How Do You Heal Contaminated Soil? People Who Work in South End Community Gardens Have Ideas

The South End is one of the most diverse areas in the region. It's also where newborns have a life expectancy that is 11 years shorter than newborns in North Seattle neighborhoods, like Ravenna and Bryant. Factors like access to healthcare and standards of living affect long-term health outcomes, as does pollution from air traffic, cars, and South End industries' byproducts. 

This can lead to higher rates of soil contaminants in some areas of the South End compared with other parts of King County, according to a recent analysis by Vedika Bhat, who mapped the results of the King Conservation District's arsenic and lead soil tests. Community gardens can choose to have their soil tested for these two contaminants for free along with having their soils tested for nutrients. Bhat did the community research as part of a University of Washington Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences graduate thesis with Sustainable Seattle.

Outcomes were shared with the community on Sept. 13, when Bhat described the analysis as a comparison of contamination levels between gardens and their neighborhoods. Bhat's analysis showed that arsenic contamination was elevated in several neighborhoods, including the Central District, Mount Baker, and Des Moines. but the levels didn't necessitate cleanup. She said the outcomes of soil samples generally matched patterns of health disparities in the region. 

Bhat's maps showed areas in the South End where lead contamination in community garden soils was elevated: the Central District, Mount Baker, Burien, South Park, and Des Moines. Some of the city's neighborhoods have lead levels that should require cleanup according to the Department of Ecology (Madison Park and Montlake and the Fremont/Phinney Ridge/Greenwood area), but there is no agency that mandates who should clean a specific area. (Lead and arsenic also occur naturally in the environment.) 

"The difficulty is when our soil is contaminated at cleanup levels, our government supports to resolve this are lacking," said Bhat. "This is where more conversation and push are needed. The solution for gardens is generally raised beds and that takes resources."

Meilani Lanier-Kamaha'o, executive director of Sustainable Seattle, noted, "There are some high-profile sites, like the Duwamish Waterway, which gets a lot of attention, as it ought [to], but then there's less funding-priority energy and resources going to remediate and educate, to protect people most negatively impacted by climate change and environmental issues."

Dr. Melanie Malone, a professor at the University of Washington Bothell School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, has studied soil contaminants, like lead, arsenic, petroleum products, glyphosate, and many other metals, in the Puget Sound region since 2019. Over the years, her work has expanded. "I started by addressing questions like: What's in my compost? What's in my plants? And then: Is my garden produce safer than what I'm buying at the grocery store?" 

Malone says the dangers of contaminants to a body can depend on a number of factors, like what the contaminant is, how often you're exposed to it, what dose you're exposed to, and what point in your life cycle you were in when exposed. Malone noted that babies, older people, and adolescents are more susceptible.

Malone prefers a more progressive and liberatory framing around discussions about exposure. "I don't think it's fair to hide things, especially when people are trying to find a way to protect themselves," said Malone. She recommends communities refer to Dirt Alert to learn more about some recorded contaminants on sites around Tacoma and South King County. She also recommends gardeners use organic compost from sources like FoxFarm and GreenBlenz.

Community Efforts to Heal Land

Numerous organizations are trying to address elevated levels of soil contaminants in their gardens.

The Heron's Nest 

One South End land-healing project sits near the Duwamish River in South Park. The Duwamish Tribe is rematriating 3.5 acres of land at The Heron's Nest, where the land purchased by Shared Spaces Foundation is being returned to the stewardship of the Duwamish people. The site, located near the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center, was an illegal dumping ground for years. Since 2020, The Heron's Nest has been cleaning the space. Joselynn Tokashiki, The Heron's Nest manager and liaison to the Duwamish Tribe, noted that The Heron's Nest has undergone many soil tests because cars had been abandoned on the land and a neighboring concrete industry had deposited highly toxic kiln dust in the adjacent greenbelt. Kiln dust is a known source of contaminants, like silica, chromium, and cadmium. 

Even with that history, the site received a clean bill of health from the Department of Ecology, but The Heron's Nest has continued to test the site and any soil and compost brought onto the land. Tokashiki calls beds with more toxins "spicy." They said they have baseline data on four spicy beds. Two have sunflowers growing in them for phytoremediation, and they'll try growing oyster mushrooms in the other two with added lime to raise the pH, activating the plants to absorb more lead.

Tokashiki said, "[At The Heron's Nest,] there's a lot of healing that the land has done [through our communities], and there's a lot of healing that the land offers to our community. There's beautiful reciprocation that happens through this relationship."

BLOOM

"The soil at Wa Na Wari resulted on the lower end of the high range for lead [contamination]," said Daelen Gates, facilitator for BLOOM, a program centered on gardening as a form of social justice.

C. Davida Ingram founded BLOOM during the pandemic, a time of rising youth suicide rates. Ingram was working at The Seattle Public Library and started the program so youth could be in community while they learned leadership skills and grew vegetables in Wa Na Wari's backyard. When testing revealed contaminated soil, BLOOM increased the number of raised beds.

"There was a disproportionate amount of cancer in my family because of crop dusting in Arkansas fields where my family grew their food," said Ingram. 

"When I moved to Seattle, I found this region dealing with concurrent crises in how we've treated our Indigenous populations, Black and Brown communities, and that's built into our soil."

In an area where the soil was highly contaminated, Christina Chambers helped create a healing garden with Indigenous mentors, like Ixtli White Hawk and Pah-tu Pitt. They grew collard greens, wildflowers, and sunflowers to absorb toxins as a form of bioremediation. People who work in the space also wear long sleeves, long pants, gloves, and close-toed shoes.

Chambers' family comes from Africatown near Mobile, Alabama, a place settled by people who were transported on the Clotilda, the last slave ship to the U.S. The community there also struggles with air, water, and ground pollutants from neighboring industries.

In the garden at Wa Na Wari, BLOOM facilitator Gates pointed at the healing garden. "We're growing pumpkins over there to carve, and lavender smells beautiful in the house." 

STACK for J

Lynda Wong, a Beacon Hill resident and program manager for SeaTac Airports Community Coalition for Justice (STACK for J), got involved in South End environmental issues because she and her father faced overhead airplane noise as they worked in their garden. Wong had to speak loudly to compete with the noise, and she began to lose her voice. She started to inform neighbors about air traffic pollution. "While talking with some seniors, some Laotian elders asked if their soil is safe to grow food," said Wong. Now, she works with a number of gardens in southeast Seattle to inform groups about soil contamination in addition to Sea-Tac International Airport's expansion plans.