support
The Bread Lab : Community Outreach
Organic Seed Alliance : Training Farmer Scientists
2016
Impact Circle-7 Fall 2016
Focus: Pushing the envelope for a sustainable community
Center for Sustainable Infrastructure (CSI)
Piloting the CSI Innovative Lab Services – a mission-serving and revenue-generating program to provide infrastructure managers with the services, tools, and methods to shape a decidedly more desirable future. The plan calls for at least two pilot projects to begin to establish the Innovation Lab’s track record and base of experience. CSI anticipates two pilot projects in their home city, Olympia. CSI believes Olympia can be a pioneering leader in Puget Sound of sustainable infrastructure innovation, and that these two pilot projects can represent powerful first steps in that direction.
PCC Farmland Trust
PCC Farmland Trust will support its farmers by establishing a new program, Advancing Farm Sustainability (AFS). AFS will enable farmers to adopt new approaches to sustainable land management—better protecting and stewarding the natural resources on their farms—that would otherwise be cost prohibitive. Each farmer-partner must develop a Farm Plan with the local Conservation District or Natural Resource Conservation Service. Often, these conservation organizations have some funds available to help farmers implement the best practices detailed in the plan. While these are valuable resources, the process to obtain funds is cumbersome, uncertain, and slow—barriers often discouraging farmers from adopting new sustainable practices. Through its new program, the Trust is able to help farmers navigate the various funding opportunities available to them. The AFS program also offers critical, flexible, financial assistance—dollars that can be leveraged as match in order to secure additional local or federal funds, or simply provide direct, rapid assistance when it is needed most.
Puget Soundkeeper Alliance
Water Quality Monitoring and Creek Advocacy Pilot Project is designed to address critical water pollution challenges by engaging existing citizen watershed groups with monitoring water quality and compliance with the Clean Water Act in their local watershed. Soundkeeper staff will identify and collaborate with community creek and other small watershed organizations, recruit and train volunteers to patrol and monitor their watershed, provide a Pollution Hotline for concerned citizens and whistleblowers , conduct targeted education and water quality sampling and ultimately amplify the voices to increase protection for Puget Sound.
Sustainable Connections
District Scale Utility Development for Bellingham’s Waterfront: As the City of Bellingham works to redevelop its former industrial waterfront, there is a rare opportunity to help guide decision makers in the development of a true ecodistrict built to enhance the community while based firmly on principles of sustainability. A key aspect of this eco-district will be the development of a District Energy system to provide energy to businesses, residences, and industrial installations in a manner that minimizes emissions while providing outstanding savings to district residents. Once installed studies indicate that by efficiently using steam and cold water to provide heat and cooling a district energy solution can reduce emissions in the waterfront district by emissions by 11,000 Metric Tons of C02 equivalent per year. Sustainable Connections will actively promote the idea of district energy to City Council, Port Representatives and Developer representatives as well as planning and industry professionals. They will bring in outside experts to present on the benefits of district energy and to address the final concerns of the involved parties. Additionally, Sustainable Connections will produce educational materials that can be used both educate the public on what a district energy system would provide and to publicize the system to local architects, developers, and realtors so that they can optimally utilize the benefits of such a system in attracting and designing for future residents.
Impact Circle- 6 May, 2016
Delridge Neighborhood Association: Wetlands and Stewardship Project
DNDA led a group of six organizations to acquire, restore and protect the wetlands at 23rd SW and SW Findlay street. They will create a community permaculture demonstration garden and a children’s garden.
Jefferson Land Trust: Chimacum Commons Project
JLT recently acquired 16 acres of historic farmland adjacent to Chimacum Creek. Their long-term vision for this site is to preserve it as farmland for aspiring farmers and build small, ecological dwelling units for farm interns and workers.
Seattle Tilth: Engaging Rainier Beach Residents in Environmental Stewardship Project
Seattle Tilth will hold work parties to construct a rain garden to demonstrate how to deal with stormwater runoff in a sustainable way, as well as a learning garden that will serve as an outdoor classroom.
