Community
3
2026
Communities For A Healthy Bay: 2025 Network Spotlight
For over 30 years, Communities for a Healthy Bay (CHB) has brought people together to protect and restore Commencement Bay and the waters of the South Sound. As a hub of commercial shipping, industry, recreation, and cultural heritage, these waters are essential to the health of our community, economy, and environment. However, they also face serious threats from industrial pollution, toxic Superfund sites, stormwater runoff, and the growing impacts of climate change.
Our work ensures that both people and nature can thrive by fighting for clean water, environmental justice, and lasting protections for the diverse communities and species that depend on these waters.
Network Approach
Environmental Policy
Communities for a Healthy Bay works collaboratively with lawmakers, agencies, and community groups to push for stronger environmental regulations, sustainable development, and climate resilience policies. From fighting for stricter pollution controls to advocating for clean energy solutions, we ensure that policies protect both people and nature.
South Sound Water Patrols
Communities for a Healthy Bay’s Public Patrol Program brings community members, students, and stakeholders onto the water, providing a first-hand look at the challenges facing Commencement Bay. This outreach inspires action and fosters environmental stewardship, empowering the public to advocate for stronger protections.
Education & Engagement
Communities for a Healthy Bay empowers youth, residents, and businesses through community engagement events, volunteer opportunities, and environmental education programs. From lectures with environmental experts to hands-on youth programs, we offer many opportunities for the community to engage in environmental stewardship and advocacy.
One example of how CHB brings people together is the annual Stand for Our Sound event.
Stand for Our Sound brings people together around a shared commitment to community, justice, and environmental stewardship. Each year, the event convenes environmental advocates, community leaders, artists, youth organizers, and public servants from across Tacoma and the South Sound to build relationships, share stories, and strengthen the connections that sustain meaningful change.
A core goal of this event is to lower barriers to participation and intentionally build connections across organizations. In November of 2025, 200 community members attended Stand for Our Sound, the largest gathering in the event’s history. With half of all attendees joining through complimentary tickets provided to community partners, including many Tacoma Creates–funded organizations, the room reflected the diversity, creativity, and leadership shaping Tacoma’s future.
Throughout the evening, this year’s award recipients underscored how collaboration turns shared values into action. Honorees represented a wide range of roles, including youth leaders, public servants, planners, advocates, and environmental justice champions, but shared a common thread: none of their work happens in isolation. Their stories highlighted partnerships between community organizations and local government, cross-generational leadership, and efforts that connect environmental protection with equity, education, and public health. By lifting up these examples, Stand for Our Sound made clear that progress in Tacoma is driven not by single entities, but by people working together toward shared goals.
Stand for Our Sound serves as a convening space where relationships are sparked or renewed, partnerships are strengthened, and attendees leave with a deeper sense of connection to one another and to the work ahead. By bringing people together across roles and organizations, the event helps build a resilient, values-aligned network committed to protecting our environment and the communities who depend on it, together.