Clean and Green, Local Events, Volunteering and Giving

First trees in the ground at the Beacon Food Forest

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Photo by K. Shuyler from the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.

Last weekend, Beacon Food Forest supporters came out in force for the project’s “Ground Making Day.” Project organizer Glenn Herlihy sent out this letter to neighbors and supporters:

The Beacon Food Forest’s Ground Making day was an absolute blast. We’d like to thank the 100 plus community volunteers who came out and converted 3750 square feet of grass into the first Beacon Food Forest planting bed. It was an impressive sight to see so many people farming, smiling, eating and learning together.

We planted the first plum trees and a few shrubs that arrived on bicycle trailers powered by the good people of Beacon Bikes, we shared a delicious meal supplied by Tom Douglas, Essential Bakery, Central Coop and La Panzanella, and made a lot of friends. Thank you nutrient donors! Thanks also to City Fruit and ACTrees, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, Seattle P-Patch, Seattle Parks and Recreation and SPU for being apart of a successful collaboration.

Thank you Food Foresters for making the time to become responsible stewards of your public land. Nice work people!

Continue reading First trees in the ground at the Beacon Food Forest →

Arts, Local Events

The Onlies and Elena DeLisle-Perry to perform 10/7

This Sunday, October 7, The Onlies will perform at Beacon Hill’s Garden House as part of ROCKiT Community Arts’ Folk Club music series. The Onlies (Samantha Braman, Leo Shannon and Riley Calcagno) are students at Garfield High School who perform Irish, Cape Breton, Old-Time, Scottish, and Quebecois fiddle music. On their website, they promise a good time for all:

“Oh, we’ll play some of that old traditional stuff, to keep the geezers happy. (Full disclosure: We’re probably the youngest geezers we know, and dang proud of it.) But we’ll probably debut a few of our shock-of-the-new tunes, so make sure to bring a solid pair of shoes.”

Elena DeLisle-Perry will open the show.

The Garden House is located at 2336 15th Ave. S. Admission is $7 general with kids under 12 getting in free. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the music starts at 7 p.m. Early arrivals will be able to order dinner from several local restaurants to enjoy at the show.

For more information about this and future ROCKiT shows, see the website.

Lost and Found

Have you seen Salvador?

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Neighbor Alice writes in about another lost pet:

We just moved to the neighborhood a week ago, and it seems that Salvador’s explorations must have gotten him lost. He’s a large, gray, very friendly male (neutered) cat, with a notched ear. He’s usually very social and outgoing, but my guess (my hope!) is that right now he’s cowering in someone’s garage, unsure how to get home … Let us know if you’ve seen him or know anything. He’s not micro-chipped. Thanks! Alice & Rob, 206-753-8667

BH in the News, Neighborhood Pride, Urban Planning

Beacon Hill named one of 10 Great Neighborhoods

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The APA praised Beacon Hill’s connectivity to light rail via the Beacon Hill, Mount Baker, Columbia City, and Othello stations. Photo by Wendi Dunlap.

Guess what, neighbors? You live in a Great Place. The American Planning Association (APA), an organization of “planners, citizens and elected officials — committed to making great communities happen,” named Beacon Hill one of 10 Great Neighborhoods for 2012. This puts Beacon Hill in the company of neighborhoods including the Garden District in Baton Rouge, LA; Fells Point, Baltimore, MD; Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, PA; Cooper-Young, Memphis, TN; Downtown Walla Walla, WA; and others. The Great Neighborhoods are part of 30 Great Places in America listed by the APA, that also include 10 Great Streets and 10 Great Public Spaces.

The characteristics of a Great Neighborhood, according to the APA, include:

  • Has a variety of functional attributes that contribute to a resident’s day-to-day living (i.e. residential, commercial, or mixed-uses).
  • Accommodates multi-modal transportation (i.e. pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers).
  • Has design and architectural features that are visually interesting.
  • Encourages human contact and social activities.
  • Promotes community involvement and maintains a secure environment.
  • Promotes sustainability and responds to climatic demands.
  • Has a memorable character.

The APA cited the Hill’s “dynamic and engaged community,” diversity, and light rail connectivity, while also mentioning our “commanding views and scenic vistas,” and landmarks including “the largest Olmsted-planned and designed green space in Seattle — Jefferson Park.”

Great Places are eligible for bronze plaques to mark the achievement, but it’s unknown at this stage whether Beacon Hill will have a plaque installed.

Clean and Green

Help trees find good homes

A fernleaf beech in autumn. Photo by Sten via Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons.

Seattle reLeaf sent us this this announcement:

Good news Seattle neighbors! Seattle reLeaf still has free trees for residential yards available through the Trees for Neighborhoods program. Residents are eligible for up to four free trees but trees are going fast and some species have waiting lists. The deadline for street trees has passed, but you can still apply for trees to plant in your yard. Here are two of the beautiful trees that still need good homes:

Fernleaf Beech – This naturally graceful and majestic tree brings year round interest to the northwest garden. Originating from France, this deciduous tree has glossy green fern-shaped leaves and strong muscular branches. In the fall the leaves turn an enchanting golden color, lighting up the neighborhood!

