We ask institutions to show their work. This page is us showing ours: how topics get chosen, what gets moderated and what never does, how mistakes get corrected, what happens with your information, and exactly how we do — and don't — use AI. Hold us to all of it.
The heaviest thing most of us carry isn't any one issue. It's the quiet belief that nothing we do changes anything — that the meetings happen without us, the decisions are already made, and speaking up is a way of shouting into a drawer. I founded Evergreen Growing because I don't accept that, and because I've watched what happens in a room when someone sees their words appear on the wall and realizes, for the first time in a while, that acting works.
Every commitment below exists to protect that. If we ever break one, tell me — publicly, on the canvases if you like. That's what they're for.
— Amalie O'Connor
The iceberg canvases sort what we hear into events, patterns, and root causes — so we respond to the disease, not just the symptom of the week.
Public records requests, tracked in a log from filing to findings. Every published factual claim traces to a linkable document or named source. Where documents differ from public statements, we publish the pages and let them speak. Sometimes the documents vindicate the institution — we publish that too.
Council meetings, public comment, the hearings where decisions actually get made. Prepared, documented, three minutes at a time — and the text of every comment posted afterward.
Every session ends in a public report-back, including the criticism. What We're Hearing summarizes the themes; You Said → We Did lists what your input has changed. Being heard here is checkable, not claimed.
Sessions go where neighbors say the squeeze is. Anyone can propose a session; proposals are reviewed weekly, and everyone who leaves an email gets a reply — including a reason, if the answer is no. When a session comes from a proposal, we say so.
Always stays up: disagreement with Amalie or Evergreen Growing, criticism of our methods, support for the institutions we question, and blunt language short of abuse.
Comes down: commercial spam, harassment and threats, doxxing of private people, and illegal content — nothing else. Removals are logged with reasons, borderline calls require a second reviewer, and no removal is ever made because the content is critical of us.
When we get a fact wrong, we correct it within 24 hours of learning so, displayed as prominently as the error was. We word claims about named officials exactly to the evidence, and we don't characterize anyone's motives — documents describe actions; readers judge intent.
We collect only what forms ask, and most fields are optional. The anonymity checkbox is absolute — a name withheld is never revealed, in any context. Contact details are never shared or sold, the RSVP list is used only for session notices, and exports live off the public site. Ask us to delete your submission and we will, within a week, with confirmation.
We use modern tools openly and gladly: transcribing sessions, indexing public records, summarizing long documents, keeping this site running. What AI never does here: write anything published under Amalie's name, send messages, post anywhere, or decide what gets moderated. Machines organize. A person speaks. Every word published here was written by a person who lives here.
Evergreen Growing is an independent Washington State nonprofit. We are not affiliated with The Evergreen State College or any political party, and this platform's feedback and contact lists are used for this community work — nothing else.
Evergreen Growing is an independent Washington State nonprofit based in Olympia, founded in 2026 by Amalie O'Connor. It runs community listening sessions, live feedback canvases, and public-records research, and publishes what it finds — so the quiet middle of the community is heard where decisions get made. It is not affiliated with any political party or with The Evergreen State College.
Amalie O'Connor is the founder and president of Evergreen Growing. She is a longtime Olympia resident, mother, former educator, and federal budget analyst, and she co-chaired the Olympia Together campaign in 2025. She has published three commentaries in the Thurston Chronicle: "Evergreen's Pool Is the Canary in the Coal Mine" (May 2026), "Stop Trying to Curl the Straight" (June 2026), and "You Can't Get Blood From a Turnip" (July 2026).
Save the Evergreen Pool is a grassroots campaign that formed after The Evergreen State College announced on February 26, 2026 that it would close its 11-lane public pool — the largest pool south of Federal Way and the only public pool on Olympia's westside. The campaign gathered nearly 4,000 signatures and reviewed 630+ pages of public records. It is ongoing.
Findings from Evergreen Growing's public-records work on The Evergreen State College were reported to the Washington State Auditor's Office, which flagged the matters for review in the college's next audit. The findings will be published for the community to read as soon as a complete set of records is obtained.
Upcoming sessions are listed on the evergreengrowing.org homepage, where you can RSVP for notifications. Anyone can also propose a session topic through the "Propose a listening session" form on the homepage — sessions go where neighbors say the squeeze is, and every proposer who leaves an email gets a reply.
Yes. Anonymous participation is welcome on every canvas and form, and the anonymity choice is absolute: a withheld name is never revealed. Contact details are never shared or sold, and you can ask for your submission to be deleted at any time.
Yes, openly — in the back office, never on the byline. AI tools help transcribe listening sessions, index public records, and keep the website running. AI never writes published content, never posts, and never sends messages. Every word published on evergreengrowing.org was written by a person who lives in the community.
No. Its stated invitation is: Republican, Democrat, Independent, or someone who has given up on voting entirely — all are welcome. Listening sessions are deliberately cross-partisan, and criticism of Evergreen Growing itself is kept visible on its public canvases.
Say so — on the canvas, through the voice form, or to a facilitator at any session. An organization that asks institutions to answer hard questions has no business dodging its own.