Groundswell NW Events

Tue, 01/24: 14th Ave NW Park Boulevard Public Involvement Meeting

Ballard's newest Park is in the works along 14th Ave NW between NW 59th and NW 61st. Please join the EBCA, the Parks Dept and Mithun for a fun-filled evening focused on the design of this new Park. This will be the first of two community involvement meetings, so don't miss this important opportunity to provide input. Invitations to those within a 1/2 mile of the Park will be receiving official invites in the mail. Please contact Dawn Hemminger at eastballard@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns. Stay up to date on what we're doing at eastballard.org or like us on Facebook.

Other Events

Sat, 01/07: Golden Gardens Trails Work Party

This is going to be a cool project. Dress like you are going hiking.Bring gloves if you have them and water. We will supply all tools. See you in the GG woods!

Golden Gardens Park: 8498 Seaview Pl. NW

Wed, 01/11: Street Tree Ordinance Community Meeting

The Seattle Department of Transportation invites the public to learn about the proposed new Street Tree Ordinance and the Street Tree Manual Standards and Specifications. More info can be found in this Ballard News Tribune article and on this SDOT webpage.

Wed, 01/11: Sunset Greenmarket Building Redevelopment

Developer Bill Parks and his team will present their preliminary plans and get community input at two sequential meetings, in advance of scheduling official Early Design Guidance meetings with the NW Seattle Design Review Board. Interested parties are encouraged to attend both meetings if possible, but may attend either one if they can't make both.

Click here for more information.

Thu, 01/12: Park Levy Opportunity Fund Subcommittee

A subcommittee of the full Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee is meeting to consider criteria for the second round of the Levy Opportunity Fund. The public is invited to attend.

Sat, 01/14: Golden Gardens' Second Saturday Work Party

Join us on Saturday, January 14 from 9 am - 12 pm when Golden Gardens Park will host its monthly Golden Gardens Reforestation and Trails (GGREAT) work party. We will be meeting on January 14 near the offleash area and restrooms.

We will be removing invasives (ivy and garlic mustard) and planting at a site that promises to be very rewarding! All are welcome and no RSVP is required for this event. Please invite your friends!

Please bring sturdy work shoes, long pants, water and any snacks you may want. We will provide gloves and tools. We will meet near the off-leash area north of the upper parking lot (outside of the restrooms).

While we love them, please be sure to leave pets at home for the work party.

Please email us with any questions or concerns, and visit our website: https://sites.google.com/site/goldengardensseattle/ to stay posted on park activities and to find directions to the park. You will find a calendar of events on our website to know exactly what's going on at the Park.

Hope to see you Saturday, January 14!

-Golden Gardens Forest Stewards

Mon, 01/16: MLK Day of Service at Discovery Park

Monday January 16 at MLK Day of Service at Discovery Park (9:30am-2pm). Sign up at: http://www.earthcorps.org/volunteer.php?dateId=1008.

Sat, 01/21: Carkeek STARS Volunteer Work Party

Join other enthusiastic volunteers for a fun morning of forest restoration and trails maintenance. We have a wide variety of tasks you can help with. We provide gloves and water (we encourage you to bring your own bottle of water, to reduce plastic waste). Please wear sturdy shoes. Suitable for teens and older. Follow the STARS signs to our meeting place. We're here the third Saturday of every month. Welcome!

Wed, 01/25: Sunset Green Market Building Redevelopment - RESCHEDULED

This meeting has been rescheduled  from Jan. 18 due to weather.

Developer Bill Parks and his team will present their preliminary plans and get community input at two sequential meetings, in advance of scheduling official Early Design Guidance meetings with the NW Seattle Design Review Board. See this Ballard News Tribune article for a report on the initial community meeting held January 11 and this My Ballard article with illustration of three of the options being considered.

Click here for more information.

Tue, 02/07: Speaker Mark Winne - Author of ''Food Rebels, Guerilla Gardeners, and Smart-Cooking Mamas''

The first in a series of workshops, lectures and community events co-hosted by Sustainable Ballard and Sunset Hill Community Association. Donations taken at the door will support both organizations.
Lecture @ 6:00, followed by booksigning and information tables about the local food movement.

About Author Mark Winne:
With the advent of industrialism and its widespread application to our food supply – factory farms, genetic engineering, and agricultural chemicals – the struggle between human freedom and authority has reached a critical juncture. In spite of the rapid growth of an alternative food system – local and sustainable food production, farmers’ markets, the public’s rising food consciousness – we become more dependent everyday on industrial agriculture whose representatives insist that it is the only way to feed a hungry world. In the face of such assertions, we must ask if our dependence on such a system threatens to supplant individual self-reliance. Will personal freedom succumb finally and forever to the dominant voice of authority? Are we at risk of sacrificing our democratic voice to self-appointed governing elites? These are no longer speculative questions suitable only for philosophers, but real-life concerns set squarely on the plate of every eater.

