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Note: This is the third in a series of Monday posts about the Restoration Management Plan for North Beach Park. To read the others in the series, please click the “Restoration Management Plan” link in the tags at the bottom of the post.

Stakeholders are users of North Beach Park, homeowners who live on the rim of the park, and any individual or organization concerned with its restoration. Some, such as dog walkers or joggers, might not consider themselves stakeholders, but they still benefit from the restoration. Others, such as the forest stewards, take an active hand in the restoration.

Supporting Organizations

A number of supporting organizations help Friends of North Beach Park (“FoNBP”) in its restoration efforts. These descriptions focus on what the organizations do for North Beach Park and do not attempt to describe the entire organization. For more information, visit their websites, listed in the references section. After FoNBP, the listing is alphabetical.

Friends of North Beach Park

FoNBP sponsors and coordinates the monthly 4th Saturday work parties, and does the Monday morning forest steward work parties. FoNBP is responsible for the long-term planning of the restoration of North Beach Park. The actions of FoNBP are detailed in “Restoration History” in “Park and Restoration History.”

EarthCorps

EarthCorps mapped North Beach Park in 2011 and provided GPS assistance with the wetland delineation. It sponsored seven work parties in NBP in 2013. It also coordinates the city-wide forest monitoring program.

Fellow Stewardship Groups

Three nearby stewardship groups have also helped Friends of North Beach Park. They are Carkeek Park STARS (Streams, Trails, and Restoration Stewards), Golden Gardents GGREAT (Golden Gardens Restoration and Trails), and Friends of Llandover Woods. They have assisted in providing tools, volunteers, expert assistance and mentoring, and plant storage. (There are no websites for these groups.)

Green Seattle Partnership

Green Seattle Partnership provides training, resources, materials, logistical support, best management practices, plants, and coordination with the Parks Department. It was formed in 2005 with a 20 year plan to have 2,500 acres in Seattle’s forested parks and nature areas in restoration.

Groundswell NW

Groundswell NW provides financial and logistical support to park and greenspace community efforts in Ballard and other NW neighborhoods. The first grant assistance FoNBP received, a “microgrant” of $500 in 2012, was from Groundswell NW. Groundswell NW also awarded Luke McGuff one of two “Local Hero” awards for 2014. FoNBP assisted Groundswell NW with its open space inventory in the summer of 2014.

Seattle Parks Foundation

Seattle Parks Foundation provides financial support, grantwriting assistance, and 501(c)3 fiscal sponsorship for FoNBP and numerous other “Friends of” groups. It also coordinates such programs as the South Park Green Vision and was a major player in bringing the Metropolitan Parks District to a vote.

Washington Native Plant Society

The WNPS – Puget Sound Chapter has provided assistance with Plant ID and volunteers. It also awarded FoNBP its second grant, $500 for stewardship of the wetlands.

Other Stakeholders

The remaining stakeholders take a more passive role in the restoration of North Beach Park, but still have a valid concern for the restoration’s success.

Neighbors of the Park

Neighbors of the park are the homeowners who live along the rim of the ravine. There are two small gated communities: Olympic Terrace on 24th Ave. and Fletcher’s Village on 28th Ave. As far as we know, only one person who lives on the park has come to a work party, although some are on the email list. We have done physical mailings to all the neighbors of the park twice, and a special mailing to the people who lived near the South Plateau once. The Olympic Terrace parcel boundaries extend into the park.

In many cases, the boundary lines between the neighbors and the park are obscure. Sometimes that is due to the parcel line being on a very steep part of a slope. In one or two cases, it’s because the homeowner has deliberately obscured it. There is one fence in the Fletcher’s Slope HMU.

One neighbor drains their roof run off into the stream. Another has a large patch of Lamium galeobdolon (Yellow archangel) growing from their property into the park.

Contact with neighbors has been limited. One was upset with some clearing done on the slope underneath his house but has since been mollified with the subsequent work. We’ve talked to two who are concerned that we will “open up” the park.

Efforts to contact and work with the homeowners around the park continue. Lack of neighbor participation has felt frustrating at times, but contact, at least, is improving.

