The core idea of this project is transforming the existing horticulture buildings for productive and sustainable food-growing to provide healthy food for local food banks and school programs along with job training and youth education opportunities. Just as importantly, the project calls for restoring the acres of wetlands on the site and making them come alive again with native flora and fauna.

On June 30th, Parks showed they've been listening to the many community voices calling for this project when they unveiled a concept plan that includes both an urban farm utilizing the existing greenhouses and growing spaces and the restoration of the acres of Class IV wetlands at the 10-acre site.

The advocacy work isn't done yet; the Parks Board of Commissioners are holding a public hearing on Thursday August 12th at Parks HQ 100 Dexter Avenue N. - doors open at 6:00 pm for sign-up and the hearing begins at 7:00 pm. Please come down and show your support for this future gem of South Seattle.

If you can't attend the public hearing, you can still help make this idea bloom by sending your written testimony in support to the Commissioners (they read every comment).

Send your email to: Sandy Brooks at vog.elttaes|skoorb.ydnas#vog.elttaes|skoorb.ydnas or mail/deliver a message to:

Sandy Brooks
100 Dexter Avenue. N.
Seattle, WA 98109-5199

What should you say? In your own words, share that:

1. Converting the existing nursery to a neighborhood-appropriate urban farm is the best future use of the existing Atlantic City Nursery facilities.

2. Restoring the many wetlands areas at the Atlantic City Nursery as protected wildlife habitat with native plants is the right way to steward this major portion of our local ecosystem.

The deadline for written comments is September 2nd, a few days before the Parks Commissioners make their recommendation for the future of the Atlantic City Nursery to the Parks Superintendent - sending them in before August 6th will ensure they are part of the public hearing process.

Questions? Contact the Friends of Atlantic City Nursery at moc.liamg|ganabrubr#moc.liamg|ganabrubr.

by KateK

by KateK

by KateK

See you on Saturday!

Jude and Darrell

by KateK

Contacts: Suzanne Skadowski, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-6689,
vog.ape|ennazus.ikswodaks#vog.ape|ennazus.ikswodaks
Piper Peterson Lee, EPA Project Manager, 206-553-4951,
vog.ape|repip.eel-nosretep#vog.ape|repip.eel-nosretep

Terminal 117 Superfund site cleanup plan released for public comment

(Seattle – June 7, 2010) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
is asking for public comments on a cleanup plan proposed for the
Terminal 117 Superfund site on the Duwamish River. Terminal 117 is
located in South Park between 14th Avenue South, Dallas Avenue South,
and South Donovan Street (see map). This “early action” cleanup will
remove river sediments and upland soils contaminated with toxic
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as part of EPA’s larger cleanup of the
Lower Duwamish Waterway. EPA will hear public comments on the cleanup
plan at a meeting on June 17th at the South Park Community Center. EPA
will accept written comments through July 7th.

The cleanup plan released today is part of a draft report called an
Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis. The cleanup plan brings
together years of sampling and analysis, interim cleanups, and community
engagement on Terminal 117. The draft cleanup plan includes two options
to remove the PCB-contaminated river sediments and upland soils. Both
cleanup options will remove soils contaminated with PCBs above the state
cleanup level from the Terminal 117 property and from some of the nearby
streets and yards. One cleanup option would remove most of the
contaminated sediment and put clean material over the contaminated
sediment left behind. The second option would remove all sediment
contaminated with PCBs above the state cleanup level.

The Port of Seattle and City of Seattle are conducting the contamination
study and cleanup under an EPA Superfund order. The Department of
Ecology provides review and input on the cleanup as part of their
efforts to control sources of contaminants to the river. The Duwamish
River Cleanup Coalition, the community advisory group for the Superfund
site, is providing independent technical review for the community. EPA
expects the cleanup will make the site available for many future
potential uses, including river habitat and public access, business and
residential development. After considering public comments, EPA will
decide on a final cleanup plan in a document called an Action
Memorandum. Public comments will be summarized and responses provided as
part of EPA’s decision. EPA expects the cleanup to begin in 2012 and
cost between $31 and $34 million.

Meeting and Comment Details:

Public Meeting: June 17th, South Park Community Center, 8319 8th Ave
South; open house at 5:30 pm, presentations at 6:00 pm, public comment
at 7:00 pm.

