Diving into community at Fishy Fables: Event Recap
A group of event attendees stand around a 3D map of Longfellow Creek made of recycled materials. One participant is adding to it using glue and small objects, and the others are looking at the map and at other participants standing around the table.
On Saturday, February 22, the Delridge community gathered at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center to celebrate our urban waterways, and the people and wildlife who call our neighborhood home. In partnership with Seattle Public Utilities, we dove into water-inspired activities and filled Youngstown with music, creativity, fun, and learning.
Our event began with an all-ages story time led by Indigenous storyteller Barbara Lawrence (she/her), a Suquamish Nation elder and artist. As a tribal elder, Barbara carries thousands of years of stories, memory, and knowledge forward into the present day. Barbara’s stories were shared with her by her elders, who learned from their own elders. “The stories are ancient wisdom that are especially important today,” Barbara said.
In Barbara’s tell story of “human people, animal people, and plant people,” we heard a message about the importance of sharing knowledge with others to live in balance with all of creation.
Suquamish Nation elder and artist Barbara Lawrence stands in front of a group of people sitting on the floor and in folding chairs, smiling while telling a story. She is wearing a large woven hat, black top, and colorful skirt. Behind her, there is a large projection of a beaver in a creek.
After story time, visitors explored artmaking and environmental education activities (along with live music from local cellist Rebecca Roach). Local artist Kim Tran created a hand–carved wooden salmon sculpture, mounted with a bicycle wheel to help it “swim.” Visitors used markers and other coloring supplies to design individual wooden scales and decorate the salmon, creating a community sculpture in the process.
Artist Kim Tran helps a young event attendee glue a wooden scale they decorated onto a large plywood salmon sculpture.
DNDA Teaching Artist Erin Kollar sculpted a 3D map of Longfellow Creek using recycled materials, and attendees worked together to add representations of their connections to the creek. Participants of all ages added plant material, rocks, tiles, and sand between 3D-printed representations of neighborhood landmarks, bringing the map to life. Stop by Youngstown Cultural Arts Center to check out the map and salmon sculpture!
A child sprinkles sand around block letters spelling “Delridge” on a 3D map of Longfellow Creek.
Community member and photographer Paul Goldstein was first inspired to learn more about the Pacific Northwest environment 45 years ago when he read author Margaret Craven’s novel I Heard the Owl Call My Name. Over the years, Paul has assembled art, photography, and educational information that crosses over the many silos of knowledge about the natural world – from the smallest diatoms in the ocean up to the important indicator species like salmon. Paul shared photography and sculpture with visitors curious to learn more. Salmon are special, and “no other creature on earth is involved in so many different ecosystems,” Paul said. “I want to help people understand what’s unseen.”
Seattle Public Utilities’ Shape Our Water project invited visitors to design their own stormwater pathway through a collaborative art installation that mimics a traditional marble run. Participants co-designed a colorful landscape of human-built and natural solutions for water management, attempting to “slow down the flow” of the marbles that stood in for raindrops. Many of the design solutions in Raindrop Run have real, local equivalents, like the bioswales installed at Delridge Wetland Park. Subscribe to the Shape Our Water newsletter to learn about future opportunities to play Raindrop Run at a community event near you.
A child at SPU’s Raindrop Run game places a wooden model of the Space Needle on a small chalkboard. The chalkboard also has a small wooden mountain, a hillside with grass, and a sloped roof.
Thank you to all the artists and community members who made Fishy Fables an inspiring space for us to gather, create, and learn together. Subscribe to our newsletter to ensure you’re first to hear about future events with DNDA.
-Written by Team Soapbox and DNDA Environmental Engagement Specialist Louisa Keyani