Users of the Park

North Beach Park is underutilized. A better trail system would increase users, but the sides of the ravine are too steep to support trails, and the soil structure is too friable when dry. Although we’ve seen all the groups below in the park at one time or another, we never see more than a two or three people an hour, and sometimes nobody else.
There is no evidence of anyone currently living in the park.

North Beach Elementary

Students from North Beach Elementary, located across the street, occasionally visit the park when school is in session. In the fall of 2012, we tried to arrange regular visits with the first and second grade classrooms, but scheduling became too difficult. A fourth grade teacher would take her students through every month, but she was transferred to kindergarten. Starting in the fall of 2014, North Beach Elementary will be temporarily relocated to a school in Wallingford while it is rebuilt.

Dog Walkers and Joggers

These are the users we see most often in the park. Of these two, dog walkers are more common than joggers. And, luckily enough, the majority of dogs are leashed.

Adolescents

Evidence of adolescent use of the park is more circumstantial than concrete. There is graffiti on the trees and sometimes marijuana paraphernalia. The fresh litter looks like it was from adolescents — candy bar wrappers and juice bottles.

Next week: Volunteer network.

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.

We hope you and yours are keeping cool and surviving the heat as well as possible.

Saturday, July 26th, 9 a.m.: The predictions were for a hot, dry El Nino summer and so far that’s exactly what we’re getting. We’re going to focus on watering and aftercare for the upland plants again this month. That means, as for June, we’ll be (carefully) getting buckets of water from the stream and watering plants along the rim and main trail. A great way to get some exercise in! (Unless it’s raining, then we’ll do something else.) Please sign up on Cedar so we can make our plans.

We meet, rain or shine, at the main entrance to the park, 24th Ave and 90th St. NW. Wear weather-appropriate layers that can get dirty and sturdy shoes or mud boots. Long sleeves and long pants are recommended, even in the hot weather. We provide tools, gloves, and guidance. Bring water and a snack as you need them but there are no facilities at the park. All ages and skill levels are welcome, but children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Parking is on 90th St., east of 24th Ave. The #61 bus stops across the street from the park, and the #40 and #48 stop at 85th and 24th; check Metro for details.

Save the date for upcoming workparties: August 23rd, September 27th (we’ll be joined by students from Seattle Pacific University CityQuest), and October 25th – hopefully it will be cooling off by then! All workparties are 9 a.m. to 12 noon and meet at the main entrance to the park (90th and 24th).

The Groundswell NW Open Space Inventory has been extended to the end of August. We’ve added a few places around North Beach Park, but we know there are plenty of others. Find out more at Ballard Open Space Plan. Or take the open space survey.

Can’t join us for a work party? You can always support our restoration efforts by making a tax-deductible donation to the Seattle Parks Foundation. All moneys donated will be used for the restoration of North Beach Park. Please visit their new and improved website at for more information. And check out their donor appreciation rewards!

Another great way to help — take a walk in the park! It’s a pretty refreshing break on these hot days.

See you in the woods!

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Groundswell NW, one of the supporting organizations for the Friends of North Beach Park, is undertaking an open space inventory in Ballard, starting June 14th.

Groundswell NW did a survey in 1996, and used the information to help create traffic circles, many neighborhood corner parks, and such places as the Salmon Bay Natural Area and Crown Hill Glen. Since the 1990s, the idea of “open space” has changed. It now includes areas for farmers markets, p-patches, greenways, and street right-of-way landscaping. The open spaces that Groundswell has helped to create have improved the nature and character of living in Ballard.

Ballard has changed in the mean time as well. Downtown (or Central) Ballard is going through an unprecedented growth spurt, with many apartment buildings, in-fill town homes, and condominiums transforming the landscape. A detailed inventory and survey of open space possibilities will allow us to not only preserve but enhance the open space available to all residents.

Friends of North Beach Park will be helping Groundswell with this survey. As you might guess, we’ll be walking through the North Beach [pdf] area. There are a number of other ravines near North Beach Park, which could be restored to functioning urban forest, and provide important wildlife connectivity between Carkeek Park and Golden Gardens. There are also some undeveloped lots that could be used to improve street grid connections, or just provide a place to sit.

And last but not least, we look forward to walking through the North Beach neighborhood and getting to know our neighbors a little better.

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.

