11th Ave NW Street End Park potluck this Thursday

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The UW students in Professor Winterbottom’s Landscape Architecture Design/Build Class have been hard at work installing the new public shoreline park we gave you a sneak peek to back in March. They’re putting the final touches on the project right now and have invited the community to come celebrate at their dedication and potluck Thursday June 11, 3:30PM-5:00PM, which will be on site at the 11th Ave NW street end (just follow 11th Ave NW south across Leary and continue walking until you hit the water). It’s a beautiful hidden little spot and the perfect place to get a little connection to nature when taking a walk or ride along the Burke Gilman or stopping in to shop at the Fred Meyer.

If you want to get your hands dirty, (PLANTING HAS BEEN POSTPONED, WILL KEEP YOU UPDATED) they’ll be planting all day Tuesday June 9 from 8AM-5PM and would love to have the community drop in during the day to help. Note that the planting date is subject to plant delivery, so it might change to Wednesday. We’ll keep you posted!

Dedication Flyer

Join Sustainable Ballard and Abbey Arts for Ballard Rain Fest!

pic courtesy of Sustainable Ballard

 

Join Sustainable Ballard and Abbey Arts  on June 13th at Ballard Homestead (6541 Jones Ave NW) for a celebration of WATER! Fun for the whole family!

OUTSIDE: FESTIVAL!  2-5 PM, Free
Family-friendly fun! Check out RainWise demos, along with water-themed games, art, and science activities! Meet RainWise contractors and learn how to get a RainWise rebate.

Bring your neighbors. Featuring food carts, ice cream, prizes, and more!

INSIDE: CONCERTS!
3-4:30 PM: Early show – Yaima (Pepper Proud]
All ages concert + Kids music workshop after the show
$5 early discount, $8 at the door, kids 12 & under free

7:30 PM: Evening show with Tomo Nakayama [Grand Hallway}, St Kilda [Joshua Morrison}, Levi Fuller
$8 advance, $10 door

For tickets: www.AbbeyArts.me, www.BallardHomestead.org

Festival presented by Sustainable Ballard with RainWise, a program of Seattle Public Utilities and King County.

Concerts presented by Abbey Arts and Ballard Homestead. Ballard Homestead is a new non-profit space for community, managed by Abbey Arts.

Seattle City Council District 6 candidates forum is June 6

The Phinney Ridge Community Council and Phinney Neighborhood Association are hosting a candidates forum for the new Seattle City Council District 6 from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, at the PNA, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., in the Brick Building.

Incumbent Councilmember Mike O’Brien and challengers Catherine Weatbrook and Jon Lisbin will answer questions on zoning, land use, development, transportation, environment, civic engagement, public safety, etc.

District 6 covers Green Lake, Phinney Ridge, Greenwood, Ballard and Fremont. Click here for a PDF map of District 6. Click here for information on all districts.

Department of Neighborhoods People’s Academy for Community Engagement – applications due May 29

The People’s Academy for Community Engagement (PACE) is a civic leadership development program that builds the skills of emerging community leaders. During the 12-month program, 26 emerging leaders (18 years and up) will learn hands-on strategies for community building, inclusive engagement, and accessing government from experts in the field. PACE has a strong focus on Seattle’s community and neighborhood organizations, and the city’s governmental structure and processes.

PACE Curriculum

These topics will be covered in the 2015-2016 program:

Accessing Government
Community Organizing
Meeting Facilitation
Sustaining Involvement
Conflict Management
Public Speaking
Approaches to Leadership
Inclusive Outreach & Public Engagement
Each session is taught by facilitators from community and nonprofit organizations, along with city of Seattle departments, who have expertise in the topic and in facilitating group discussion.

APPLY NOW!
Sessions and Community Projects
Sessions are held on the third Thursday of each month from 5:30-9 p.m. at Seattle University. They begin in September 2015 and go through May 2016.

From May through August 2016, participants work in teams with neighborhood groups to plan, engage in, and implement community projects.

Tuition
Tuition is $100. It is payable upon receipt of invoice after acceptance into the program. Tuition assistance is available.