2017
Impact Circle-9 December 2017
Focus: General Operating Support for Past Grantees
City Fruit
Delridge North Development Association
EarthCorps
Jefferson Land Trust
Impact Circle-8 June 2017
Focus: Innovations in Sustainability
Emerald Cities – Seattle: Expand Green Up Funds for All
Sustainable Path’s grant will support their project to craft a carbon reduction fund that can be used to invest in renewable energy and to incentivize projects to convert from using fossil fuels to clean electricity.
Re-Sources For A Sustainable Community
Sustainable Path’s grant will fund the groundwork for RE Sources to design, implement, and host microplastic sampling and data collection training workshops for a new corps of citizen scientists.
The smallest things can sometimes create the biggest problems. Microplastics in Puget Sound is one such notable example. These tiny pieces of plastic—less than 5 mm in diameter—are wreaking havoc on our nearshore habitats, marine invertebrates, and many species of fish, mammals and birds. While scientists have researched and documented the impacts of microplastics on the world’s oceans, little is understood or known about what these tiny particles are doing to filter feeders, salmon and many other species in Puget Sound. At the macro level we know that everything from phytoplankton biomass to loss of habitat function is at risk but the extent of the damage and the long-term consequences remain largely unknown.
Sustainable Path’s grant will fund the groundwork for RE Sources to design, implement, and host microplastic sampling and data collection training workshops for a new corps of citizen scientists. Re-Sources is a partner of the Institute of Environmental Toxicology at Western Washington University (WWU) in conducting a risk assessment of microplastics in Puget Sound. Collecting and analyzing data at several sites will help both inform new policies to mitigate microplastic damage and identify hotspots.
Sightline Institute: The Thin Green Line – Land use law reform to prohibit new fossil fuel infrastructure
Sustainable Path’s grant will support Sightline’s work for land use reform.
Sightline’s work on preventing fossil fuels has been ongoing since 2011. Sightline was one of the first to ring the alarm on the hazards of coal transportation, as well as Big Oil’s plans to drastically increase oil-by-rail shipments to the coast. This work will continue until the global threat from fossil fuels has been contained, and every last export proposal has been shut down. In the near-term, Sightline anticipates local land use law will become the most effective tool for this job. Big energy companies need permission from local governments all up and down the Puget Sound—cities that have the potential to be the last line of defense that keeps these dirty and dangerous fossil fuels in the ground. The current legislative session is our next chance to hold the thin green line strong.
Sustainable Path’s grant will support Sightline’s work for land use reform. For this work, Sightline will act as the research and communications arm of this movement. Working in close collaboration with local partners, Sightline will support the introduction of new legislation that will amend Tacoma’s local land use law to forestall new dirty energy development. A powerful coalition is emerging in Tacoma– one that includes fence-line communities and residents, the nearby Puyallup Tribe, affected workers like the Longshoremen, and local environmental organizations – to protect Tacoma and the waters of Commencement Bay from the depredations of the fossil fuel industry. If successful in Tacoma, Sightline will help to replicate the ban in other Puget Sound cities in coming months and years.
Wild Fish Conservancy: San Juan Sustainable Fishery Model
Sustainable Path’s grant will support WFC’s work assisting local fishermen in their transition from gillnets to reef nets.
While it’s true Pacific salmon are critically important to the economy of the Northwest, to talk only of their economic importance ignores a greater truth. Salmon are the backbone of what we in the Northwest hold dear: our culture, our environment, and our communities.
Today, in waters once supporting abundant populations, four native salmonid species in the sound are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act: Chinook salmon, summer chum salmon, steelhead trout, and bull trout. Their decline cannot be attributed to any one cause, but rather an accumulation of detrimental human activities including habitat degradation, hatchery impacts, dams, and overharvest from non-selective commercial fishing practices. Sustainable Path’s grant will support Wild Fish Conservancy (WCF) works to mitigate the negative effects of the latter by expanding the use of sustainable, selective commercial fishing practices in Puget Sound.