Saturday, April 26th, 9 a.m.: Spring is in full glory in North Beach Park. All the leaves are fresh and bright green, more things are blooming every day. The birds are singing their hearts out and it’s just a joy to be there. Join us as we begin our 4th year (!) of restoration and clear new areas of invasive plants and work to restore this park to native diversity. Please sign up so we can make our plans.

We meet, rain or shine, at the main entrance to the park, 24th Ave and 90th St. NW. Wear weather-appropriate layers that can get dirty and sturdy shoes or mud boots. We provide tools, gloves, and guidance. Bring water and a snack as you need them but there are no facilities at the park. All ages and skill levels are welcome, but children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Parking is on 90th St., east of 24th Ave. The #61 bus stops across the street from the park, and the #40 and #48 stop at 85th and 24th; check Metro for details.

Save the date for upcoming workparties: June 28th, July 26th , and August 23rd. They’re also 9 a.m. to 12 noon, and meet at the main entrance to the park.

Can’t join us for a work party? Save the date for GIVE BIG SEATTLE (May 6) and GIVE BIG FOR NORTH BEACH PARK. Give Big Seattle is a special one day online citywide fundraising event coordinated by the Seattle Foundation. A certain percentage of all donations will be stretched by the Seattle Foundation. There will be more information coming soon via postcard and email. All moneys received will go to restoration efforts for North Beach Park. Donating is an important and appreciated show of community support.

News: We would like to thank Groundswell NW for awarding one of their 2014 “Local Hero” awards to Luke McGuff for his work in the role of the restoration efforts at North Beach Park. The award is both flattering and inspiring. Thank you!

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.

A friend recently asked me: How does anybody figure out how much greenspace would be good for a city?

Whenever I’m asked a question, I usually start prattling away, and convincingly sound just as if I know what I’m talking about. I’ll be honest here, though, this question stumped me. It’s not surprising, either, that this turned out to have a complicated answer.

The first thing I thought of was asking around, as it were. For instance, what is Groundswell NW‘s goal for its service area? It wants to create open, public space in every arterial quadrant. That means a green space of some kind will be available to anyone with just a short walk, and without crossing a major street. This plan takes into account topography, bus lines, and so on. “Quadrant” in this case is a square or rectangle formed by four major streets. The quadrant Julie and I live in is four blocks east to west, but 10 blocks north-south. Groundswell is starting an open space survey this year which will count and look for opportunities for more greenspace, including curbside raingardens, greenways (streets modified to encourage bicycle and pedestrian traffic), intermittent use of roadways (Farmers Markets, festivals), and p-patches (public gardens).

The city, working at a different scale, considers its “open, usable space” (OUS) without regard to arterial roads or topography. The city first looks at “breathing room or total open space.” That’s parks, greenspaces, trails, playfields, community centers, and boulevards. Over the entire city, the desirable goal is 1 acre per 100 residents. The acceptable goal is 1/3 acre per 100 residents. This is split up into different types of neighborhoods. For a residential neighborhood, the desirable goal is 1/2 acre within 1/2 mile of all residents; the acceptable goal is 1/2 acre within 1 mile (there are offsets for school playgrounds, among other things). In an urban village, an area zoned for greater density (we live in the Ballard HUV, “hub urban village”), the requirements are slightly more complex: One acre of open space per 1,000 households, and 1/4 acre within 1/8 of all locations in urban village. In the downtown urban core, 1/4 acre of open space per 10,000 jobs. Sheesh. The answer quickly gets pretty arcane and wonky.

Another important consideration is canopy coverage. In fact, as we better understand the value of the urban forest, percent canopy coverage (which includes trees on public and private land) is increasingly important. Seattle’s canopy was measured a couple years ago at 23%. This is done by using software to analyze aerial photographs.

Seattle reLeaf has a goal of 30% canopy cover. Why 30%? It’s a realistic stretch goal, considering our urban density. It also brings us on par with Portland and Vancouver BC, to which we’re always comparing ourselves. Increasing open space will help the city get to 30% tree canopy, but most of this increase is going to come from adding trees to front and back yards and parking strips. That’s why “Trees for Neighborhoods” gives away 1,000 trees a year. There are six or seven different kinds of trees, a few of which are suitable for planting under power lines. Most are deciduous, and usually only one or two are native to the PNW. Native trees, particularly the conifers, are too large for most urban spaces.

