Community Forums

Community Envisioned Deschutes Estuary (CEDE)

Upcoming CEDE Events…

Calling all Estuary Organisms!!!

The Procession of the species is rapidly approaching and there is still time for you to participate with the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Team and the Puget Sound Esturarium!! 

How do I get involved?

fill out the form via link above & email: casey.allen1813@gmail.com.

What organism will I be?

There is time to get into the warehouse and make a piece to carry or wear in the procession. You could be salmon, a barnacle, a heron, whatever estuary critter you like. Time is limited but there are simple ways to get involved. Make a salmon hat, purpose hat, seagull hat, etc.

What if I do not have time to make any art but want to participate?

We need you! We have a number of pieces ready to go, you just need to let us know and then show up for the Procession! We need people to be our water (already made but add your own flare), we have extra salmon hats for our school of salmon, we have harbor porpoise hats, and there are others still!

Where is the art space?

Armory Creative Campus
515 Eastside St SE
Olympia, WA 98501

When Should I show up?

The Procession website has the open hours and it is free to the community! Everyone there is very friendly and helpful. Leslie Peeples, one of our volunteer coordinators, is commonly there, ask for her! Important dates:

• Saturday, the 19th: 11a-4p
  There will be a number of volunteers and DERT members at the warehouse, come in and meet folks, get you piece together, and potentially help paint the center piece.
  
• Wednesday, the 23rd: 5:30p-7:30p
  Come for a Procession practice run! We will be spending time learning how we will move as a group, what type of fun antics we can do, and generally get ready for Saturday.
  
• Saturday, the 26th: Procession Time!
  
  • 3:00 pm – STUDIO CLOSES –
    Move all remaining projects left in the studio to the assembly point
    
  • 3:30 pm –
    Registration opens. Public assembles on Legion Way and Cherry between Jefferson & Chestnut in downtown Olympia. Windsocks and spangles are handed out.
    
  • 4:30 pm –
    Procession begins – rain or shine!

We hope to see you at the Procession Warehouse and/or at the Procession of the Species!!!

Past CEDE Events…

CEDE – Winter 2025

This series was centered around themes expanding beyond the physical design of the restored Deschutes, including sustainable development, education, pollution, and stewardship. Each forum began with a brief lecture or panel, and then expand into compelling community discussion. Local artist Carrie Ziegler performed graphic note-taking throughout the series, and will produce a final painting of our collectively defined vision for a restored Deschutes Estuary community. The work will displayed and shared with the public at Spring Arts Walk 2025.

Summary of Takeaways

Intro – January 14
At the introduction to the CEDE series, we heard from Kris Peters of the Squaxin Island Tribe on the history of the Deschutes Estuary and Squaxin Island Tribal connection to that landscape. We also heard from Tessa Gardner-Brown of the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Project (DERP) team about the process and plans for the estuary restoration. DERT founder Sue Patnude then set the stage for the series through breakout group discussions on a big question: How do we want to define a sense of place in a restored Deschutes Estuary? Some of the major themes we heard include expanding access, enhancing connection with the land, situating the estuary restoration in space (in the watershed)  and time (history, present moment, future), building more relations with our neighbors, and developing culture and tradition associated with landscape. 

Sustainable Development – January 28
Facilitated by DERT’s own Ray Willard, the Sustainable Development workshop introduced a watershed-wide approach to how we might consider our future of living alongside a restored Deschutes Estuary. We were joined by guest speaker Justin Hall of the Nisqually River Council, who shared a neighboring perspective on improving stewardship efforts through a non-regulatory collaborative approach. Group discussion centered around building a vision for what a sustainable future looks like in the Deschutes Watershed 50 years from now. Major themes we heard included developing in line with the watershed’s carrying capacity, creating more non-car transportation opportunities and connecting trail networks, and living in a future with consistent and accessible education opportunities linked to restoration and recreation. We also discussed preserving rural and agricultural landscapes and implementing more Green-Blue infrastructure. 