Send comments by July 7th by email: vog.ape|711lanimret01r#vog.ape|711lanimret01r or mail:
Terminal 117 Comments, EPA Region 10, 1200 6th Ave, Suite 900, ECL-111,
Seattle, Washington 98101.

The cleanup plan is on the Terminal 117 project web site: www.T117.com
and at the South Park Library, 8604 8th Ave S., Seattle.

by KateK

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn to visit proposed site for the Rainier Beach Urban Farm

Saturday, May 15, 2010
Location: Atlantic City Nursery
5513 S. Cloverdale St
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Come and Welcome the Mayor to our proposed Urban Farm! The Friends of Atlantic City Nursery would like to invite you and the community to come and welcome Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn as he tours our proposed site for the Rainier Beach Urban Farm at Atlantic City Nursery on Sat. May 15, at 11:30 am.

Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith will join him as part of the mayor's Rainier Beach Walking Tour arranged by the City's Department of Neighborhoods.

Here are the details of the visit:

1. Gate opens 11:00 a.m: Friends of Atlantic City Nursery members and supporters arrive; (please note that there is no parking on site, nearest parking is on Beer Sheva Park, south west of Atlantic City Nursery)
2. 11:30 a.m: Mayor arrives at the Atlantic City Nursery and talks with community members
3. 11:45 a.m: Tour of Atlantic City Nursery.
4. 12:15 p.m.Tour of the Atlantic City Nursery ends.

Please invite your families, friends and neighbors and friends and and join us as we show support for this unique opportunity for the Rainier Beach community to the lead the city in this Year of Urban Agriculture. Light food and refreshments will be served.
What is the Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlants Project? Atlantic Street Nursery

Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands Project is a community led and community bred effort to establish an Urban Farm in the heart of the Rainier Beach Community at the former Atlantic City Nursery site located at 5513 South Cloverdale Street in Southeast Seattle. The Atlantic City Nursery is a former nursery ran by the City of Seattle's Parks & Recreation Department. The closing and relocation of the Park's operations, has created an opportunity for the neighborhood to help shape the future use of this park property.

The Friends of Atlantic City Nursery was formed out of community interest to create a local source of fresh produce, community gardening, economic development and training opportunity for area residents and youth. The RB Urban Farm % Wetlands Project will serve as an innovative effort to build community pride and preservation of the area wetlands and the environment.

Hosted by Friends of Atlantic City Nursery

Please forward this information to your contacts and community groups!

For more information, contact: Peter Masundire, Co-Chair at 206 321-5990 or email at: moc.nsm|1eridnusamp#moc.nsm|1eridnusamp

by KateK

See you on Saturday!

Jude and Darrell

by KateK

Where: Columbia Garden - 3528 S Ferdinand St, Columbia City, Seattle, 98118

When: Saturday, May 8th from 10am-2pm

South Shore School has been relocated and is back at its old home the Columbia School Building. Now it is time to get the lovely old children's garden back up and running, so that South Shore Students can get back to garden class. Come get your hands dirty and help your community on Saturday, May 8th for a Work Party and Rededication Ceremony at the Columbia Garden. We will take a tour of the site and then get to work to "save the garden". At noon we will pause for snacks and a rededication of the garden space. If interested and for more information, contact Maren Neldam: gro.htlitelttaes|madlenneram#gro.htlitelttaes|madlenneram

by KateK

【Walk day schedule for May 18th】
5:15 Assemble/Check in time @ Graham&Dunn Pier 70
5:30 Departure time
6:00-6:10 Short stop @ Mithun Pier 56
6:30-7:30 Reception—Social and Talk @ Feet first

*For whom who are not able to participate the walking are also welcome to join the reception that starts at 6:30 at Feet first. *

by KateK

This is the second of 3 meetings. At this meeting, we will compare several designs.

Tuesday, April 20 6:00 - 8:00 PM
South Shore School
4800 S. Henderson St.

Food and childcare will be provided.
Translation services available - please request by April 13.

