This last week I had the honor of working with the amazing Thyme Patch Park P-Patch Crew clearing out blackberries to expose the sidewalk along NW 57th on the vacant lot just south of the Thyme Patch P-Patch. They received a generous $1,000 donation from the owner and permission to clean up the space to use for community purposes until final disposition of the land is determined. As fiscal sponsor for Thyme Patch, Groundswell NW will proudly continue to work side by side to support this great bunch of neighbors in transforming this space into a community gem!
Speaking of community gems, Groundswell NW's flagship, Webster Park, is in the news relating to plans for Seattle Public Schools to renovate and expand Webster School (currently leased to Nordic Heritage Museum). In the early '90s, Groundswell NW's founder, Lillian Riley, had the vision to create a community park on the west side of the Webster School site. Thanks to her leadership, Groundswell NW convinced Seattle Parks to lease the west section of the Webster School lot for a neighborhood park in 1994. Groundswell NW then raised the funds necessary to design and develop the park, leading to Seattle Parks purchasing the Webster Park property from Seattle Schools in 2009. This was visionary, because, now that Webster School will be reopening, the park should be left as is, although there may be some access limits during school hours. Check out our Sep 21 event on our calendar for information on reviewing and providing comments to Seattle Schools before the deadline.
Coming up next on our calendar is an event you must not miss! Sept 9 at 1:30pm marks our first ever Groundswell NW Parks and Projects Walking Tour as part of our participation in the l4th Annual Sustainable Ballard Festival. Join us at the Groundswell NW booth during the festival and build a habitat home to take home with you and then at 1:30pm, embark with our veteran board member, Dave Boyd, on a stroll through Groundswell NW supported parks and projects in Ballard. Tell your friends and bring the kids!