350 Tacoma, with the support of EarthCorps and the City of Tacoma, have been working since January 2018 to restore a tiny neglected salt marsh and mud flat in the industrial Port of Tacoma, nestled between U.S. Oil & Refining and Washington United Terminal on the Blair Waterway. We are currently having quarterly work parties. Check out this beautiful video celebrating five years of care!
Our goal is to love this little one acre open public space back to health. That involves picking up garbage, pulling out invasive weeds, restoring the soil, planting native plants and trees, and creating walkways and signage. The salt marsh was initially named for a French chemical company—Rhone Poulenc—that once operated on this site, but in consultation with the Puyallup Tribal Language Program we are restoring a native Twulshootseed place name: qʷiqʷəlut (little marsh).
qʷiqʷəlut is located on the ancestral lands of the Puyallup Tribe. Prior to colonization, the area known today as the Port of Tacoma was a thriving pristine estuary, with abundant marine life, wildlife, trees and plants. Much of the tideflats was filled in with contaminated soil from nearby heavy industry, and paved over in the early 1900’s, to create more “land” for Port business operations. The newly paved area meant the Tribe’s Reservation boundary no longer touched the waters of the Tideflats.
Tidal and salt marshes, seagrasses and mangroves, are powerhouses when it comes to carbon sequestration — two to four times more than terrestrial forests — and are therefore considered a key component of nature-based solutions to climate change. Salt Marshes help maintain water quality by filtering runoff and excess nutrients while providing vital habitat for fish, birds, invertebrates, bivalves, and other wildlife.
qʷiqʷəlut Water Is Life Series
This spring and summer 350 Tacoma is hosting a series of events that combine caring for qʷiqʷəlut (“little marsh”), a 1.5 acre salt marsh that we steward, with educational presentations by local organizations and experts. Speakers will cover a wide range of water-related topics. All events in the series are on Saturdays. The first hour will be spent at 350 Tacoma, where lunch will be served and we’ll enjoy the presentation of our guest speaker(s). Then we’ll gather into carpools and head over to qʷiqʷəlut. Once there, we’ll tour the salt marsh, pick up trash, and water plants as needed. We’ll spend about an hour there, then return to 350 Tacoma. Everyone is welcome! Learn more about the series and see the calendar of events here!