Since 2015, WFC has worked in partnership with Lummi Island Wild, a collaboratively owned reef net fishery based on Lummi Island, to advocate for the adoption of reef nets as stock-selective gears. This collaboration has resulted in the expansion and promotion of a sustainable model for regional commercial fisheries. Using fishing methods pioneered centuries ago by the Lummi and Saanich Nations, the non-native members of Lummi Island Wild are re-purposing a traditional salmon harvesting method known as reef netting. Reef nets are capable of releasing ESA-listed salmon back into the wild with the lowest mortality and bycatch rates of any fishing gear. WFC has helped the Lummi Island fishers expand and succeed in harmony with the surrounding ecosystem and tribal communities.
Sustainable Path’s grant will support WFC’s work assisting local fishermen in their transition from gillnets to reef nets. WFC is working with engineers to refine the efficiency of reef nets as stock-selective harvest tools, securing sustainable market certification, and improve the viability of their co-op model.
2012
21st Century Utility Initiative
Earth Economics’ ongoing work helps inform policymakers about the value of natural capital assets—watersheds in particular—with the ultimate goal of municipal utilities being able to reflect the true values of these ecosystem services on their books.
Beacon Hill Food Forest
P-Patch Trust’s envisioned a seven-acre permaculture urban forest garden in Beacon Hill, one of Seattle’s most diverse neighborhoods. The Food Forest allows those from all ages and backgrounds to gather together, grow their own food, and rehabilitate their local ecosystem.
Citizen Wildlife Monitoring Program
Conservation Northwest recruits and train volunteers—from hikers to skiers to elementary school students—in snow‐tracking and remote‐sensing camera monitoring techniques to collect wildlife data on wolves, wolverines, bears, and lynx in and around the Cascades, including along the I-90 corridor.
Community Water Management Transition Project
Cascadia Green Building Council works towards net-zero water in our region through regulation and policy change. Their “Making the Switch” white paper will outline both a vision for net-zero water as well as a comprehensive road map so that communities can transition from “business as usual” to a more restorative, ecologically sound future.
Forest Monitoring Team
EarthCorps recruits, trains, and supports teams of volunteer citizen scientists who are committed to monitoring—both on land and online—and restoring the precious urban forests of Seattle – and, soon, neighboring cities Kent, Kirkland, Redmond, and Tacoma as well.
Growing the Seeds for a Sustainable Community
Greenbank Farm Agriculture Training Center is creating a seed system – one that includes development of a local model and demonstration site for organic seed development as well as farmer training in organic on-farm research, crop breeding, and seed production, right in the heart of Whidbey Island.
Northwest Biocarbon Initiative
Climate Solutions wants to make the Pacific Northwest the global leader in creating and implementing cutting-edge policies and practices that increase carbon storage in our abundant forests, farms, and urbanized landscapes.
Toward Zero Waste Initiative
Sustainable Connections focuses on leveraging knowledge—of Whatcom County businesses, waste haulers, and municipalities—and turning that into a significant reduction in waste and increase in recycling, working toward the ultimate goal of becoming a zero-waste community.
2015
Impact Circle -5 December, 2015
Futurewise: Climate Justice and Resilient Voices Project
The Climate Justice and Resilient Voices Project will bring the voice of youth into Seattle’s Comprehensive Planning process so that climate equity will be strengthened as the City plans for the next 20 years. Seattle city will adopt their Comprehensive Plan and Capital Improvement Plan by December 2016. Futurewise will work with partners El Centro de la Raza and Arts Corps to train youth in storytelling and spoken word, as well as education on climate change impacts and data about the communities that will be most impacted. The youths’ works will be showcased at a community reception, and also shown in other locations, as well as an online gallery presentation and an interactive website.
