Dear Groundswell NW followers,
As we prepare to release our April newsletter, Seattle is under a “Stay Home, Stay Healthy" order from the Washington State Governor. In accordance with that order, we have no events listed for this month. Nevertheless, we still have some good news to share.
While much activity seems to have ground to a halt, work continues on at least a couple important projects that Groundswell continues to monitor and be involved in, as described on their websites. Construction on the Ship Canal Water Quality Project and the Ballard Multimodal Corridor Project will move forward in April.
For those of you who were at our January meeting, you may recall that we issued a challenge to the Ballard P-Patch—if they could raise $5,000 in donations, we would match that amount. The Ballard P-Patch succeeded in reaching and surpassing that goal - thanks to many of you - and Groundswell NW has sent them a check for $5,000. This was the largest grant ever made by Groundswell NW and we are so happy that the Ballard P-Patch was able to meet the challenge.
Saving the Ballard P-Patch for future generations of gardeners supports the goals of Groundswell NW: to create, activate, and care for parks, open space, and habitat. With public and private support, we believe the Ballard P-Patch can thrive and inspire other innovative community open space efforts. We thank all of you who contributed and we thank our elected representatives, especially Dan Strauss, for their efforts to protect this important open space in NW Seattle. The Ballard P-Patch is still far from reaching its fundraising goals so please visit the Ballard P-Patch’s website to see how you can help this effort.
We hope to have more outdoor events to share with you in the next few months. In the meantime, stay safe and if you are lucky enough to have a garden of your own, this is the time to enhance your garden’s wildlife habitat. Check out the National Wildlife Federation’s ideas for what you can do in your garden, on your patio, or even your apartment balcony. www.nwf.org.
All the best,
Groundswell NW Board
Join the New Fabric Face Mask Production Project
Getting Crafty Has Never Felt So Good
Face masks are in short supply, even for first responders and medical staff. While medical grade face masks are the best first line of defense against viruses such as COVID-19, supplies are in hot demand. According to the CDC, fabric masks are a crisis response when other options are limited. Sustainable Ballard is chipping in to help – will you join us? Volunteers needed to sew, provide materials and/or pickup/deliver. Learn more at:
http://www.sustainableballard.org/join-the-new-fabric-face-mask-production-project/