DNDA - Nature Consortium

Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (DNDA) is a non‐profit organization devoted to social, racial and environmental justice. We are dedicated to preserving and increasing affordable housing for a range of incomes, enhancing the natural environment, and providing such vital resources as arts and cultural opportunities, education and youth programs for our neighbors. Our programs for affordable housing and wetland restoration have become models for other communities.

For more than 20 years, we have led restoration work in the parklands of the West Duwamish Greenbelt, provided environmentally focused arts education to West Seattle youth and produced the Arts in Nature Festival, which celebrates the intersection of the arts and the environment.

Since 2003, we have been working to restore Seattle's biggest forest, the West Duwamish Greenbelt. Our Urban Forest Restoration Program is a long-term stewardship, education & advocacy project that offers hands-on experience in environmental action. Through this program, we host on-going work parties to plant native trees and understory and to clear invasive vegetation. This helps to restore the health and functionality of these important urban green spaces, which is particularly important for the success of the salmon spawning in Longfellow Creek. Our work is vital to supporting the health and viability of both humans and animals in West Seattle.

Our Saturday work parties feature live and local musicians to infuse the arts with our environmental work. Our after-school and summer art classes offer a an accessible way for youth to express their creativity. These classes serve youth in King County, primarily in low-income communities. Every year, as a culmination of our work, DNDA and the Nature Consortium program hosts the Arts in Nature Festival in West Seattle to celebrate the outdoors and showcase local artists and performers. The festival encompasses music, dance, theater, fire performances, wandering performers, a museum of sound and hands-on art & naturalist activities.