PlantAmnesty, the University of Washington Botanic Gardens, and Windz of Change Alliance partner to deliver the Urban Forest Symposium every year. The symposium focuses on timely topics to bring together a diverse audience including Indigenous peoples, arborists, land managers, policy-makers, designers, program managers, municipal planners, volunteers, students, and advocates. Everyone is invited and welcome!
2023 Urban Forest Symposium
Interweaving Indigenous Eco-Ethics & Healing into Urban Forestry
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Emerald Shores by SpeakThunder Berry, Puyallup, Nakota, Warm Springs |
Thursday, November 2nd, 2023wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House, UW Seattle campus(4249 Little Canoe Channel NE, Seattle, WA 98105) 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.$85 in-person. $30 virtual.Discounts available for Indigenous attendees, students, corps members, and financial aid requests.
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Come join us for the 2023 Urban Forestry Symposium, which will focus on Indigenous environmental stewardship, decolonizing climate justice narratives, food sovereignty and access, and the role of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s standards in building solutions in urban forestry.
Morning keynotes will provide in-depth frameworks for the day. Speakers will provide background and context about Indigenous land management practices through their knowledge of Tribal cultural epistemology, heritage ways, and the diversification, indigenization, and decolonization of methodologies and actions around climate change. Introduction to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s (SFI) Forest Management Standards, with a focus on those that recognize and respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights, will close out this session.
A lunch by Metoncks Metsu (Feeding My Cousins) will allow attendees to share in traditional Native tastes and perspectives on food sovereignty. The panels following lunch will give actualized perspectives about ecological heritage ways and methodologies that are being incorporated into urban forest management. These afternoon sessions will further educate everyone about local projects that have effectively empowered and engaged communities in their planning, design, and implementation.
Closing the day, participants will engage in a values mapping activity. Laying out sociocultural values and uses of lands and waters will offer a proactive model to better support the endeavors of diverse planners, researchers, and environmental advocates in this crucial arena. This activity – and the symposium overall – will generate a better understanding of how interactions between peoples, lands, waters, and all connective relations help to shape our urban forests.
Program details to be posted as they are available.
Contact: urbhort@uw.edu / 206-685-8033
Agenda:
| 9:30am | Check In & Traditional Continental Foods |
| 10:00am | Cultural Invocation, Welcome, Honoring, Announcements MC: Anthony “Tony” Bluehorse, Spirit Lake Dakota Opening Songs: Willard Bill, Jr., Muckleshoot, Curtis EagleSpeaker, Muckleshoot Welcome Acknowledgement: Jeffrey Thomas, Muckleshoot, Warm Springs, Timber, Fish & Wildlife Director, Puyallup Tribe Kim Camara, Affiliated, Director, Windz of Change Alliance Stacey Taken Alive, Director, Windz of Change Alliance Doreen Gillespie, Programs Manager, PlantAmnesty Announcements: Olivia Price, Adult Education Supervisor, UW Botanic Gardens |
| 10:30am | Keynote 1: Michelle Montgomery, Haliwa Saponi, Eastern Band Cherokee: Re-Indigenizing Ecological Consciousness MC: Anthony “Tony” Bluehorse, Spirit Lake Dakota |
| 11:15am | Keynote 2: Kristin Hoelting: Towards Value Pluralism, Knowledge Pluralism, and Recognitional Justice MC: Anthony “Tony” Blueshorse, Spirit Lake Dakota |