Food Rebels, Guerrilla Gardeners, and Smart Cookin’ Mamas

Mark Winne’s second book, Food Rebels, Guerrilla Gardeners, and Smart Cookin’ Mamas: Fighting Back in an Age of Industrial Agriculture takes on the universal struggle between human freedom and authority in its relationship to food. While drawing from great thinkers like Emerson and Dostoevsky to frame his arguments, Winne moves quickly from philosophy to action with numerous stories about “local doers.” From urban gardening heroes in Cleveland, to feisty farmers in New England, to lower income mothers in Texas, Winne shows how people are reclaiming their connection to their food, health, land, and governments. Along the way he finds people of every stripe whose refusal to accept their fate harkens back to a classic form of American individualism, one that has proven itself able to fight back against systems that not only want to conquer our wallets, but also hope to control our minds.

Food Rebels, Guerrilla Gardeners, and Smart-Cookin’ Mamas challenges us to go beyond eating local food to become part of a larger solution that demands a system that sustains not just our bodies, but also our souls.

Mark Winne will also speak on Feb. 8th at Third Place Books.

For more information, please visit Mark's website: markwinne.com

Thu, 02/09: Sustainable Ballard Second Thursday Social

Come say hello!

Starting February 2012, The Stepping Stone will donate to SB 10% of the proceeds on the evening of the second Thursday of each month! Join us for an opportunity to connect with other SB'ers over a glass and to find out what's new. Or just stop by to say hi!

Fri, 02/10: Ballard Knitters for the Homeless

Learn to knit! Learn new knitting skills! Bring yarn and needles if you have them - and some to share with those who don't if you can. Jody Grage is leading this group for anyone who would enjoy getting together monthly to knit simple hats and scarves for community members who do not have a warm home this Fall and Winter. No prior experience necessary! Jody will teach easy, pretty patterns and walk you through your project.

Repeats every second Friday, same time and place. All welcome!

Sat, 02/11: Golden Gardens Reforestation and Trails Work Party

Hello Friends,

Join us on Saturday, February 11, from 9 am - 12 pm for our monthly Golden Gardens Reforestation and Trails (GGREAT) work party. We will be planting, mulching and removing invasives. All are welcome and no RSVP is required for this event. Please invite your friends!

Please bring sturdy work shoes, long pants, water and any snacks you may want. We will provide gloves and tools. We will meet near the off-leash area north of the upper parking lot (outside of the restrooms). You can find directions to the upper lot here.

We are expecting a large delivery of plants at the end of February, so mark your calendars for planting at GGREAT on Saturday, March 10!

While we love them, please be sure to leave pets at home for the work party.

Please email us with any questions or concerns.

Hope to see you Saturday, February 11, 2012!

-Golden Gardens' Forest Stewards

Sun, 02/12: Special Sunset Hill Community Meeting

The Sunset Hill Community Association Board of Trustees is asking all of our neighbors to help determine the future of SHCA.

Our revenue is decreasing, our expenses are increasing, and we don't have enough actively involved members to accomplish all the tasks associated with running the facility.

We need to hear our neighbors' opinions about whether the Association still has a role to play in the community. At this general meeting, we can openly address the state of the Association and what we can do to achieve sustainability.

Our questions to you: Can this organization survive as a viable business? Should we change our model of operation, make hard decisions regarding the future of the facility, and perhaps close or sell the clubhouse?

Can we count on you to participate?

Sat, 02/18: Carkeek STARS Volunteer Work Party

Join other enthusiastic volunteers for a fun morning of forest restoration and trails maintenance. We have a wide variety of tasks you can help with. We provide gloves and water (we encourage you to bring your own bottle of water, to reduce plastic waste). Please wear sturdy shoes. Suitable for teens and older. Follow the STARS signs to our meeting place. We're here the third Saturday of every month. Welcome!

Mon, 02/27: Sustainable Ballard Monthly Gathering

SDOT has announced funding for 11 miles of neighborhood greenways in the Seattle area (2 miles in Ballard). Join Sustainable Ballard as we host a panel to discuss the new Ballard Greenways plan. Speakers include: Colin Dietrich (Ballard Greenways), Cathy Tuttle (Neighborhood Greenways & Spokespeople) and Sally Bagshaw (Seattle City Council).

• Neighborhood Greenways are slow-speed, low-traffic residential streets made even more pleasant for the people who live, walk, and bike on them. By adding new park-like amenities and limiting cut-through traffic, Greenways are naturally attractive both for families, and for anyone seeking a safer, more connected community experience. By placing Greenways a block or two away from major arterials, Neighborhood Greenways create a great option for people who prefer to walk or bike away from congested streets.

Links:
Worldchanging article about Spokespeople
MyBallard article about latest plans

Tue, 02/28: Town Hall with Mayor McGinn

As part of the Engage Seattle initiative, in order to ensure that as many people as possible who live, work, or play in Seattle are able to voice their concerns and offer their feedback directly to the mayor, we're holding a series of town halls in every part of the city, and there's one coming up later this month in Ballard.

You can download a flier here. The Ballard Landmark is located near the 17, 18, 44, 46, 75, and 81 bus lines; for full transit directions, go to metro.kingcounty.gov.

Please forward this message to anyone you know who you think would be interested in talking to the mayor, and we'll hope to see you on the 28th!

Wed, 02/29: Wine Tasting at Sunset Hill Community Association

Wine tasting at Sunset Hill Community Association.

Celebrating wines made by women, selected by co-sponsor Sunset Hill Green Market.

Cost: $25. Register on line at http://www.sunsethillcommunity.com/, or by mail at SHCA 3003 NW 66th St., Seattle, WA  98117.