PACE Application Process
Visit seattle.gov/neighborhoods/engage/pace.htm to apply online (after April 13). The application deadline is May 29. Notifications of acceptance will be issued by July 10, 2015.

Learn More
Visit seattle.gov/neighborhoods/engage/pace.htm for details and the online application. For questions, contact:

Wendy Watson
phone: 206-684-0719
email: Wendy.Watson@seattle.gov

Download a flier HERE!

Metro is proposing changes to the 28 bus you may not like – provide comments until May 31

If you rely on the 28 bus to get you from Ballard to Fremont or the South Lake Union neighborhood, then this proposal from Metro is worth a read and your comments. In addition to changes to support the University Link Light Rail, Metro is proposing to combine the 28X and 28 bus routes. At first glance, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea for downtown commuters, since frequency of the 28X would increase at peak hours, but there could be an increase in stops along 8th Ave NW, because the route will change from running along Market St, to running along Leary and 39th in Fremont instead. If you want to get to/from Fremont or South Lake Union, then it looks like you’ll probably have to make a connection (most likely on Leary) with the 40 bus.

The proposed changes on Metro’s site are not very detailed. They provide proposed route changes for the 28 and 28X but don’t provide proposed stop locations or information on how much longer the commute will be with the extra stops. We’re sharing this information with you to not only inform, but to ask you to provide comments to Metro before May 31. The survey is confusing and doesn’t directly address anything related to the Ballard bus route changes until the very end, so you’ll have to forward through to the end to ask your questions and provide comments relating to the bus route changes.

Note that there are some positive Metro changes being proposed for the Ballard area. If you’re a rider of the 44 bus, you’ll see some improved frequency in the future. There will also be a new bus 45 route from Loyal Heights to the University Link Light Rail.

Overview of the proposed Sound Transit and Metro changes
Metro’s Proposal
Proposed Route 28X changes
Proposed Route 28 changes
Provide comments

Fill out a survey to share your transportation priorities for Ballard

Were you unable to attend the Ballard Urban Design & Transporation Open House on May 7?

What is it?
A City and Community partnership to create a vision that will guide new development and transportation investments in Ballard. Tell us your priorities for transportation and preferred station locations for future high capacity transit.

Unable to Attend?
Complete the survey at Move Ballard to share your transportation priorities and comments.

To Learn More
Visit www.seattle.gov/dpd/ballard or www.seattle.gov/transportation/moveBallard.

Contact
David Goldberg (DPD) or Chris Yake (SDOT) for any questions about this project or event.

Edible Garden Tour will be in East Ballard/West Woodland this year – still spots available to show off your garden!

2015_EGT_announce

Sustainable Ballard’s 7th Annual Edible Garden Tour will be on Saturday, June 27, 2015 and will be showcasing gardens in the East Ballard/West Woodland neighborhood this year!

Start Point and Tickets:  West Woodland Elementary School, 5601 4th Ave NW
Cost: $10 per person (kids are free).  Buy your ticket/map at the start point on the day of the tour.

Grow, don’t mow!  This tour includes more than a dozen gardens to explore within walking distance of West Woodland Elementary and the entry fee supports Sustainable Ballard’s community projects throughout the year.  West Woodland itself has a new edible garden and will have gardening and art activities on the day of the tour.

Now in it’s 7th year, the Edible Garden Tour has been an inspiration to hundreds of gardeners every June. This fun walking / biking tour highlights creative uses of parking strips, containers, raised beds, bee houses, chicken coops, goats, fruit trees, berries, herbs and veggies galore!

This year, in addition to inspiring gardens, goats & chickens, we will include artists’ displays in the gardens!

Help out!

Sustainable Ballard is still seeking gardens and urban farms in SE Ballard to include on the tour.  If you’d like to show off your approach to urban food production and live between 3rd and 11th NW, south of NW 65th St, please contact Paula to learn all about being on the tour!

Volunteers are needed to help with outreach for the event, write a blog post or promote the event in other media, hang and distribute posters and help out the day of the event!  If you’d like to host a stop on the tour, donate a raffle prize, become a sponsor or volunteer please contact Paula or Jennifer.

Cascade Compost LOGO

THANK YOU to Cascade Compost for sponsoring this year’s tour!!