Questions? Sharon Lerman (206) 619-5196 or gro.htlitelttaes|namrelnorahs#gro.htlitelttaes|namrelnorahs
or Emily Fuller (206) 684-7047 or vog.elttaes|relluf.ylime#vog.elttaes|relluf.ylime

Meeting #3: Review preferred plan
Tuesday, May 18, 6:00 - 8:00 PM

by KateK

As usual, tools, gloves and refreshments will be provided. We will meet for coffee at 8:30 AM at the trail head (hairpin turn at 68th Ave. S. and Holyoke Ave.) Work begins promptly at 9:00 and lasts until 1:00 PM. Call Jude or Darrell at (206) 772-1452 for information or directions.

by KateK

Dear Seattle’s food-activists, writers, news reporters, and supportive city officials,

Thank you to all you passionate people working on food related -policies, programs, and issues. Thank you for your time and energy towards the many great farmers markets, restaurants, garden/farmer support, and the local food movement in general.

Spring into Bed (http://springintobed.org/) is a grass-roots garden building effort and evening celebration to:

• Support the effort to build our city’s food infrastructure- we want to add acres in small plots.

• Support people of low income’s ability to grow good, healthy, and super-local food.

• Connect people, organizations, and businesses (to get things done in over the long-term)

Spring into Bed is a “Fun-Run” about supporting at minimum 10 gardeners with low incomes build gardens. However, rather than raising money for cancer research, we are working to prevent cancer — caused by poor food access — in the first place.

For anyone who is fond of the work of Will Allen — “ Stop talking and do something within 3 months” — there is an event this Spring that requests your support . On May 8th organizations in Portland and Olympia are both building 10 gardens on the day so Seattle can at least match that, right?

This is an opportunity for direction action — captains are needed who will help fund-raise and help build the gardens the day of the event. $1000 will build a set of 3 raised beds and help another 3 get built in the future. Seattle Tilth is serving as fiscal sponsor, so all donations are tax deductable (just ask your accountant). So far The Garden Project and Cascadian Edible Landscapes have stepped up to be captains. For anyone considering being a captain, throwing a couple of parties or asking friends, families, or neighbors to support the cause goes a long way.

Mayor McGinn thanks for your donation of seeds towards the event and for supporting a food bank garden on city hall. Council President Conlin- Thank you for working on the Local Food Action Initiative and thank you for (helping ) declare 2010 Year of Urban Agriculture. I’d like to invite you, your offices, and friends to captain a Food Justice garden bed. Additionally, it would be really helpful if you could help secure a donation of minimum 30 yards of Cedar Grove Compost and up to 150 cubic yards; we’ll have to collectively figure out where to store it.

If championing the cause is not your thing, you can still commit to contributing to local-food security on your own or with your neighbors. Choose your adventure and be sure to report how many square feet you build on May 8th and then come to the PARTY! www.Springintobed.org

Happy Planting and See you on May 8th,

Michael Seliga - Cascadian Edible Landscapes- www.eatyouryard.com

Supporter- www.springintobed.org

by KateK

The idea of Seattle as North America's first Carbon Neutral city has gone viral, prompting discussion in the news, on blogs, and among Seattle's civic leaders. Huge, complex questions remain: what would a carbon neutral Seattle look like? How would it be defined? And of course, what are we doing as a city - and what could we be doing - right now to make this vision a reality?

You are invited to an unconference on Saturday, April 3rd, together with some of the best minds in Seattle to tackle these questions. Please join us in asking big questions, and educating and inspiring you peers about your contributions to a sustainable future.

We expect it will be a day of exhilarating conversations. The format is an unconference: in addition to curated sessions on specific topics, we'll open up spaces where you can bring forward ideas, run a small panel, or host a discussion, creating unanticipated conversations and sparking innovative new ideas. We will begin at 9:00 am with an introduction from Worldchanging's Alex Steffen, before launching into the day's events. Mayor Mike McGinn will deliver a lunchtime talk on the city's transportation future.

Space is limited, and first-come-first-served, so please RSVP early if you plan to attend.

RSVP by email also possible: moc.liamg|elttaeslartuen2OC#moc.liamg|elttaeslartuen2OC

by KateK

Sustainability and environmental health expert Annie Leonard created an Internet sensation with her video The Story of Stuff, a look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns that has drawn more than 7 million views. Leonard, a former coordinator of the Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption, says basic stuff is a necessity—but consumerism and overconsumption have hidden costs to our health, environment, and the lives of millions of people who live and work in dangerous, dehumanizing conditions to sustain a dysfunctional “take-make-waste” paradigm. Presented by the Town Hall Center for Civic Life with University Book Store. Series supported by The Boeing Company Charitable Trust and RealNetworks Foundation.

There are 60 tickets remaining for purchase at the door beginning at 6:30 p.m. Cash or Check only. Late seating is not guaranteed.

