Groundswell NW Events

Tue, 10/06: Park Levy Opportunities for Ballard

Come learn about opportunities for new parks, p-patches and habitat for Ballard through the Parks and Green Spaces Levy that passed last year, and give your input on options and priorities.

Sat, 10/10: Ballard Corners Dedication / Groundswell 20th Anniversary

Come help celebrate the "official" dedication of Ballard Corners Park, on Saturday October 10, starting at 11 am,  and commemorate Groundswell's 20th Anniversary of creating community parks and open space.

The speaker line-up includes Seattle Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher, Department of Neighborhoods Director Stella Chou, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, and King County Councilmember Larry Phillips.

Groundswell NW celebrates 20 years of creating parks and open space in Ballard, and this event is fitting opportunity to mark the occassion as Groundswell had the idea of creating Ballard Corners Park and started the development process.

Sun, 10/11: Crown Hill Glen Work Party in the Park

Sunday, October 11th from 12 until 4 PM.

19th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 89th Street

Meet your neighbors, and help remove invasive weeds.

For more information call Joyce Ford, Plumis Park Advocates, @ (206) 789-1394.

In partnership with Groundswell NW and Seattle Parks Department Adopt-A-Park program.

Sat, 10/17: East Ballard Community Association Adopt A Street Cleanup on 14th Ave NW

Sat, 10/17: Salmon Bay Work Party

Groundswell NW is pleased to partner with the SPU Adopt-A-Street program to keep the community’s bicycle and pedestrian links clean and safe for all. We invite you to help plant trees, weed, pick up litter or just come by to learn more about our upcoming projects on Saturday, October 17 at the Salmon Bay Natural Area. The work party will be held between 9am and noon next to The Canal at Salmon Bay Natural Area, rain or shine. Food and drinks will be provided.

Your contribution enhances the quality of living of the community. We invite you to share your thoughts about how we can work together to beautify, clean and keep the community safe.

Sat, 11/07: Ballard Corners Park Planting Party

We have 200 bulbs to add to the park, and we could use help getting them in the ground.  Please come for planting and some general park clean up on Saturday, November 7th, beginning at 9am.  We'll be working rain or shine. Please bring your own tools (small spades are ideal).  If you would like to participate, but don't have your own tools, please contact Gabriella by Monday 11/2 at (206) 782-3238 or gabriella@seanet.com

Also, Thanks to everyone who has supported the development of Ballard Corners Park!  We had a fabulous turnout at our Grand Opening 10/10 in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the founding of Groundswell NW.

Thu, 11/19: Ninth Avenue Northwest Park Development Meetings

Seattle Parks and Recreation is hosting three public meetings to plan and design the new Ninth Avenue Northwest park development.

The first meeting will be on Nov. 19 and the second meeting will be on Dec. 17. A third meeting will be in early 2010. All meetings will be from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Whittier Elementary School, located at 1320 N.W. 75th

Sat, 11/28: 9th Ave NW Park Work Party

Friends of the 9th Ave NW Park will be having a work party followed by a holly sale on November 28th. Work party will take place between 9 and noon, while the sale will start at 1230pm.  Burn off that extra slice of pumpkin pie from Thanksgiving at the work party, and then go home with some lovely variegated holly to decorate your house!

Other Events

Fri, 10/02: Whittier Heights Salmon Feed with Outdoor Movie

Whittier Heights Salmon Feed with outdoor movie to follow! 5:30 - 7:30 PM @ Whittier Elementary Cafeteria $7/adults or $18/family. For more info call Brad Wakeman at 784-1292.

Sat, 10/03: Annual Ship Canal Clean Up

Annual Ship Canal Clean Up, 9-1pm @ Fishermen's Terminal.

Come join us for this always enjoyable and rewarding event. We need hands and we could use a few more boats! Volunteers will be furnished with all necessary equipment and provided a spectacular salmon BBQ lunch.

