ECOSS

Mission

ECOSS is devoted to promoting environmental justice and sustainability in an effort to build resilient immigrant and refugee communities who can shape their environmental futures. We are leaders in equitable community engagement, working alongside and in support of local immigrant and refugee communities to reduce waste, mitigate stormwater pollution, foster a just energy transition, and promote outdoor access and leadership. ECOSS meets community where they are, providing outreach, education, and engagement that is inclusive, in-language, and culturally responsive.

Description

ECOSS was founded in 1994 to address the imbalance of environmental resources and services available to the South Park neighborhood and lower Duwamish River. We recognize that not all communities are equally served and that frontline communities, who are historically the most impacted by environmental disparities, are too often left out of environmental planning and solutions. To address these disparities, ECOSS bridges differences in language and culture through services to non-native English speakers throughout the Puget Sound region.  

We envision rooted and thriving communities that live, work, play, and learn in a healthy environment, regardless of identity, socioeconomic class, culture, and immigration/refugee status. 

Our staff is a kaleidoscope of language, culture, religion, and customs. Since ECOSS' staff comprises 95% BIPOC, immigrants, or refugees, we know how it feels to come to America full of hope, knowing we will do everything in our power to be successful and contribute to our new home. And we have lived experience with the same types of challenges many immigrants in our community face – what it is like to not understand, to not be understood, to be seen as “other.”

The individuals we serve face intersecting inequities related to race, immigrant and refugee status, language, and income level. As multicultural staff, we connect through Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Swahili, Oromo, Amharic and Somali languages. We bring decades of combined experience conducting engagement and education as-well-as our lived experience as community members. Each team member brings personal access, relationships, and local knowledge to effectively reach targeted audiences. We ensure effectiveness because we meet people where they are, at their level of understanding, and in their language. 

Recognition

In 2023, ECOSS was recognized by the Port of Seattle and received a Sustainable Century Award for Environmental Education & Outreach and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for our work with the community in our Transit to Nature program and habitat restoration work at Seward Park.

In 2021, ECOSS and our partner Equinox Studios were awarded King County’s Green Globe Award for being a “Leader in Industrial Strength Stormwater Solutions,” showing outstanding achievement in environmental stewardship and community resilience. ECOSS was also pivotal in two 2019 awards – Young's Restaurant’s Green Stormwater Infrastructure and The Wilderness Society’s Trailhead Direct outreach.

ECOSS has also been featured in local BIPOC-centered media for our work promoting healthy fishing, connecting immigrants/refugees to nature, and advocating for community voices and environmental justice. 

ECOSS could not do this work without financial support from the community. We are grateful for every person who has helped further our vision of thriving, environmentally sustainable and equitable communities.