LEARN MORE:

The Story of Stuff
Read Time magazine’s profile of Leonard as one of its 2008 Heroes of the Environment

by KateK

Applications for the project are due March 31st. More information can be found on the Green Bike Project page.

by KateK

Have you seen the progress we are making on the Rustic Road site? You won't believe your eyes. A large area has been cleared of blackberry and replaced with native plants and we now have a work trail snaking down the hill.

For our next work party, this coming Saturday, March 20, we plan to continue this work and to do some other planting and clearing of invasives. Come out and inspect our latest project and lend a hand. We have tasks to suit all ages, interests and levels of ability. We meet under the blue canopy at the trail head at the hairpin turn where 68th Ave. S. becomes Holyoke Ave. Join us for coffee and goodies at 8:30. Work begins at 9:00 and continues until 1:00 PM. Bring a friend. Let's have fun and enjoy the beauty of springtime in the canyon. For further info., call Jude or Darrell at (206) 772-1452.

See you on Saturday.

Jude and Darrell

by KateK

Are you ready to take your passion for environmental action to the next level? We are looking for community leaders to help Seattle continue to lead in the field of sustainability — and we have a great opportunity for you!

We are currently recruiting for our next class of Carbon Coaches. This is a FREE training program where you will learn about reducing carbon emissions from transportation, waste generation, home energy use, and materials purchasing as well as how to teach those lessons to others. Download an application. Deadline to apply is Friday, March 12.

The course objectives are the following:

* Educate Carbon Coaches on the fundamentals of climate change science.
* Increase understanding of local impacts of climate change and potential actions related to energy-use, transportation, solid waste, green purchasing, and citizen action.
* Secure commitments to change behaviors related to mitigation or adaptation to climate change.
* Increase awareness of climate change and social justice and the value of public engagement.

Course Format
Class instruction will be delivered by the course trainers and by guest presenters. Class materials and resources will be provided electronically. A combination of lectures, group activities, in-class exercises, optional "homework" assignments, video clips, and reading assignments will reinforce concepts presented in class.

Expectations
Course Participation: Full participation in all six sessions and one Saturday field trip. In-class activities as well as homework are expected of all trainees.
Community Outreach: Carbon Coaches are expected to conduct outreach projects in their community and as well as work with individuals to conduct a carbon footprint analysis using the City of Seattle's Carbon Calculator.

For more information, contact vog.elttaes|nacelttaes#vog.elttaes|nacelttaes.

Thanks,
Seattle Climate Action Now

by KateK

Alleycat Acres, Seattle's newest urban farming collective, need your help to create their first farm. The team behind Alleycat Acres would like to invite 30 volunteers to Beacon Hill to come help dig, till and build on February 28.

Shifts are 9 am-12 pm and 1-4 pm.

Space is limited! To attend, send an email with your phone number and preferred time slot to: moc.sercatacyella|ofni#moc.sercatacyella|ofni

by KateK

* Saturday February 6, 10 – 1 pm
* Saturday February 20, 10 – 1 pm
* Saturday March 13, 10 – 1 pm
* Saturday March 27, 10 – 1 pm

During six work parties this past fall over 25 community volunteers worked alongside 10-15 youth participants of King County Superior Court’s job training program to remove invasive weeds, install erosion control jute netting, and mulch with woodchips on the slope north of the famous Othello Park slide.

This project is a partnership of the Othello Park Alliance, City of Seattle Parks and Recreation, King County Superior Court, and King County Department of Natural Resources. The project will take place during the period of October 2009 – April 2011.

The Othello Park Alliance works to assure that Othello Park’s beauty and open space is retained, enhanced, and integrated into a vibrant, multicultural, pedestrian-friendly Othello town center and residential community by coordinating community events and making capital improvements in the Park.

To RSVP for work parties or find out more about helping Othello Park Alliance with our work, please contact Katie Pencke at moc.oohay|ekcnep#moc.oohay|ekcnep.

by KateK

Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion
305 Harrison Street, Seattle

Attend the free premiere of "Mission: Sustainable" — a green makeover TV show based in Seattle. Watch the pilot, mix and mingle with cast and crew, enjoy live music and visit the booths of local, sustainable companies at the green carpet event of the season. Visit mission-sustainable.com for more info and to RSVP. PCC is a supporter of Mission: Sustainable.

by KateK