A training program for young adults that provides access to green infrastructure careers as well as stewardship for open spaces, trees, rain gardens, cisterns, and vegetated walls in the Duwamish Valley
DIRT Corps began in 2015 as a paid green infrastructure job training and leadership program for young adults. Multi-week modules covered rain garden and cistern design, construction and maintenance, urban forestry, and ecological restoration. DIRT Corps has grown to encompass additional green infrastructure job training and offer green stormwater infrastructure resources across the Seattle area through partnerships with nonprofits and local government.
The program reflects the diversity of South Seattle, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and underemployed and unemployed people. Graduates of the program have been hired by numerous local organizations, including Woodland Park Zoo, King Conservation District, and King County Wastewater Treatment, and some continue to work with DIRT Corps on community-based projects.
