News

From the President

September always comes with a rush of back to school (avoiding school buses again) and birthday stuff (there are 4 Virgos coming right at me) but on top of that there are lots of activities as well. Groundswell will be demonstrating the mico-remediation techniques seen on our home page at the Sustainable Ballard Fall Festival, noon-5pm on Sept. 26 & 27. We are planning the "official" dedication of Ballard Corners Park, on Saturday October 10, starting at 11 am,  in conjunction with acknowledging Groundswell's 20th Anniversary of creating community parks and open space.

Meanwhile, we agreed to help complete construction of the Hazel Heights P-Patch (see article below about this unique new open space). Growing more local food is one of the most important things we can do for the long term, so please find your checkbooks, or use our PayPal "Donate" button below.

Hazel Heights P-Patch Three-To-One Match!

Groundswell NW has just announced its pledge to match up to $5,000 for contributions made through Groundswell for the new Hazel Heights P-Patch at NW 42nd St and Baker Ave NW. In addition, Seattle's P-Patch Trust will match these donations. So in effect, contributors will get a great value - a match of 3 to 1 for their tax-deductible charitable gift. To be eligible for the match, contributions must be made through Groundswell NW by December 31, 2009.

While Fremont is ranked as the ninth most densely populated neighborhood in Seattle, there is currently no community garden west of Fremont Avenue. Residents have been working for several years to create a new p-patch to serve this area. The property at Baker Ave NW is now owned by the P-Patch Trust, Barker Landscape Architects has done the design, and the site is under construction.

The garden incorporates an innovative rainwater collection system, including an 8,000 gallon underground cistern.

For more information about Hazel Heights P-Patch, see the blog at http://hazelheightsp-patch.blogspot.com/ or contact Marya Felenchak at 789-5060.

To maximize your donation, send a check to Groundswell NW, PO Box 17163, Seattle, WA 98127. Make out the check to Groundswell NW and in the memo part of the check just write "P-Patch". Or click the PayPal "Donate" button below to donate directly to the Groundswell NW Hazel Heights P-Patch account.

In either case, thanks!

Click here for more photos of Hazel Heights P-Patch.

Groundswell NW Events

Sat, 09/19: Groundswell Adopt-A-Street Work Party Event!

Groundswell NW is very pleased to partner with the Seattle Adopt-A-Street program to enhance Ballard’s quality of life through cleaning litter and weeding along Burke Gilman Trail. Bring your work gloves and help weed, pick up litter or just come by to learn more about this public access point on Saturday, September 19 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. Drinks and treats will be provided!

Come learn about Seattle artist Marvin Oliver who is creating a welcome figure for the Salmon Bay Natural Area, commissioned to celebrate native culture and the salmon cycle.

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.

Other Events

Fri, 09/04: End of Summer Picnic and Bonfire with Sustainable Ballard

We have a winner! It is Friday, September 4th, 6:30PM until late!
Come celebrate with us this awesome summer we've had and the great work you're all doing.
Just look for our bright yellow flags!

We'll be tag-teaming from early afternoon to secure one of the fire pits at Golden Gardens. Please bring a dish to share for dinner, your plate, utensils and drinks (I think no alcohol allowed on beach?) and whatever/whoever else makes you happy --- s'mores ingredients will be provided! Any questions? Email orna@sustainableballard.org.

Looking forward to celebrating with you!

Sat, 09/19: Environmental Restoration at Golden Gardens Park

Sign up on the volunteer calendar of the EarthCorps website. Click here for more information.

EarthCorps supplies gloves, tools, water, light refreshments and a talk that covers safety, the park you are working in, forest structure, environmental restoration and the overview of the project. We suggest that volunteers dress in layers of older clothes that include long pants, long sleeve shirt and a jacket. Durable footwear such as work boots, hiking boots or running shoes are recommended for these events. These events take place rain or shine so please come prepared for the weather. Bring a lunch if you would like as well as a water bottle and a coffee cup/travel mug for refreshments.

Sat, 09/19: Northacres Off Leash Dog Park Work Party

Teens..Great way to get your service hours!

For all..Spirit of Service!

Sat, 09/19: Piper Creek 3rd Annual Festival of Fruit

Friends of Piper's Orchard invite you to join us for the 3rd Annual  FESTIVAL OF FRUIT.

Sponsored by the Seattle Parks Dept,Carkeek Park Advisory Council, Sustainable Ballard & Cool Moms At 118 years, the old Piper's Orchard in Carkeek Park is both a source of heritage fruit and community inspiration.

In honor of the old gal,we are hosting a fun and educational fruit extravaganza for all ages.Come enjoy homemade apple pie and fresh pressed cider from Piper's Orchard apples, live music,crafts for kid's and a guided tour of Piper's Orchard. Learn from our areas top fruit experts all about selecting and growing fruit in your own yard. Bring a pie to join the pie contest!

Parking shuttle from lower lots up to the ELC will be available.

COST: Free!!

For more Information go to:www.pipersorchard.org

Sat, 09/26: 6th Annual Sustainable Ballard Festival

Tue, 09/29: Dinner With Friends of the Cedar River Watershed

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.