Education – February 11
During our Education workshop, we were fortunate to have Stephanie Bishop of the Thurston Conservation District (TCD) facilitate an evening spent exploring the current landscape of environmental education in the Watershed and opportunities for the future. She brought in partners to speak to their unique enviro ed focus areas, including Aimee Christy of the Pacific Shellfish Institute, Matthew Phillipy of Marshall Middle School’s Citizen Science Institute, Anthony Terzoli of the Estuarium, Sam Nadell of TCD’s South Sound GREEN, and Michael Joseph of The Evergreen State College’s Center for Climate Action and Sustainability. Stephanie then let participants self-select into breakout groups centered around either non-formal ed, formal ed, adult engagement, and youth engagement. We discussed what programming is happening, what’s working well, and what’s currently missing. As a group, we learned that there is a need for both a centralized meeting and education space (for youth & adults) and for a centralized aggregate calendar and resource center for environmental ed offerings. 

Pollution – February 25
DERT’s own Grant Gilmore facilitated a watershed-wide discussion on pollution issues and management. We were joined by Dave Kangiser of the City of Tumwater, Cole Baldino of DERT and the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement Group, Stephanie Bishop of Thurston Conservation District, Kane Osstifin of the City of Olympia, and Jonathan Wolf of the Port of Olympia. Our guests gave a highly informative overview of pollution management issues in each section of the watershed. Collectively, we learned A TON about stormwater, what contributes to pollution, and effective management strategies. Group discussion identified further strategies to pursue for enhancing watershed health, including bioremediation via rain gardens and bioswales, creative outreach, especially in the middle watershed, continued pressure for legacy pollution clean-up, increased general public education & outreach, increasing recreational opportunities to for fostering a sense of stewardship, and the importance of coalition building. 

Stewardship – March 11
Facilitated by DERT’s Mackenzie Kleiva, the Stewardship workshop centered around perspectives and strategies of stewards both within the Deschutes and in neighboring watersheds. We heard from Paul Cereghino of the Society for Ecological Restoration and Salish Sea Platform, Daniel Einstein of OlyEcosystems, David Herrera of the Skokomish Indian Tribe Legal & Policy Department, Scott Steltzner of the Squaxin Island Tribe Natural Resources Department, Kirsten Joy Harma of the Chehalis Basin Partnership, and Shade Osuna of The Many Trees Project. We broke the fourth wall on stewardship and asked groups to discuss how they want to engage as stewards themselves. Recurring themes from guest speaker and participant discussions include relationship building as key, creating adaptable frameworks for funding and engagement ebbs & flows, a need for more hands-on opportunities, finding ways keep engagement momentum going, supporting existing groups, and building up a network and/or watershed council. Closing words from one of our founders, Sue Patnude: “If not for the relationships built in the early days of DERT, we wouldn’t be here [estuary restoration]. Bringing the Deschutes to the community and educating the people is a challenge, but it is so important that we educate people on the river.” 

Future Action – March 25
In our final workshop of the series, the DERT Board of Directors engaged in a panel discussion, facilitated by Mackenzie Kleiva. They shared their interest in and experience working with DERT and their perspectives on the series and what we’ve learned. We also had the opportunity to receive 30% design updates from Tessa Gardner-Brown of the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Project team. Wind in our sails to hear about current progress in the estuary while strategizing about our future! As a group, we had the opportunity to ask the audience questions and allow for audience questions of the Board. Some of the key themes we discussed were empowered advocacy through knowledge sharing, encouraging science & monitoring, an interest in exploring tools for enhancing our political power, and the need to continue to stay focused on estuary restoration to ensure long term funding and appropriate stewardship.

Support for the CEDE program is provided by the Puget Sound Stewardship & Mitigation Fund, a fund enabled by the Waste Action Project and the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment.

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Past DERT Forum Presentations

2019

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2018

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