Seattle has had a few bold plans for urban greenspace. The Olmsted Brothers firm had a great proposal, but it didn’t get very far, despite their having designed the Alaska-Yukon Exhibition and the University of Washington Campus. The Municipal Plans Commission had another one that was rejected by the voters in the early 20th century. Either one would have made Seattle a much greener city than it is now (but probably also correspondingly more expensive). In the 1990s, Paul Allen (Microsoft co-founder) had a big plan for a park in South Lake Union that was soundly rejected by voters as a billionaire’s park. Alas, I was one of the people who voted against it.

Currently, there is a committee working on a “Parks Legacy Plan” which would, among other things, create a metropolitan parks district with taxing authority. It’s probably the only way to get the funding the parks department needs (lots of deferred maintenance, which doesn’t even include the restoration work people like me do).

This answer only touches the surface of how to figure out what is enough greenspace in a city. I’d hoped to look at it in more detail, but even this little glance is a little intimidating.

Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank Jana Dilley (Seattle Trees for Neighborhoods) and David Folweiler (Groundswell NW) for information they provided for this post. Any errors are mine, of course.

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Saturday, April 27th, 9 a.m. to Noon
(details below)

April has been a busy month so far for North Beach Park!

April 7th was the Groundswell NW Annual Meeting. There were two inspirational presentations, by Dawn Hemminger (about the 14th Ave. NW park) and Milenko Matanovic from the Pomegranate Center (http://www.pomegranatecenter.org). Very nice!

On April 13th, we hosted the first of four EarthCorps-sponsored work parties. About 50 volunteers moved several cubic yards of mulch into the park, and then up onto a previously-cleared slope. There was also a great deal of ivy and invasive removal at the bottom of the slope in the Headwaters Bowl. By the time I had a chance to send an announcement email, the event was full! But we’ll have a few more in the upcoming months.

Last but not least, April 17th will see publication of an article about North Beach Park in the Ballard News Tribune. Keep an eye out for it, online and in print!

As we begin our third year of restoration, we’re really beginning to see results. We’ve planted nearly 700 plants, ranging from Douglas-fir to woodland flowers. Lots of trash has come out of the park. We’ve removed lots of ivy and blackberry, and as the ground is uncovered from the ivy, we’re finding out that there are lots of beautiful native plants underneath.

There’s still lots of work to be done, we’re just getting started.

So, join us Saturday, April 27th! Here are the details about the work party:

Meet at the main entrance to the park, 90th St. and 24th Ave. NW.
Wear weather-appropriate layers that can get dirty and MUD BOOTS.
Parking available on 90th st. east of 24th.
We’ll provide tools, gloves, and guidance. Bring water and snacks as you need them.
All ages welcome, children must be kept under supervision of guardian or responsible adult.
This work qualifies for community service credit.
Register online at http://cedar.greencitypartnerships.org/event/gsp/1787/

If you need more information, contact Luke McGuff at lukemcguff@yahoo.com

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.

Groundswell NW invites community leaders and anyone interested in learning how to inspire grassroots change in their community to our 2013 Annual Meeting on Sunday, April 7 from 6 – 8 pm at the Sunset Hill Community Club. Featured speakers include Pomegranate Center founder, Milenko Matanovic, and Dawn Hemminger, East Ballard Community Association leader. All are welcome to attend this free event to learn about community building and how to combine a creative approach with effective grassroots community planning, expansive public participation, hands-on action, and leadership development. This is a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and learn about how to inspire change and succeed in making improvements in your neighborhood.

WHAT: Creating Change in Your Community: Groundswell NW’s Annual Meeting
WHEN: Sunday, April 7, 2013, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Sunset Hill Community Club, 3003 NW 66th St, Ballard

Groundswell NW will also present its annual “Local Heroes” awards, which recognize fellow Ballardites’ efforts to create and enhance parks, public spaces, and habitat in our community. This is a free public event. Desserts and refreshments will be available; donations of desserts for the potluck are welcome!

NB: This is from Groundswell’s press release. North Beach Park will have a table there, come up and say hi!