Sponsored by: Seattle Marine Business Coalition, US Army Corps of Engineers, Port of Seattle, Puget Soundkeepers Alliance, and Seattle Public Utilities.

For more info and to pre-register as a volunteer contact Lise Kenworthy at lisekenworthy@comcast.net.

Sat, 10/03: First Annual Blue Festival

BlueFestival

http://www.bluefestival.org/index.html

Celebrating healthy shorelines and oceans on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 10 am to 7 pm

Event Highlights:

• Catch a glimpse of life at sea standing in a ship's wheelhouse coming into Puget Sound or on a fishing boat in stormy weather.
• Join conservation organizations, recreational boaters, surfers, fishing and community groups, river and beach cleanup efforts that are restoring and protecting our oceans, tidelands and watersheds.
• Celebrate sustainable wild seafoods and the companies, fishermen and women bringing them to your dinner plates and barbecues.
• Learn about the heritage, diversity and economic value of our region's waterfront and maritime industries.
• Hear about campaigns to protect mangrove forests from destruction to feed our "cheap shrimp habit" and policies promoting more aquaculture feedlots.  
• All day panels, guest speakers and films will present information on urban stormwater runoff, ocean acidification, pollution, pesticides, open pit mining and other industrial activities that put our blue planet and sustainable resources at risk.  Learn how we can work together to make a difference.

Tue, 10/13: Ballard Roadside Raingardens Meeting

Community Meeting re Ballard Roadside Raingardens project, 6:30-8pm @ Sunset Hill Community Club.  For more info call Karen York at 684-5994 or Karen.york@seattle.gov.

Sat, 10/17: Piper's Orchard work party

We'll be working on preparing a newly cleared area for grape planting and cleaning up the orchard in preparation for the winter months.

Carkeek Park - Pipers Creek Trail between the McAbee Entrance and the Metro Pump Station. 950 NW Carkeek Park Rd.

Mon, 10/19: North Beach Drainage Basin Meeting

Community meeting re North Beach Drainage Basin - Combined Sewer Overflow Control project, 7-8:30pm @ Loyal Heights Community Center, 2101 NW 77th. For more information contact Monica van der Vieren at 206-263-3701 or visit www.kingcounty.gov/csobeachprojects.

Thu, 10/22: Bike Sharing in Seattle

Please join Great City for their next brown bag with Mike Hulscher of The Bike Share Group, a local organization whose goal it is to implement a public bike system in Seattle and throughout the Pacific Northwest corridor. Groundswell NW is the fiscal sponsor of The Bike Share Group.

For this brown bag session, Mike will bring the audience up to speed with their concept for bike sharing by briefly presenting bike and station design and their ideas for a sustainable bike sharing community. With the understanding that we do not have to limit ourselves to the current bike share model out of Europe, Mike will focus the remainder of his discussion around this topic. He will draw on the expertise in the room and share thoughts on what a public bike system could look like and how it could be implemented, connecting these concepts specifically to how The Bike Share Group can better meet the community’s needs.

About Mike Hulscher

Mike Hulscher was born in Tacoma. He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and has worked for The Boeing Company, Festo Corp, Physio-Control, and has run his own engineering/mad scientist company Monster Concepts. He started The Bike Share Group with 12 colleagues this year. Mike has sailed most of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea, biked from Seattle to Portland and many other places on his Schwin Le Tour 10 speed, plays soccer, violin, a ukulele, and the Yo-Yo.

Sat, 10/24: SQUASH GLOBAL WARMING

Please bring squash...pumpkins, hubbards, acorns, etc. WHY? October 24 is International Climate Awareness Day, and also United Nations Day. On this day, demonstrations all over the world will feature the number 350. We will make a picture of 350 squash to uplink to these events.