Western Red Cedar – The flagship tree of the northwest forest! The western red cedar has graceful sweeping branches and stunning reddish brown bark. Lewis and Clark thought that western red cedars were amazing enough to be called the “trees of life” – arbor vitae. Plant one in your backyard and bring new life to your neighborhood!

The deadline to apply for one of these handsome trees is October 21st, so apply now. Applications are here.

Local Events

Chobo-Ji invites neighbors to visit, learn, celebrate

Members of the Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Temple, or Chobo-Ji, would like to invite Beacon Hill friends and neighbors to classes and an open house celebration this month to see their grounds, learn about Zen Buddhism, and celebrate the group’s one-year anniversary in their space on South Horton Street.

The classes in the Introduction to Zen series will run each of the next three Tuesdays from 7:30-8:30, followed by a Sunday retreat. Here is the schedule of the remaining classes (the first class was this week):

  • Tuesday, October 9: Meditation in Action: chanting, bowing, walking, working
  • Tuesday, October 16: Zen Meals: preparing and eating food mindfully
  • Tuesday, October 23: Roots of Rinzai Zen: koans and the Zen Master with Rev. Genjo Marinello Osho
  • Sunday, October 28: 5:00-11:30 a.m. Half-day Zen retreat, or sesshin

Neighbors are welcome to attend all or part of the series. There is a suggested donation of $20 for the Tuesday night series, and $40 including the half-day retreat. If you have questions, contact Muken Rick Proctor at 206-817-4410.

On Sunday, October 14, the group will host a One-Year Anniversary Celebration and Open House from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Here’s the invitation from Chobo-Ji:

Beacon Hill friends and neighbors are invited to come celebrate one full year at Chobo-Ji’s new Zen Temple and Residential Zen Practice Center. We will chant the Heart Sutra and Four Great Vows at 10:30 and will serve refreshments and have an open-house afterward.

The temple is located at 1733 S. Horton St. in North Beacon Hill, about three blocks north of Spokane Street and one block west of Beacon Avenue.

The temple courtyard. Photo courtesy of Chobo-Ji.
Lost and Found

Cops got your goat? Maybe.

Photo courtesy of Seattle Animal Shelter.

Jonah Spangenthal-Lee at the SPD Blotter reports that a South Precinct police officer found a lost animal while patrolling in Rainier View (not Beacon Hill) Sunday morning. But this wasn’t the usual lost cat or dog — it was either a goat, or a big-horned sheep. (According to the Seattle Times, there is some uncertainty about the animal’s species at this point.) A full-sized male animal of about 60 pounds, the beast was just wandering down the street near Beacon Avenue South and South Leo Street.

Police have turned the beast over to the Seattle Animal Shelter. If you know where he came from, you may want to call the Shelter to let them know: 206-386-7387.

(Editor’s note: The SPD Blotter reported this story as being on Beacon Hill. An earlier version of the story here at the BHB said it was Beacon Hill as well, but apparently South Leo Street crosses Beacon Avenue in that far southeast part of Beacon Avenue that is not actually on Beacon Hill. The story’s not actually on the Hill, but… how often do we get to run stories about roaming ruminants?)

Meetings

PacMed rep added to tomorrow’s NBHC meeting agenda

What is the future of this iconic building? Photo by Wendi Dunlap.
An addition has been made to the agenda for Tuesday night’s North Beacon Hill Council meeting. Rosemary Aragon, Executive Director of the Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority (PDA), will be on hand to discuss the recent termination of Wright Runstad’s lease on the historic PacMed Center building, and talk about the PDA’s history and mission: to remove gaps in healthcare access.

As the Seattle Times reported recently, Wright Runstad lost their 99-year lease 85 years early after they missed a $380,000 quarterly lease payment in June, and then were unable to meet a deadline last week to pay the back rent.

The council meeting will start at 7 p.m. at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Ave. S.

The rest of the agenda for the meeting is in our earlier post.

Local Events

Rainier Valley Co-op Preschool celebrates Fall Festival 10/13

A table of baked goods for sale at the RVCP Fall Festival in 2009. Photo by Jason Simpson.

It’s fall festival season! The Rainier Valley Cooperative Preschool‘s annual Fall Festival is Saturday, October 13 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Roberto Maestas Festival Street in north Beacon Hill.

The festival will have lots of activities, including bike hay rides, a bike parade, face painting, costume dress-up, a photo booth, cider pressing, pumpkin decorating, and more. All ages are welcome.

There will also be food for sale including baked goods and grilled food for both carnivores and vegetarians.

Proceeds from the festival will benefit the preschool.