Nature Consortium: Urban Reforestation Project
Nature Consortium has been successfully restoring the West Duwamish Greenbelt since 2003, with the long term goal of helping the area transition towards a more balanced, mixed-‐age deciduous and coniferous forest, leading to increase in the tree canopy, carbon sequestration, and a sustainable environment. On a weekly basis, they often have as many as 150 individual volunteers clearing 15,000 square feet of invasive plants. Sustainable Path’s grant will increase their capacity to engage and train more volunteers, thereby increasing the scale of their restoration activities.
NW Sustainable Energy for Economic Development (NW SEED): Solarize Woodinville Project
Through Solarize Woodinville, Northwest SEED will partner with community volunteers, local government leaders, solar installers, and Puget Sound Energy to boost awareness and offer a limited time group purchase opportunity for homeowners and small businesses to install solar panels with an emergency power option. Sustainable Path’s grant will be used to expand the Solarize offering by incorporating the next generation of solar technology so that NW SEED can continue to grow locally connected communities powered by rooftop solar .
NW Natural Resource Group (NNRG): Accelerating Resilience for Small Forests
NNRG provides educational workshops, forestry assistance, financial incentives, marketing and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for small forest owners. This project will educate forest owners about how to use forest stewardship planning, forest certification, and ecologically-based thinning projects to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Sustainable Path’s grant will support landowner outreach, site visits and training events.
NW Natural Resource Group (NNRG): Accelerating Resilience for Small Forests
NNRG provides educational workshops, forestry assistance, financial incentives, marketing and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for small forest owners. This project will educate forest owners about how to use forest stewardship planning, forest certification and ecologically-based thinning projects to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Sustainable Path’s grant will support landowner outreach, site visits and training events.
Impact Circle- 4 June, 2015
FOCUS: Building Puget Sound’s Resilience in the Face of Climate Change
Puget Soundkeeper Alliance (Soundkeeper): Water Quality Monitoring Project
The mission of the Soundkeeper is to protect and preserve Puget Sound by monitoring, cleaning up and preventing pollutants from entering its waters. Soundkeeper actively monitors Puget Sound’s water quality by boat, enforces the Clean Water Act, engages with stakeholders and regulators and implements solution-oriented partnerships with Puget Sound residents and the business community. The Clean Water Act allows citizens to step in when regulatory agencies like the state department of Ecology are unable to fulfill their legal obligations to protect the Sound. Soundkeeper is only one of two organizations that has field monitoring capability. The other organization is ReSources’ North South Baykeeper program.
This grant supports Soundkeeper’s presence on the ground from six hours/week to 46 hours/week. It will enable Soundkeeper to expand its patrol range and hlep the Legal Committee and Staff Attorney prepare and prioritize enforcement.
ReSources: Tenmile Creek Watershed and Fecal Coliform Project
ReSources Clean Water team has been conducting work in the Tenmile Creek watershed of Whatcom County’s Water Resources Inventory Area 1. The project’s aim is to reduce the amount of fecal coliform loading in the watershed, which drains to Portage Bay – a traditional shellfishing area for the Lummi Nation that is periodically closed due to high fecal coliform levels. The heart of this project focuses on engaging watershed residents in reducing contamination by engaging them in collecting water samples, reviewing data from those samples, and then working together to eliminate the causes of high fecal coliform.
This grant supports this work and will enable ReSources to expand this model to adjacent watersheds.
Impact Circle 3 Grants – May, 2015
Climate Solutions: New Energy Cities
In 2015, we will build on our work with the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration (K4C), a voluntary coalition of 12 cities including and surrounding Seattle that are determined to reduce regional green house gas (GHG) emissions. The goal of this new focus is to provide our New Energy Cities technical assistance to a city in South King County that lacks the resources of the county’s cities with more affluent tax bases. The desired outcome is that a city with fewer resources and a significant population of low-income residents, such as Burien, Federal Way, Renton, or Tukwila, would have access to the same tools as other cities in the county and thereby create a plan for how to reduce its community’s GHG emissions.
