Incredible Parks Want Incredible Names Project

The Incredible Parks Want Incredible Names Project was a campaign launched on the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, and aimed to re-name six Port-owned parks while promoting community connection and safe recreation during the COVID-19 lockdown. Due to a history of rapid industrialization along Seattle’s Duwamish River, parks held unwelcoming names like “Terminal 107 Public Access Site” which evoked concepts of fear and pollution for park users and neighboring communities.

After an intensive six-month process involving over twelve thousand diverse participants, final new names now meet the Port and community’s shared goal to educate on–and better reflect–each site’s cultural, historical, and environmental importance. Four names are in the Coast Salish Indigenous language, Lushootseed, and are displayed in its unique script with translation and pronunciation tools at each park. Two in the English language echo the neighborhood’s legacy for environmental advocacy, Duwamish River Peoples Park respecting the Duwamish Valley neighborhood’s two decades of advocacy to transform a Superfund Site into a public park and habitat area, and Salmon Cove in a nod to late activist John Beal and his leadership for cleaning the Duwamish River.

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Deliverables for the Project:

• Oversee the design and execution of an academically rigorous and equity-focused public education campaign using stakeholder mapping tools, historical archives, environmental data, Indigenous cultural history, and participatory community storytelling
• Convene a community advisory committee representing Tribal, youth, environmental, neighborhood, and historical perspectives to guide the process
• Design and prioritize multi-lingual, multimedia, and multi-generational outreach to park users and stakeholders
• Harness community storytelling tools to inspire public participation
• Establish a transparent selection process that incorporates equity principles while adhering to all relevant agency regulations
• Present in public meetings and build communication materials (flyers, web material, etc.) to promote each stage of the selection process for public and internal audiences