About Soil Health & Justice Initiative (SHJI)
The Soil Health & Justice Initiative formed as a collaboration between community activists, urban gardeners, farmers, and University of Washington scientists working to address the legacy of soil contamination in King County. Since 2020, collaborative stewardship of the SHJI led by Sustainable Seattle (S2) and core partners has focused on environmental data collection, community listenting, and partnership building.
Based on community feedback, concerns, and interests, as well as our own experiences and observations, we are moving into our next season of environmental justice work. In this current phase, we will welcome a more formal coalition that will focus on learning and sharing simple and practical actions that promote healthy soil, clean water, and climate resilience at individual, neighborhood, and watershed scales.
SHJI Core Partners
Basilica Bio
Basilica Bio (BB) is an education-minded, action-oriented, community organization focused on promoting health equity through their programming. They aim to make knowledge of our soils more accessible through development of educational materials that can be used to support deeper, more intersectional conversations both in-classroom and in community.
Black star Farmers
Black Star Farmers (BSF) is a founder of the SHJI. Their mission is to secure the liberation of all beings through land sovereignty, food sovereignty, and self-determination. We work towards this mission through collective land stewardship, mutual aid, popular education, and direct action.
sustainable Seattle
Sustainable Seattle (S2) has been the operational and logistical anchor for the SHJI project. We are excited to move towards stewarding a coalition dedicated to activating organizations, community, and individuals towards simple actions that build community and climate resilience.
Beacon Food Forest
Beacon Food Forest (BFF) is a literal and metaphorical anchor for community led land stewardship. In their words, they “work to dismantle an unjust food system rooted in white supremacy and conquest by nurturing is replacement, already alive and ready to grow.”
Coalition Mission
Preliminary Mission of the Coalion:
The Soil Health and Justice Coalition supports community organizers to be catalysts for climate resilience. Through understanding our collective and individual roles in earth systems at hyperlocal and broad scales, the SHJI Coalition will support the community integrating actions that improve soil health, water quality, and climate resilience into their community resilience work.
Intentional, integrated care of our communities and earth resources is environmental justice.
Collaborators & Community
We’re looking forward to updating this section soon!
Learn more & join the SHJI community
“I know [environmental contamination] is in my neighborhood, but I’m not sure what that means for me or my garden.” -community member March 2025
SHJI Happenings
We are planning two related event series. The Community Conversations will be open to everyone while the Coalition meetings will be for the 2025+ Coaliation cohort. In addition, individual events will be posted here. Hope to see you soon!
Saturday
November 15
~
Magnusen Cafe
SHJ Community Conversations #3
Community Gardeners & Urban Farmers
Join us at Magnusen Cafe for our final conversation of this falls Soil Health and Justice Community Conversations. As part of this we will also exchange practices for winter care of our gardens. Capacity ~20, please rsvp
Sunday
Nov 16, 2025
~
Estelitas on Beacon Hill
SHJ Community Conversations: Wrap up
Summary, Data Share, Community Focus Groups & Lunch
We are so excited to invite you to join us! This is a 2 part event: S2 sharing back on SHJ program & data, then guided community focus groupd to hear from you!
Delicious lunch from the amazing Tuesday.
Estelitas ~ 2901 17th Ave S, Seattle
Aug – Nov 2025
reach out
SHJ Coalition Planning & Connection
Monthly Coalition Meetings
Recuring calls/gatherings specifically for Coalition Members
Delayed due to schedule challenges
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Beacon Food Forest
SHJ Coalition: Community Conversations
Plant Dyes & Paper Making
Join the Soil Health & Justice Coalition for two days of arts as we further explore healthy ways to engage with soil, plant, and water and how our actions can contribute to local remediation efforts and forming a new relationship to the land.
Saturday
October 25
(tabling)
12 – 3pm
~
Heron’s Nest
12 – 9 pm
SHJ Tabling at Nest Fest
SHJ & Heron’s Next
S2 is joining Nest Fest @ The Heron’s Nest to table and share about SHJI and other S2 work. We’re super excited to elevate this event and hope to see you there!
Saturday
October 18
10am – 1 pm
S Dakota St
(west side of Jefferson Park)
SHJ Community Conversations #2
Soil Health & Beacon Food Forest
S2 is joiningg Beacon Food Forest‘s Saturday work party to lead soil sampling – a continuation of community co-designed investigation/remediation. We’re excited for soil sampling demonstration and support, community conversation and exchange, hands on review of safe practices, and sharing what’s next for S2’s SHJ Coalition work!
Saturday
October 11
10am – 12 noon
S Juneau St &
Chief Sealth Trail
SHJ Community Conversations #1
Soil Health & Pumpkin Patch w/
Juneau St Resilience POD
Join S2 and wonderful community partner Juneau Street Reslience Pod, for a day of pumpkins, tasty bites, and soil sampling demonstration!
There will be conversations around emergency preparedness and environmental health! Including kits to build and/or take home. See you there!
June 15, Sun
1pm – 3pm
SHJ Coalition Series
SOiLIDARITY – Lunch on the Land
Join your community for discussions on local environmental issues & practical actions you can take towards climate resilience!
We’re hoping for a quarterly series. Stay tuned!
May 1, Thur.
11am – 2pm
SHJI Coalition Interest Meeting
Join for lunch, a presentation on proposed plan and timeline for the Coalition formation and meet potential Coalition Members//see if this is for you <3
EVENT PASSED