Emerald Cities-Seattle: RENEW project – Retrofits for Energy Efficiency Works
The RENEW program will educate affordable housing building owners (non-profit organizations) about efficiency opportunities, setting the stage for engagement in efficiency projects. Program partner, O’Brien & Company will act as Green Building Advisor supporting assessments, project development, and monitoring and verification. As the program financing coach, Emerald Cities Seattle will bring new finance options to building owners and assist with selection and attainment of financing for projects. The program will address the entire portfolio of each building owner and bundle projects in lots of 4-6 in order to gain efficiencies.
This grant will start the full pilot phase of five buildings followed by a scale-up of ten buildings. The overall plan is to complete 15 projects using the Development Fund to share the cost of initial development work with the building owner. As the program grows over the next 24 months, the RENEW fund will eventually support 20 projects per year.
International Living Future Institute (ILFI): Increase Net Zero Energy Buildings in Puget Sound Project
ILFI will reach out to the Puget Sound region, educate the community about zero energy solutions, identify buildings that claim or are planning to achieve net zero energy and provide the technical assistance and resources to guide them through the Net Zero Energy certification process. ILFI hopes to certify 10 new buildings by the end of this grant period.
To earn Net Zero Energy certification, a project must meet the requirements of five Living Building Challenge imperatives, including:
- Limits to Growth (curbing the building’s contribution to the effects of sprawled development, which undermines the positive impact of achieving net zero energy building operation
- Net Zero Energy
- Beauty + Spirit and Inspiration + Education, underscoring the notion that renewable energy systems can be incorporated into a building in ways that are attractive and inspiring
The grant will support these actions of ILFI:
- Provide technical assistance to project teams of buildings that fall short of expectations, assisting them to successfully complete certification requirements
- Work with project teams on new buildings to ensure that net zero energy requirements are successfully implemented
- Deliver ongoing, targeted net zero energy education programs to building owners, design professionals and community leaders
- Document case studies online and in publications
Nisqually Land Trust: Carbon Sequestration on Private Forest Land Project
The Nisqually Land Trust is developing a forest carbon offset project under the California Air Resources Board Offset Protocol for U.S. Forests as a means to pay for acquisition, restoration, and long-term stewardship of land that was owned by an industrial timber manager. The Nisqually Land Trust has partnered with the Washington Environmental Council to promote forest conservation and forest carbon offset projects to high-profile companies in the Puget Sound region.
The grant award will help fund the completion of the carbon offset project through verification and registration of credits and the production of a lessons learned document. The development phase of the project (forest inventory, modeling carbon stocks under baseline, project management, project documentation, third-party verification, registry and regulatory review) will last through the third quarter of 2015. Marketing credits to local companies will be ongoing but for the first large transaction should be completed by the end of 2015. The development of the “lessons learned” document will be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2016.
You can read more about the process of modeling carbon stock process on the NLT website.
Impact Circle 2 Grants – March, 2015
- American Rivers: Resilient Green River Campaign
- Conservation Northwest: Watershed Health in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
- EarthCorps: Commencement Bay Climate Adaptation Planning
- Friends of the San Juans: Advancing Sea Level Rise Adaptation in the San Juan Islands
2011
Cascadia Green Building Council: Supported the From Toolkit to Policy Change: Guiding Puget Sound Communities toward 21st Century Wastewater Strategies project. Previous funding from Sustainable Path enabled development of the Toolkit to create policy change around waste water strategies. The 2011 grant will allow CGBC to take the next steps: Working from the Toolkit, CGBC will create and host seven “Exploring Net Zero Water” lectures geared toward key decision-makers within the Puget Sound area.