The scientific community has concluded that 350 parts per million (ppm) in earth's atmosphere is the tolerable level of carbon dioxide for human life. As we are currently at near 390 ppm due to continuing greenhouse gas emissions, all of us must demand that our governments get serious about containing the problem at the upcoming climate talks in Copenhagen, even while we reduce energy use at home, on the road, and where we work.

Mon, 10/26: Crown Hill Arts Festival

Mon, 10/26: Sustainable Ballard Monthly Gathering

Monday, October 26, 2009, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Sunset Hill Community Club, 3003 NW 66th Street

October is Undriving month! At the SB Fest, 300 newly licensed Ballard Undrivers made a pledge to reduce their car use (or car use on the planet) in October....and we will also be Undriving Loyal Heights Elementary School this month!

Come hear what some Undrivers are up to, share your own Undriving stories (wherever you are on the Undriving spectrum), and get inspired to make your next Undriving pledge. We will have Amtrak 2-for-1 coupons for every new pledge (while supplies last) - thanks to our sponsor, Amtrak Cascades! Open to new and already-licensed Undrivers. More details to come on this fun evening celebrating the creativity and resourcefulness of Undrivers....including YOU!

As usual: Potluck at 6:30, and program starts at 7pm.

Tue, 10/27: WE ARE THE MISSING LINK!!!

Dear Burke-Gilman TRAIL SUPPORTERS in Ballard and Beyond,

Join us for a quick "flash" action to declare our collective support for completion of the Burke-Gilman Trail Missing Link - from Fred Meyer to the Ballard Locks. Let's demonstrate that the trail is for A L L of us, and that WE ARE THE MISSING LINK! We would be honored to have you stand with us.

In 1997, the Ballard Neighborhood Plan identified completion of the trail as its #2 priority. In 2003, Seattle City Council adopted a preferred route along the rail right-of-way, and directed Seattle Dept. of Transportation to design and seek funding. In spring 2009, SDOT prepared to put the project out to bid - but several business groups filed a lawsuit opposing trail construction. It's time to move on and get the trail built ...

Who/What: A gathering of ALL TRAIL SUPPORTERS, be they walkers, skaters, strollers, bicyclers, moms, dads, kids, grannies, for a silent show of support honoring the trail and the decades of hard work it took to get us to this point.

When: Tuesday, October 27, 5:30pm-6:30pm

Where: Shilshole Ave NW, opposite 17th Ave NW, just west of the Ballard Bridge - look for the people with the blinking lights!

How: Walk, bike, run, skate, glide

What Else?: B.Y.O."Blinky" red light if you've got one, and bring your bikes, strollers, walkers, wheelchairs, dogs and skateboards.

We'll have cool orange "WE ARE THE MISSING LINK" T-shirts for the first 100 participants (donations accepted).

Be prepared for inclement weather - rain or shine, we'll be there!

Join us as well for the after-party nearby at Dutch Bike Seattle, 6:30pm, 4421 Shilshole Ave - just east of the Ballard Bridge. Beer and NA drinks will be provided. We will have a grill set up so bring your grillables.

This action supported by Sustainable Ballard, Friends of the Burke-Gilman Trail, Totcycle/Kidical Mass, Feet First, Groundswell NW, Seattle Likes Bikes, Cascade Bicycle Club, Undriving.org, CoolMom, Spokespeople, SCALLOPS, Urban Sparks, Sunset Hill Community Association, Washington Liveaboard Association, and thousands of Seattle citizens ...

For more information, contact: Kevin, kcarrab@comcast.net and Vic, vic@sustainableballard.org

Tue, 10/27: Missing Link Afterparty

Join us following the Missing Link Flash Action for an after-party nearby at Dutch Bike Seattle, 6:30pm, 4421 Shilshole Ave - just east of the Ballard Bridge. Beer and NA drinks will be provided. We will have a grill set up so bring your grillables.

For more information, contact: Kevin, kcarrab@comcast.net and Vic, vic@sustainableballard.org

Sat, 10/31: Trick or Treat in Downtown Ballard

Annual Trick or Treating in downtown Ballard from 4 - 6 PM. For more info call Ballard Chamber at 784-9705.

