The KCD Board of Supervisors has awarded $1.49 million to 17 community-led projects that will improve natural resources and strengthen community resilience across the region.
Funded projects focus on a variety of conservation priorities, including sustainable agriculture, stormwater and flood management, riparian restoration, and forest health. The awards reflect the Board’s commitment to environmental justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, with funding prioritized for communities that have experienced disproportionate environmental impacts and faced barriers to accessing resources.
Interest in the program was strong, with 48 proposals requesting more than $4 million in funding submitted for consideration.
Among the projects selected for funding:
- 48% focus on sustainable agriculture
- 30% address stormwater and flooding challenges
- 16% support riparian restoration efforts
- 5% advance forest health initiatives
Many of the awarded projects contribute to multiple conservation goals, delivering benefits across several natural resource areas while helping communities become more resilient to environmental challenges.
Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association – Longfellow Creek Community Restoration Project
$82,000
DNDA’s Longfellow Creek Community Restoration Project is a community-led effort which will host 100 restoration events, engage 2,000 community volunteers, restore 5 acres of habitat, expand watershed monitoring, and evaluate the Roxhill Bog restoration pilot, advancing environmental justice and long-term watershed resilience.
Diggin’ Shoreline – Ching Garden
$48,850
Acquired by GROW in 2023, the Ching Garden is a 0.64-acre urban food forest and Asian American heritage site honoring Joe and Jennie Ching, who were redlined from the neighborhood in 1957. The grant will support power and water infrastructure, food forest expansion, and equitable food distribution to underserved communities.
Feed Seven Generations – 2026-28 Native Grown + Gathered: King County Native Food Infrastructure and Producer Resilience Initiative
$97,000
FEED will strengthen climate-resilient Native agriculture in King County by connecting Native producers with technical assistance, conservation resources, business development support, and market opportunities. The project will invest in Native food infrastructure and help producers adopt regenerative practices, reduce food loss, improve economic viability, and expand access to culturally relevant foods.
Indigenous Creatives Collective – The Living Landscape: Indigenous-Led Permaculture Garden and Community Greenspace
$97,000
The Living Landscape is an Indigenous-led permaculture garden rooted in Traditional Ecological Knowledge, designed through community visioning to serve Seattle-area Indigenous communities. The project establishes interconnected plant guilds supporting food sovereignty, native tree canopy expansion, and culturally grounded land stewardship, while providing education and community programming centered on sustainable agriculture and urban forest health.
International Rescue Committee – Building Resilient Growers Through Land Access and Sustainable Practices in South King County(BRG-SK)
$97,000.00
The Building Resilient Growers project will support 250 immigrant, refugee, and BIPOC growers through land access, conservation-focused training, technical assistance, and peer learning opportunities at community gardens and an incubator farm. The project will promote sustainable farming practices, strengthen climate resilience and food security, and support long-term farm viability.
iUrban Teen – Roots to Resilience: King County BIPOC Youth Pathway to Regenerative Agriculture and Food Sovereignty (2026-2028)
$97,000
Roots to Resilience bridges a documented funding gap to sustain iUrban Teen’s King County BIPOC youth pathway into regenerative agriculture and food sovereignty careers. Over 24 months, the project trains 80 South King County and Seattle teens through hands-on practicum at urban farm sites, mentorship from BIPOC food systems professionals, and direct placement into the regional sustainable agriculture workforce.
King County – Bridging the Farmland Access Gap in South King County
$97,000
This project complements substantial investments King County has made in farmland access for historically underserved farmers by providing the technical and business support required for farm businesses to succeed. Funds will be used to contract with Highline College’s Sustainable Agriculture Program to provide education and coaching on farming skills including soil management, production education, farm management, and business and market planning to farmers in south King County.
Living Well Kent Collaborative – Green River Farm Stand: Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture for Immigrant and Refugee Farmers in Kent
$84,785
Living Well Kent Collaborative will establish a new community garden on recently acquired land in Kent, adjacent to the Green River, expanding sustainable agriculture and local food access for immigrant and refugee communities in South King County. The project will develop raised beds and horticultural demonstration plots featuring climate-smart and traditional farming practices, while incorporating sustainable land management strategies to reduce runoff and protect Green River water quality.
Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group – Springbrook Creek Community Restoration
$70,697
Mid Sound will partner with Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and Unleash the Brilliance (UTB) – youth from under-resourced communities – to restore 0.5 miles of Springbrook Creek in Renton. Mid Sound will lead stewardship events, providing hands-on green jobs training and education on plant ID and water quality parameters. UTB youth will receive stipends for their participation. We will host ten events over two years, clear 10,000 sf of invasive blackberry, and plant 400 native trees and shrubs.
Nature Vision – Youth Watershed Education, Stewardship, and Community Science in the Green/Duwamish Area
$60,874
Nature Vision will implement 14 Blue Teams in under-resourced Green/Duwamish schools over two years, engaging up to 350 students in hands-on environmental education focused on stormwater, water quality, and watershed health. Students will apply their learning through community science and restoration projects, advancing environmental justice by empowering those most impacted by pollution and flooding to understand and improve their environment.
Puget Soundkeeper Alliance – Lost Urban Creek Project (LUC) – Springbrook Green Stormwater Infrastructure Training & Design
$97,000
This project engages underserved BIPOC youth from South King County in restoring Springbrook Creek through environmental education, stewardship, and hands-on Green Stormwater Infrastructure training. In partnership with Unleash the Brilliance and Dirt Corps, youth gain practical stormwater management skills while advancing water quality, environmental equity, and creek restoration.
Seattle Parks Foundation – Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association South Park Neighborhood Center: A Model of Flood Resilience
$97,000
This project will complete a green infrastructure initiative at the South Park Neighborhood Center to reduce climate-related flooding and protect a vital community asset in the Duwamish Valley. The project will also provide climate resilience education for 20 BIPOC youth, creating pathways to economic opportunity while strengthening community resilience.
Snoqualmie Indian Tribe – Hydraulic Modeling to Reconnect Historic Floodplains in the North Fork Tolt River, 2027-2029
$97,000
The Snoqualmie Tribe has been designing a large wood restoration project on the North Fork Tolt River to reconnect historic floodplains, reduce flooding, improve Tribal access, and restore riparian habitat within their 12,000-acre Ancestral Forest. This grant will fund the final hydraulic modeling needed to complete permit-ready designs and move the project toward construction.
The Common Acre – Native-Led Riparian Restoration Work in South Seattle
$77,250
The Common Acre will lead hands-on community workshops to steward riparian habitat restoration around Mapes Creek and educate the community on water management practices, rooted in Traditional Ecological Knowledge, and Treaty Rights. Mapes Creek is part of the Lake Washington-Cedar-Sammamish Watershed, and has tested for pollutants that we aim to address through native plant restoration activities.
We Are Comunidad – Sembrando el Futuro Verde (Sowing the Green Future)
$97,000
Sembrando el Futuro Verde trains Latino landscapers and youth leaders in climate-smart landscaping practices that improve stormwater management, support pollinator habitat, increase climate resilience, and reduce environmental impacts in King County communities. Through bilingual workshops and peer-to-peer education, the project builds local capacity to implement sustainable landscaping practices while creating pathways to green jobs for historically underserved communities.
Windz of Change Alliance – Children of the Red Springs Lands
$97,000
The initiative focuses on forest health through education, community demonstration, urban forest canopy expansion, and Indigenous community outreach to promote wellness and resilience. It will support restoration work at Camp Long, Licton Springs activities, completion of a mini-forest at Robert Eagle Staff Middle School, and development of a mini-forest at Nathan Hale High School.
Young Women Empowered – Y-WE Grow 2027
$97,000
Y-WE Grow engages BIPOC young women and gender expansive youth ages 13-24 in urban agriculture, environmental justice education, and mentorship that strengthen community resilience and connection to land through a lens of healing and belonging. Through regenerative growing practices, culturally relevant food production, and paid internships, participants build sustainable agriculture skills while increasing access to fresh, local food in historically and systemically marginalized communities.