Climate Solutions: Provided key funds to enable the organization to move into the second phase of its New Energy Cities project. New Energy Cities provides guidance and technical assistance to small- to medium-sized Northwest cities like Edmonds, Washington, as they plan for and implement clean-energy solutions like smart-grid technology and distributed renewable power. Sustainable Path’s support enables Climate Solutions to help move cities to the implementation phase of their transitions; increase the number of cities Climate Solutions assists; and communicate their successes to a broad audience.
EarthCorps: Support for the Forest Monitoring Team program. The Forest Monitoring Team is a citizen science project; volunteers are trained to document and measure urban forest restoration and establish permanent monitoring plots in Seattle-area parks. Sustainable Path’s 2011 support will allow EarthCorps to recruit and train more volunteers, with special emphasis on those from underserved neighborhoods in southeast Seattle, and to create volunteer data collection protocols for additional variables.
Earth Economics: Provided pilot funding for to support the Accounting for Natural Capital project. Accounting for Natural Capital includes Earth Economics’ work to change national Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) rules to include the watersheds as capital assets on public water utilities’—including Seattle Public Utilities’—books. Sustainable Path funding will help Earth Economics create, circulate, and submit technical and supporting documents to the GASB requesting the rule change.
The Evergreen State College Foundation received support for their Sound Learning Communities project. Sound Learning Communities intends to prepare 100 faculty members, drawn from diverse disciplines, to develop coursework that informs and motivates students to understand Puget Sound as a complex system and the strategies required to restore its health. Sustainable Path’s grant will support faculty members’ field work at four sites in Puget Sound, leading to individual and collaborative curriculum development and service projects; the curriculum and service projects are estimated to reach over 70,000 Puget Sound college and university students over the next ten years.
RE Sources: Supported the Whatcom Watershed Challenge, which aims to inspire rural Whatcom County landowners to be stewards of the watershed, and to specifically work towards reduced fecal coliform contamination. Our grant was used to expand the number of citizen scientists gathering water quality data, develop messages about water quality that will continue to encourage action by rural residents, and communicate water quality information and sampling data to residents.
Seattle Tilth: Received support for the organization’s Farm Incubator Program. This program provides education, training, and support to socially disadvantaged farmers—many from the Somali community—as they create a farm business. Sustainable Path’s funding allowed Seattle Tilth to recruit and train its first cohort of farmers, launch a food distribution hub, and create wholesale-to-retail channels for the farmers to sell their products.
2010
Cascadia Green Building Council: Toolkit for 21st Century Wastewater Policies in the Puget Sound
Climate Solutions: NEW ENERGY CITIES
Facing the Future: Puget Sound Science Literacy Outreach
National Wildlife Federation: Protecting Puget Sound Floodplains
Re Sources: Whatcom Watershed Challenge
Seattle Audubon: Puget Sound Seabirds
WA Toxics Coalition: Pollution in Products
2008
2People: Greater Seattle Climate Dialogues
Climate Solutions: New Energy Cities
Environmental Education Association of Washington (KC Summit and Annual Conference
Institute for Children’s Environmental Health (Seminar Series)
Port Townsend Marine Science Center
REEF Environmental Education Foundation: Marine Life Data Collection Project
Sightline Institute: Climate Pricing Project
Washington Citizens for Resource Conservation
Washington Environmental Council
Washington Toxics Coalition
Yes! Magazine: Positive Futures
2009
2 People: The Earth Portal
Climate Solutions: New Energy Nexus
Environmental Education Assoc. of WA: Systemic Change through Environmental and Sustainability
Education Initiatives
Facing the Future: Puget Sound Science Literacy Outreach
Institute for Children’s Environmental Health – Seminars
Moontown Foundation – SWITCH Project
REEF Environmental Education Foundation: Volunteer Survey Project
Seattle Audubon: Puget Sound Seabirds
Sightline: Climate Policy Project
Sustainable Connections – Bellingham Energy Efficiency Challenge
Washington Toxics Coalition: Earliest Exposures II
Youth for a New World – Youth Symposium
WA. Citizens for Resource Conservation: Build a Public Mandate for Producer Responsibility