Last summer's warm weather brought an increase in drinking, camping and other illegal activity at Salmon Bay Natural Area. To help address these issues, we held a workparty Aug. 27 to weed, clean up, and thin some of the shrubs to open up sight lines to the plaza. Then we focused on positive solutions a meeting of stakeholders, including neighbors, community members and agencies with some role in managing the site on Aug. 30. Thanks to The Canal for hosting the meeting, and to representatives of Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle Department of Transpotation and Seattle Police Department for attending. Later in the fall, Seattle Conservation Corps transplanted several shrubs to further open up sight lines and block unauthorized access paths. Things were much quieter at the site in the late summer, and we are committed to keeping it safe and attractive for all. 

Thanks to all who came out for workparties in May and June to spruce up the area for summer. A couple of tremendous piles of weeds were generated! Stay tuned for an August workparty and a community meeting to address issues with drinking and camping at the site.

Salmon Bay Natural Area named June Park of the Month

OK, it's not technically a park, in that it's not a Seattle Parks property. Instead it's a mix of the 34th Ave NW shoreline street end, Ballard rail spur right-of-way and five shoreline parcels purchased by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) as part of their salmon recovery efforts. And June is a good month to go and try to spot juvenile salmon in the shallows below the overlook deck.

Those shallows are very important for young salmon who hit salt water for the first time as they spill through the flumes at the Locks. Dazed by the transition, they are very susceptible to predators and escape to the shallows where they adjust to the salt water. There they feast on daphnia fly larva who are also dazed by the transition, and build strength for the journey to the ocean.

It has been a year since we dedicated the Salish Welcome sculpture by Marvin Oliver that pays homage to the salmon. In that year, the steel base plates have been added and are developing a rich rusty patina, with adult salmon swimming upstream and juveniles swimming down.

Groundswell developed this natural area in partnership with SPU, and we've taken on the maintenance of the flatter upland areas, as well as the adjacent stretches of Seaview Avenue, NW 54th Street and the Burke Gilman Trail and . Thanks to a half dozen dedicated volunteers, we pulled a truckload of weeds in May, but there's more to do, so come join us for the workparty on June 26. Or stop by anytime and look for the smolts below, the osprey nesting on the RR tower across the way, or the wide variety of wildlife that uses this verdant slice of undeveloped Ballard shoreline.

We're also looking for neighbors who are interested in joining our stewardship team, to monitor the site, report problems and help keep it safe, beautiful and pleasant for all. See the contact info for the work party or at the end of the article.

Salmon Bay Sculpture Dedication

A crowd of over 50 enjoyed the dedication of "A Salish Welcome" on July 17. Marvin Oliver, a renowned artist of Quinault heritage, created a monumental welcome figure for the Salmon Bay Natural Area (SBNA) to celebrate the transformative powers of the salmon life cycle and to remind all of us of the stories, history, and creativity inherent in local indigenous cultures. Duwamish tribal leader Cecile Hansen helped inaugurate the landmark sculpture.  The photo by Eric Smith above shows her and just below and to the left of the sculpture. The installation was covered in this July 14 Ballard News Tribune article and in Seattle Public Utilities' Summer 2010 Restore Our Waters newsletter (which also has a nice piece about the Kiwanis Ravine restoration across Salmon Bay). The sculpture was completed later in the year with the installation of steel panels on the concrete base with cutouts of adult salmon swimming upstream, juveniles swimming downstream and other Salish motifs on the side panels.

Thanks to all who came to our March 13, April 10 June 5 and July 15 work parties to help prepare for the 17' sculpture and clean up the site and adjacent segments of the Burke Gilman Trail and streets, and to those who came out on September 19 to help keep the site clean, safe and inviting for all. Groundswell NW and the Office of Arts & Culture (OAC) spearheaded the installation of the sculpture, with funding from the Department of Neighborhoods' Neighborhood Matching Fund and Seattle Public Utilities 1% for Arts program.

We also recently completed an expansion of the restoration area onto The Canal property - read more in this Ballard News Tribune article.

Last fall we visited Oliver's work in progress that offered a glimpse of how the textures on the sculpture will mimic local tribal artistry. We took some great photos that can be viewed below. A variety of textures carved in the sculpture with clay and wax recall weaving techniques in textiles and basketry. After the sculpture was fully formed, it was moulded and cast in bronze.  Oliver is finishing the sculpture with a bold geometric patterning on the tunic.