Sat, 11/07: Ballard Street Cleanup

Sat, 11/07: Golden Gardens: Green Seattle Day!

Join EarthCorps and the Green Seattle Partnership as we celebrate Seattle's urban forests by planting native trees! Your help will contribute to our ongoing efforts to restore this amazing park. Today we will be performing maintenance on past restoration sites and removing invasive plant species such as English ivy. This is a Green Seattle Partnership project.

Click here for more information.

Mon, 11/09: Friends of the Troll's Knoll Tree Planting and Mulch Meeting

Well, we received our grant for $6000 in cash as well as the $6000+ we've received in donations, volunteer hours and resources from this community. Now we have some work ahead of us and we'd like to act fast.

This particular grant is to plant a tree buffer along the Aurora corridor and to mulch the black-berries that were cut this summer. If possible, we'd like to get the trees in the ground THIS NOVEMBER so the trees can have the benefit of being watered by nature all winter.

This means we have some decisions to make, trees and mulch to purchase and a volunteer effort to coordinate in a very short period of time. Therefore, we are having a community meeting this coming MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9th from 6:30pm to 7:45pm at the Fremont Public Library located at 731 N. 35th St. We will talk about how best to mulch, what types of trees we should purchase, volunteer and planting coordination, etc.

We will be having other community meetings to further vet the project designs and talk about our next steps but at this time, we have trees to plant.

We hope to see you Monday.

Thank you,

Kimberly Scrivner
Friends of the Troll's Knoll
253-732-0885

Tue, 11/10: Bell Street Park Boulevard

Seattle Parks is hosting the first public meeting for the planning of the Bell Street Park Boulevard.  The meeting will be Tuesday November 10, 2009 from 7 - 9 p.m. at SAM Olympic Sculpture Garden.

This project represents an innovative use of Parks Levy funds to create parks in existing street space, and as such could set an important precedence for Groundswell's efforts to promote the 14th Ave NW Vision.

You are encouraged to come and participate in helping shape this new park on Bell St. Click here for more information.

Sat, 11/14: Class: Considering Chickens?

Not sure about how much work it is? Whether to design and build your own coop? What to do with the poop?

Do you learn better by seeing and experiencing and by asking questions?

Here's an opportunity for you to do all of that and see a couple of different chicken coops in action
-one fancy green-built 'Coop Mahal' and one simple that cost me almost nothing to build.

You will see and learn:

• Different choices of coop features and systems that will keep your chickens safe and happy
• Which design features reduce coop maintenance
• How to easily turn poop from a smelly problem into a valuable product
• How chickens really behave by watching them interact with their environment
• How to Incorporate chickens with your garden to benefit both
• See the simple equipment that has successfully raised many day-old chicks
• Available local resources of information and supplies
• Techniques for outsmarting predators

DATE: Saturday, November 14, 2009
TIME: 10:00AM-12:00 noon
PLACE: NW Ballard area (details provided when you register)
COST: $20, $5 from each registration goes to Seattle Farm Coop,
(seattleurbanfarmcoop@yahoogroups.com)
REGISTER/CONTACT: Ingela Wanerstrand,ingela@qwest.net

Fri, 11/20: Sunset Hill Community Assoc. General Meeting

Sat, 11/21: Parks Levy Sneak Preview

Take a look, talk to the experts, plant a tree:
Saturday, November 21, 2009 and Saturday, December 12, 2009
Kiwanis Wildlife Corridor, W Government Way, between 35th Ave. W & Brygger Ave. W

10:00am ­ 2:00pm

HHH is hosting these two workparties in partnership with: *EarthCorps, *Green Seattle Partnership, and *Seattle Parks & Recreation Department.

This will be a terrific opportunity to discuss the project, offer your ideas, get involved with your neighbors!