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The work party at North Beach Park on the 24th was directed to planting. We had 148 plants to get into the ground, in three different locations, and in a number of microenvironments, from perennial wetland (wet all the time) to upland slopes.

25 Slough Sedge plugs ready to go into the wetlands.

Each year, Green Seattle Partnership gives every park under its auspices 200 plants. This year, we concentrated the order on wetland plants and upland shrubs. There are a lot of seeps in the park, and although the water moves slowly most of the year, it doesn’t stop. This year, which went from record drought to record rainfall, change is noticeable on a weekly basis. Over the years, the seeps have carried away quite a bit of the park.

We had 12 participants at the work party, which turned out to be just enough for the work we had. I had been worried that we wouldn’t get all the plants in the ground, but in fact, we were able to wrap up and have all the tools wiped down and back in the Jobox by noon. Getting the work done was vastly aided by a couple prep sessions with Drexie, tagging the plants at the Carkeek nursery, and then transporting them to the park and putting them in place to begin work.

We also had a few brand-new tools, courtesy of a microgrant from Groundswell NW. Here are some of them, artfully displayed on a pile of mulch:

A couple of the co-stewards mentioned that they felt like this was the first “real” planting. We know the park better than last year, we knew where diversity was needed, and we knew how to plant them. The plants are healthy and they’re going in at the perfect time of year for native plants. Their roots will establish over the winter, and when they leaf out in the spring, they’ll be much better prepared to survive the dry spell. (Many of the plants we planted last year survived the drought, but it’s still unclear whether they had enough energy to make good buds for next spring. We’ll find out.)

It was a great experience of everyone working together, the weather cooperating, plans changing in good ways, and nobody getting hurt (always a plus!)

Here are a few of us late in the work party, getting mulch into a bucket. You can see I’m not shy about getting dirty. Left to right, foreground: Clint, Luke, Alan, Morrie, Julie. Left to right, background: Selena, Drexie, Sam, Genie. Photo by Tad Anderson.

Here’s a group shot:

Left to right: Selena, Drexie, Luke, Julie, Morrie, Sam, Tad, Clint, Alan, Genie. Not pictured: Loren and David. All the pink flagging tape in the lower left corner is attached to just-planted plants. Photo by Keelan Currin.

This is the same group of folks, but the wider angle gives a good sense of the park:

Photo by Keelan Currin.

Thank you to everyone who participated and helped! It was great fun and very successful.

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.

Friends of North Beach Park, which has been conducting restoration activities in North Beach Park and Nature, was the first recipient of Groundswell NW’s new “microgrant” program. Thanks to an anonymous donor, this program awards up to $500 to support community members who are starting projects that support Groundswell NW’s mission. Projects are preferred to be in NW Seattle, be a new project, and have an inclusive group and invite the public to participate. The project should involve the creation and/or maintenance of public parks, habitat, or green space or involve education about a topic or project related to Groundswell’s mission.

David Folweiler, a member of the Groundswell NW board, says: “Friends of North Beach Park is a passionate group of volunteers who maintain a much needed green space adjacent to North Beach Elementary School. Their work involves removing invasive species and restoring native plantings. They also work with students to enrich their environmental education. The work of the Friends of North Beach Park furthers the mission of Groundswell NW – the creation and maintenance of public parks, habitat, and green space. We are honored that our first microgrant award goes to such a dedicated group.”

Friends of North Beach Park includes neighbors from Crown Hill, Olympic Manor, North Beach, and Ballard. Since April, 2011, there have been 17 work parties in the main body of the park, including visits from five school groups. The work parties are held on the 4th Saturday of the month, from 9 a.m. to noon. The October and November work parties will feature native planting in numerous sites throughout the park.

Luke McGuff, a forest steward with Friends of North Beach Park, says “this is our first grant, and we’re pleased that it came from a neighborhood organization that so closely shares our values. We look forward to working with Groundswell NW in the future.” The money received will be used to produce a newsletter for neighbors of the park and to purchase tools.

The work of Friends of North Beach Park is also supported by the Green Seattle Partnership and the Seattle Parks Department.

For further information about Groundswell NW, please visit their website.

For further information about Friends of North Beach Park, or to volunteer for a work party, please contact Luke McGuff at lukemcguff@yahoo.com.

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.