| 12:00pm | Keynote 3: Karen Zirkle, Assistant Division Manager, Policy & Landowner Services, DNR: MC: Anthony “Tony” Bluehorse, Spirit Lake Dakota |
| 12:35pm | Honoring Keynotes Ceremony Jeffrey Thomas, Muckleshoot, Warm Springs, Timber, Fish & Wildlife Director, Puyallup Tribe Kim Camara, Affiliated, Windz of Change Alliance Director Stacey Taken Alive, Yakama, Windz of Change Alliance Director Olivia Price, UW Botanic Gardens |
| 12:45pm | Burke Museum Invitation Gabriela Chavarria, Ph.D., Executive Director, Burke Museum Sponsors Introductions Raffle Drawing #1, #2, #3 Lunch Blessing & Song: Willard Bill, Jr., Muckleshoot, Curtis EagleSpeaker, Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Presentation Jason Vickers, Nipmuc, Chef, Netoncks Metsu (Feeding My Cousins) |
| 1:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:45pm | Afternoon Session Introduction MC: Anthony “Tony” Bluehorse, Spirit Lake Dakota |
| 1:50pm | Urban Connectivity to Rural Landscapes Roma Jean Thomas, Muckleshoot, Port Gamble S’Kallam, MA, Executive Director, Feed Seven Generations Jewell James, Lummi MC Anthony “Tony” Bluehorse, Spirit Lake Dakota |
| 2:25pm | Raffle Drawing #4 & #5 |
| 2:30pm |
Tacoma Urban Forestry Council Panel: Tacoma Eco-Ethics Reflections Jennifer Arnold, Reciprocity Consulting, LLC: Origins of the Southern Forests partnership Facilitator: Jeffrey Thomas, Muckleshoot, Warm Springs, Timber, Fish & Wildlife Director, Puyallup Tribe |
| 3:05pm | Honoring Panelists Ceremony Jeffrey Thomas, Muckleshoot, Warm Springs, Timber, Fish & Wildlife Director, Puyallup Tribe Kim Camara, Affiliated, Windz of Change Alliance Director Stacey Taken Alive, Yakama, Windz of Change Alliance Director Olivia Price, UW Botanic Gardens |
| 3:10pm | Break & Raffle Drawing #6, #7 |
| 3:20pm | Group Activity – Mapping Seattle Tacoma Urban Forests Lead by Jeffrey Thomas, Kim Camara, others |
| 4:00pm | Group Summary Presentations MC: Anthony “Tony” Bluehorse, Spirit Lake Dakota |
| 4:25pm | Raffle Drawing #8, #9 |
| 4:30pm | Youth Witness Summary UW Indigenous Student Key Witnesses Olivia Price, Andrew Stevenson-Asaki |
| 4:40pm | Honoring Witness Ceremony Olivia Price, Andrew Stevenson-Asaki Jeffrey Thomas, Kim Camara, Stacey Taken Alive |
| 4:25pm | Raffle Drawing #8, #9 |
| 4:30pm | Youth Witness Summary UW Indigenous Student Key Witnesses Olivia Price, Andrew Stevenson-Asaki |
| 4:40pm | Honoring Witness Ceremony Olivia Price, Andrew Stevenson-Asaki Jeffrey Thomas, Kim Camara, Stacey Taken Alive |
| 4:50pm | Last Raffle Drawing #10, #11, #12 Closing the Circle – Everyone MC: Anthony “Tony” Bluehorse, Spirit Lake Dakota |
| 5:00pm | Burke Museum Free First Thursday – Symposium attendees are invited to visit the nearby museum and enjoy the exhibits! |
Acknowledgements
Catering by Chef Jason Vickers, Nipmuc
Artwork by Speakthunder Berry, Puyallup, Nakota, Warm Springs
Vendor & Information tables:
PlantAmnesty
Windz of Change Alliance
This project is funded in part by a Food Equity Fund award from Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.
Sponsors:
Steering Committee Members
| Patti Bakker | Urban Forestry Policy Advisor, Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment |
| Jim Davis | Community Member |
| Olivia Price | Adult Education Supervisor, UW Botanic Gardens |
| Teresa Gaddy | Program Manager, Green Workforce Collaborative, EcoTrust |
| Kim Kamara | Windz of Change Alliance |
| Micah McCarty (Makah) | Traditional Knowledge Keeper |
| Doreen Gillespie | Programs Manager, PlantAmnesty |
| Jeffrey Thomas (Muckleshoot, Warm Springs) | Timber, Fish & Wildlife Director, Puyallup Tribe |
| Hemalatha Velappan | Graduate Student, University of Washington |
| Kathleen Wolf | Research Social Scientist, University of Washington, College of the Environment |
