Groundswell NW November Newsletter

We had a great time last month cleaning up the east side of the Troll's Knoll. We cleared away tons of blackberries, cleared away the path going up the hill and mulched like crazy. Thank-you SDOT for bringing out your crew and doing some major mowing and giving us guidance on what to do. The donuts, pizza and water kept us fueled and the rain stayed away until the end of the event. Check out the pics here and come out and join the Troll's Knoll gang for more events in the near future!

If you missed out on the fun at Troll's Knoll last month, you have 2 more opportunities to care for NW green spaces this November. Join us Saturday November 12 at Ballard Corners Park and again on Sunday November 13 at Sunset Hill Shilshole Gateway. We'll see you there rain or shine!

Groundswell NW October Newsletter

When you think of iconic spots to visit in Seattle, The Fremont Troll will be near the top of your list. This is why it was such an honor for Groundswell NW to become the fiscal sponsor for the Friend’s of the Troll’s Knoll who had a great idea back in 2009 to create a park and p-patch along the east and west sides of the Troll. With Kimberly Scrivner in the lead organizing her neighbors, the west side of the park received $685,000 in 2011 through the Seattle Parks and Green Spaces Levy and opened to the public May of this year. If you’re standing facing the Troll, walk along the sidewalk to your left and follow the windy path up the hill along a green space to a bench with a view and community P-Patch at the top.

Looking down from atop the Troll's Knoll Park

With ½ of their vision under wraps, Friends of the Troll’s Knoll are still on a roll and are concentrating their efforts now on the east side with a new neighbor in the lead, Kaley Bender. Kaley brought her neighbors together for a block party in August with the help of a Department of Neighborhood’s Small Sparks grant. We’re also pleased to announce that Friends of the Troll’s Knoll is our most recent recipient of a $450 microgrant from Groundswell NW! These funds will provide key resources for their inaugural clean up day October 8th. SDOT will be helping by providing labor to pull out blackberry bushes, do some landscape cleanup and mulching. There will also be future community events for this site in the coming year, thanks to Tableau Software who just awarded $5,300 to support these events! Congrats to Friends of the Troll's Knoll, thank-you Tableau for supporting this great community project and thank-you to grass-roots community organizers like Kimberly and Kaley who continue to inspire us to create, activate and care for parks, open space and habitat!

Be sure to hover over the dates in the calendar below or click here to view upcoming events on our website!

Groundswell NW July News

June was a great month to spend outdoors and thank-you for spending some of your time helping clean up Salmon Bay Natural Area as part during of Seattle Summer Sweep 2016. A big thank-you to Groundswell NW member, Angie Gerald, who put our 8 volunteers and her dog to work weeding, picking up trash, spreading wood chips and even cutting down a dead tree! There’s still more to be done, so watch our calendar for future work events.

And now we’re into July. That short window in Seattle when you can sit outdoors and enjoy a beer or two with friends and neighbors! What better way to celebrate than to raise a pint or two with Groundswell NW atReuben’s Brews on Thursday, July 28?

For every pint you purchase between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., Reuben’s will donate $1 to support Groundswell NW.

Last year, we raised almost $500 at Reuben’s, which is enough to fund a microgrant for local projects that support our mission to empower NW Seattle to create, activate and care for parks, open space and habitat. This year, we awarded a microgrant to West Woodland Elementary to purchase plants for its rain garden.

We also have a couple of grants in the works to support the Greenwood Triangle Park and the 17th and Dock Parklet.

Share your great idea with us over a beer and learn from our experienced board members how we can make a difference together!

Interested in getting more involved? Don’t forget to check out all the great community events and meetings listed below that are happening in July! 

Dawn Hemminger, Groundswell NW President