Seattleites can help restore forests and salmon habitat by fostering a mini-forest with Grow it Forward, based in Greenwood.
Jim Wright, a former environmental engineer and biologist, started Grow It Forward in 2020, funding the supplies and plants himself – with 23 volunteer home gardeners around Seattle – each growing a mini-forest of 100 saplings to donate to restoration projects. It only takes a space of four feet by four feet.
Home gardeners care for these “Micro-Nurseries” for one to two years, growing the saplings to the point where they are able to fend for themselves after planting with minimal help. The trees are donated to local parks and forest restoration projects. Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group, for example, has received over 3000 trees in the last two years.
Jim Wright taking a batch of seedlings to their new forest home. Photo via Jim WrightA “Micro-Nursery” of Western Hemlock seedlings freshly potted up Photo: Jim Wright
Grow It Forward aims to assist the restoration process while saving habitat restoration organizations time and money, by producing some of the expensive tree seedlings they must buy for their sites. This lets the organizations focus on identifying and accessing habitat locations and removing invasive plant species to prepare the site for restoration. Wright hopes to obtain grant funding to expand and offer seedlings to more organizations.
Forest foster parents need basic gardening skills and about 16 square feet of garden space. Initial planting takes about five hours followed by consistent watering over the next one to two years.
Ready to become a mini-forest ranger for a year or two? Applications are open until April 1; the cost covering plants, soil, and pots, is $100.
The group is also looking for volunteer pickup-truck drivers to help deliver materials.
A winter tradition for over 40 years, the Green Lake Pathway of Lights returns December 10, 2022, from 4:30-7:30 – transforming the lake path into a candelit wonderland. Falling on the second Saturday in December, Pathway of Lights illuminates Seattle’s darkest month with a night of good cheer.
Courtesy Seattle.gov
Stroll the inner pathway lit with thousands of glimmering candles, and enjoy stations with complimentary cocoa, live seasonal music, and hot air balloons ascending from the Community Center ball fields.
Pathway of Lights is back after it was skipped in 2021 for the first time in 42 years.
The Hot Air Ballon Glow runs from 4:30-5:30 when weather allows. Organizers and sponsors include the Green Lake Advisory Council and with help from community partners, Lake & Company Real Estate, Green Lake Masons, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, PCC Community Markets, and Aegis.
Help Make it Happen
A free event like this is a massive community effort, and you can help! Volunteering as a family is a great way to bond and create unforgettable memories while supporting this fun event.
Volunteer shifts are available from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. and include set-up, placing luminaries, recycling, as well as litter patrol and cleanup. For more information or to sign up to volunteer, please contact John Frazier, Seattle Parks and Recreation, at Johnny.frazier@seattle.gov or 206-684-7381.
Orange cones mark the new bike trail opening Friday, Nov. 4 until concrete curbs are added. Courtesy Seattle.gov
The new Outer Loop path enabling bikes, scooters, and rollerblades to circumnavigate Green Lake debuts Friday morning, Nov. 4th. Sections along Aurora Ave. N and Winona Ave. were the final pieces connecting a full loop of the lake. The goal of the project was to increase transportation options for folks on wheels or on foot, while enhancing connections to surrounding neighborhoods.
According to Seattle.gov, funding comes from the Levy to Move Seattle and the city’s Vision Zero Program, “which prioritized this project due to its safety benefits and potential to address recent collisions that have occurred in this area.”
The additional areas close the loop. Courtesy Seattle.gov
Based on community feedback in recent months, several changes were made to the original plan, including maximizing sight lines on Aurora Ave. N, and a double flashing beacon and other traffic calming measures in the Winona Triangle. A new pedestrian crossing on Winona Ave. is planned as well which may not be completed until 2023. You can see the updated plan here.
On September 24, Green Lake will again become a fantasy landscape alight with hundreds of lanterns to celebrate the autumnal equinox, the tipping point between summer and fall, light and dark. On the autumnal equinox, the Sun is directly above the equator, and day and night are the same lengths. It is traditionally a time to celebrate the harvest and wind down into winter’s rest for the following year
Image, Fremont Art Council
Sponsored by the Fremont Arts Council , the evening lantern parade is free and begins officially at 7:30 at the Aqua Theater (by the Small Craft Center) and weaves along the lake eastward to the Seattle Public Theater. The event runs until 11:00 p.m. You can join anywhere along the path. A band leads the parade, and there is an illuminated art display near the theater.
Image, Fremont Art Council
You can make your own lanterns at free lantern-making workshops, or buy some to support the event. The lantern shoppe at the Aqua Theater will open at 6 PM on Saturday September 24. Proceeds benefitting the Fremont Arts Council, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Find the schedule and more information at https://fremontartscouncil.org/luminata
Why walk when you can paddle? Image, Fremont Arts Council
The 10,800 square-foot building will be fully accessible, preparing to launch Seattle’s first public adaptive rowing program and expansion of a paracanoing program. The design increases and maximizes boat storage and creates new instructional space for educational programs.
