89. Family Earthkeeping: The DeJongs' Story of Urban Greenspace Restoration

On the Earthkeepers podcast, we talk a lot about transforming damaged or neglected spaces into thriving ecologies that benefit both the human and more-than-human members of the community of creation. Way back in episode 2, for example, we talked to Tahmina Martelly about how neighbors turned an unused parking lot into a thriving community garden for refugees. In episode 40, we spoke with Casa Adobe in Costa Rica about how folks worked together to restore a neglected region of jungle and to provide community access to a nearby river. More recently, in episode 78, Nick Rubesh and John Wayne Seitzler told the story of their community’s efforts to re-wild a section of church property that was once just an unused stretch of lawn. In all these cases, it took a whole community of earthkeepers, working together, to accomplish the work of healing and transforming the land. In this episode, we’ll hear how the DeJong family was the catalyst to engage whole neighborhoods in the work of reviving and repairing a 43-acre forest called the Cheasty Green Space in Seattle.

Guests: The Dejong Family 

• Mary Dejong 
• Joel Dejong  

Mentions: 

• Earthkeepers Episodes 2, 40, and 78 
• Cheasty Greenspace 
• Green Seattle Partnership 
• Duwamish Tribe 
• Check out these photo albums of Cheasty Greenspace/Mt. View and Cheasty trails! 

 Find us on our website: Earthkeepers 

Support the Earthkeepers podcast 

Keywords: restoration, trails, accessibility, recreation, ecosystem, ecology, invasive species, deforestation, settlers, native species, wildlife, nature, spirituality, spiritual ecology, community, cultural restitution, cultural restoration, stewardship, connections, relationships, climate change 

Find us on our website: Earthkeepers
Support the Earthkeepers podcast
Check out the Ecological Disciple