The aluminum and glass disc depicting male and female salmon surrounding a cluster of eggs will be oriented to face Salmon Bay, giving thanks to the juvenile salmon as they migrate out to sea and the adults returning to spawn, while offering an aesthetic reminder for the community to protect vulnerable watersheds. Groundswell NW is working to further support the salmon life cycle theme by enhancing the shoreline habitat with native vegetated cover that will provide shade and protection as young salmon make a critical transformation from a freshwater to saltwater environment.

See more of Marvin Oliver's work in progress in this Seattle Times photo essay.

We invite you to celebrate with us by giving thanks to the salmon returning to the water and welcoming them to come back next year!

Artist's Process

October Work Party

A heartfelt thank you goes out to the 12 volunteers from the community and Mars Hill Church for the time and energy you devoted to our October work party. Beautification and ecological enhancement of the neighborhood would not be possible without your contribution! The morning started off raining really hard but the amazing energy of this group kept the work enthusiastic and fun! We started the morning with litter pick up and weeding along one mile of Burke Gilman Trail near SBNA.

After weeding, we planted donated trees and prepared a planter bed to make room for the welcome figure sculpture by Seattle artist Marvin Oliver. We are getting really excited about the sculpture installation at Salmon Bay Natural Area that will unite the vision for a sense of place with ecological function.

Thimbleberry and vine maple were relocated for the sculpture. We also found some cool looking fungus growing into the plant roots! Once the sculpture is in place, the bed will be replanted with native groundcover vegetation.

THANK YOU to everyone for making urban parks and linear green links beautiful and invitational destinations for the community to enjoy. Everyone involved in planning of this event deeply appreciates your contribution!

Community & City Partnerships

Groundswell NW has established partnerships with Seattle Department of Transportation Urban Forestry (SDOT Urban Forestry) and Seattle Public Utilities Adopt-A-Street program to maintain the plant strips along one mile of Burke Gilman Trail near Salmon Bay Natural Area. The partnership across sectors integrates government and community beautification & urban forest restoration efforts and makes urban restoration accessible to the public.

Collaborating for Healthy Habitat

SDOT Urban Forestry has graciously donated the tools and resources needed to make our monitoring & restoration efforts successful. This type of synergy strengthens the mission of all groups and builds a social network that gives the Ballard community the capacity to successfully maintain green infrastructure projects. Additionally, the partnership becomes an example of public-private collaboration for green urban infrastructure maintenance. Manual removal of weeds and invasives eliminates the use of harmful pesticides and herbicides that discharge in storm drain facilities.

SDOT Urban Forestry

SDOT Urban Forestry's mission is to "maintain, protect, and expand the City's urban landscape in street right-of-ways for Seattle residents & businesses to enhance environmental restoration, beautification, and public safety." Thanks to Darren Morgan and Win Abelsen for providing the tools for our maintenance efforts. To read more about SDOT UF visit: http://www.cityofseattle.net/transportation/forestry.htm

Participate

You are invited to join the partnership to beautify the neighborhood by attending SBNA work party events. For questions about this partnership, please contact Liz Dunigan at (206) 240-3084 or Dave Boyd at (206) 498-6636.

Marvin Oliver Sculpture Progress

Seattle artist Marvin Oliveris creatinga sculpture representing a welcome figure for the Salmon Bay Natural Area along Ballard's shoreline. Folks from Groundswell NW will tour Marvin's studio this week to see sculpture progress. Stay tuned for sculpture events!

Groundswell NW, in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, commissioned the artwork to reflect local indigenous cultures and the rich tribal history of the site. Oliver, an internationally recognized artist of Quinalt heritage, proposed a welcome figure of cast bronze draped in Salish ceremonial garb and holding a large aluminum and glass disk depicting the salmon cycle.

Oliver teaches at the University of Washington and is a curator at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. He has created numerous large-scale artworks in the Puget Sound region, as well as a sculpture for Seattle's Italian sister city, Perugia.

SPU is restoring the Salmon Bay Natural Area to improve water and upland habitat for salmon and other species and to enhance public access along the Shilshole waterway. Groundswell NW received Department of Neighborhoods matching funds to create a landscaped public access area where SPU is improving the site.

YOU keep the neighborhood a safe & inviting place to visit!

THANK YOU to Mars Hill Church who made the work party in August successful and fun!

We spent the morning removing weeds, pruning shrubs, and picking up litter. In only three hours we removed this massive amount of weeds!

Thank you to everyone. Your volunteer contributions have truly made a difference. Special thanks to volunteer RACHEL MACOR for all the wonderful pictures!