The new facility will also provide restrooms, locker facilities, areas for off-water instruction, and a community meeting space. According to the Seattle Parks and Recreation, the adjacent Massart Shellhouse building and restrooms will be minimally updated as well and utilities for both buildings will be repaired/replaced.
Image, Mithun/Seattle Parks and Recreation
As the current building is demolished, parkgoers will encounter detours to the surrounding paths. Construction is estimated to take about a year.
The project’s estimated cost is $12,500,000 and SPR says it is being funded in part by private donations and grants from the Land & Water Conservation Fund, Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program, King County, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, and Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Major Projects Challenge Fund.
Not in Green Lake, but the return after two years of this free family-friendly garden art festival with music is too good to pass up!
When: Saturday, August 6, 2022
10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Where: Ballard P-Patch NW 85th St and 25th NW.
Benefitting the Ballard P-Patch, which recently won a two-year struggle to buy the garden’s land for $2 million dollars through donations and grants, the festival and garden are celebrating its 20th anniversary this year after a COVID hiatus. Highlights include:
Crafts, art, and plants from local makers, artists, and growers
It’s a free-for-all this Saturday, July 30, 2022 from 9am-3pm in Wallingford and Fremont, according to flyers popping up near Meridan Park recently. For searchers, no need to win a Facebook lottery, and for givers, no need to arrange and wait for the pickup that may never come. Just leave the stuff out during the appointed time, and see what’s left after the dust settles.
The map includes homes in Meridian, Wallingford, and Fremont so far. Scan the QR code in the picture below for a map of participating homes or go to this link, and let the loot-hunting commence!
The Parks Department has decided not to commit to the estimated $120 renovation including a new pool and recreation center for Green Lake, instead favoring a renovation of existing elements that may still cost $50 million. The decision was announced at a recent Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners meeting.
A rendering of the $120M renovation proposed in 2020
The center dates back to 1927, and the pool to 1955. In 2015, the Parks Department slated the building for renovation, and in 2020 it unveiled a plan including a 90,000-square-foot replacement complex. This included a gym, two swimming pools, both child care and activity rooms, and an open porch with a lakeside view. Seattle Times’ columnist Danny Westneat reports that Councilmember Dan Strauss says he will fight for funding the new rec center and pool as Parks and Recreation funding is determined for the next cycle of budgeting.
Green Lake is close to Heaven on Earth for Seattle sport anglers, says bestfishinginamerica.com.
Among the benefits: the fishing season is open year-round, there’s easy park access around the lake, and several fishing piers, two-pole fishing is allowed, and while watercraft like cartoppers or kayaks are allowed, no motorboats are permitted.
Smoky angling in fall of 2020. Image: Erica Grivas
Mid-March through June offers some of the best prospects, but fishing is viable all year thanks to the generous stocking of Rainbow and Brown Trout and Channel Catfish by the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, which offers seasonal prizes in an annual Trout Derby.
Since April, 10,563 Rainbow Trout have been planted in Green Lake. You can find graphs of peak seasons here.
One of the most impressive seen: a self-reported 45-pound Channel Catfish was caught in 2018. Anglers may also find Common Carp – for which no license is required, Largemouth Bass, Rock Bass, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, and Brown Bullhead.
Stocking of immature fry in fall gives them time to grow well during the off-season.
The Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife calls Green Lake one of Western Washington’s best urban fisheries. Image: Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
As a burgeoning spring landscape explodes with new life, the winter months have transformed the small business district of Tangletown. Beginning with Restaurant Christine’s fall opening, a cascade of change has hit the area, bringing a host of exciting offerings to the area.
Tangletown’s first book store
You never have enough books – or bookstores, in our opinion. Wise Owl Books opened in early December at 2223 N. 56th St. bringing a curated, eclectic selection of titles mostly hovering in the sci-fi, mystery, and romance genres, as well as albums, gifts, and cards. At the back, a warm nook awaits with cozy armchairs, where owner Christina Gilbreath hopes to host game nights and live music.
Ready for treasure-hunting at Wise Owl Books. Credit: Erica Browne Grivas
Massage Clinic Brings the Aah
If you want to fully unwind – and who doesn’t? – check out Still Point Massage Therapy a block east at 2265 N. 56th Street, #2B. Owner Diedra Roesijadi and five other therapists offer sessions from 60-120 minutes long in a light-filled, mid-century “retreat space” hand-built and designed by visionary Seattle architect Folke Nyberg, a driving force behind Westlake Center and Pioneer Square. For a first-person account, see this piece from our friends at the Wallyhood blog.
Image from Still Point Massage Therapy
Come Play with Color at this Mosaic Studio
Okay, we’re cheating on this one. Claire Barnett’s Seattle Mosaic Arts moved to Tangletown from Wallingford in 2021, but we have yet to feature it. At this mosaic studio, you can try your hand at mosaics via one-off kits, an at-home class, and a studio membership which gives you access to advanced tools, storage, expert finishing, and instruction. Kits start at $65 and range from pendants to mirrors, garden stakes, wall art, and custom projects. You can even create a wall hanging of your house using one of your photos.
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