Category Archives: Volunteers

Crown Hill Natural Area gets TLC

It was a wonderful convergence of a beautiful day and a hearty group of volunteers at the Crown Hill Natural Area on December 4.  Fourteen members of the UW National Honor Society came out to refurbish the ADA walkway, clear the trails of debris, cutwork party volunteers from UW back overgrown shrubs, and pick up litter in the natural area at the end of 19th Avenue NW at NW 89th Street.  Joyce Ford and Nancy Gruber have been the stalwart neighbors leading periodic work parties to take care of this little haven for birds, wildlife, and people enjoying a moment with nature.

Joyce Ford
Joyce Ford, one of the primary leaders in caring for this area.

The Crown Hill Natural Area was acquired by Seattle Parks in 1998. For a bit of history of this former Victory Garden, read this article from the Ballard News-Tribune of March 18, 1998.

The Big Dig: Asphalt Missing from Small Faces Playground

Missing Pavement
Missing Pavement: Scene of the Crime

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

It has been recently reported that asphalt pavement has been removed from the playground area at Small Faces (on the east side of the building). Some neighbors reported the perpetrators were operating “a trencher or maybe a backhoe and a dump truck.”

Seizing the moment, retired Small Faces director, Lynn Wirta indicated the now missing pavement fits perfectly with the Crown Hill Center’s plans to renovate the playground. Wirta indicates volunteers are needed to help filling in the hole and proceeding with the playground 2.0 renovation plans. If you are available on Saturday, July 10, please contact Small Faces (206) 782-2611 or johnny@smallfaces.org. Food, tools and  child care provided.  No experience necessary!

The pavement removal and hole creation were accomplished with generously donated labor. 😉

Summer Tree Fruit Tree Pruning Class

CityFruit Logo

“City Fruit works neighborhood by neighborhood to help residential tree owners grow healthy fruit, to harvest and use what they can, and to share what they don’t need. City Fruit collaborates with others involved in local food production, climate protection, horticulture, food security and community-building to protect and optimize urban fruit trees.” They have developed a mapping application to show the location of fruit trees within Seattle. If you would like to add your fruit trees to the map, or become a member of City Fruit, or volunteer to help, please visit their web site at http://cityfruit.org

City Fruit will be hosting two Summer Fruit Tree pruning classes in Seattle this summer. These are hands on classes taught by some of the most experienced teachers in the area. To register: click on the link of the class you want to attend (These link to the class registration at  Brown Paper Tickets). You can also send a check, with the name of the class and your contact information to City Fruit, PO Box 28577, Seattle 98118.   Cost is $15 for City Fruit members, $20 for non-members.  After registering, you will receive confirmation and the address of the class.   If you can’t afford a class but really want to learn, email us at info@cityfruit.org.

July 17  Summer Pruning, North Seattle. 10:30  am – noon.  Summer pruning discourages excessive new growth and “can be used to slow down overly vigorous trees or trees that are too large” (P. Vossen).   It is most effective between June and late September.  Learn the proper techniques at this workshop located in a heritage urban orchard.    Ingela Wanerstrand is the owner of Green Darner Garden Design, specializing in edible garden design and coaching.  She has been pruning fruit trees professionally for 14 years and leads the urban agriculture guild of Sustainable Ballard.

Comments on Ingela’s last class: “I wish I had taken this class 10 years ago.  It was the best two hours I’ve spent learning about pruning ever.”

Continue reading Summer Tree Fruit Tree Pruning Class

Cityfruit Program for Crown Hill

Cityfruit Logo

Crown Hill Fruit Harvest

City Fruit works neighborhood by neighborhood to help residential tree owners grow healthy fruit, harvest and use what they can, and share what they don’t use with others.   www.cityfruit.org

Donate fruit . . . If  you have more healthy fruit than you need and would like to donate some of  your harvest, contact Jen Mullen, Harvest Coordinator, at crownhill@cityfruit.org or (206) 352-9580.

Help harvest fruit . . . If  you would like to help pick fruit and deliver it to food banks and community centers, contact City Fruit at crownhill@cityfruit.org.
Need fruit . . . If  you or your organization need fruit and can’t afford to buy it at the market, contact City Fruit.

Support us .. . Join us in building community and strengthening our local food system by becoming a member of  City Fruit.  See www.cityfruit.org/membership/htm.

This project is funded in part by a Neighborhood Matching Fund award from the City of Seattle, Department of Neighborhoods.

Crown Hill Center Playground Update

We’ve just received this from Lynn Wirta about the Crown Hill Center Playground version 2.0. You can view the plans presented at the April 28th meeting here. This is a great opportunity to meet neighbors and community members interested in helping out with this community resource.

The Committee is looking for large landscape rocks-2 yard size to expand the existing rockery on the playground.  If you have any or know of someone who is getting rid of large rocks, please let Johnny know at johnny@smallfaces.org.  We are also looking for large driftwood to create a beach environment in the sand area.

Tentative date for the playscape install is the weekend of July 10 and 11.  We’ll need at least 25 volunteers that weekend so please mark your calendar for helping out.  The $17,000 grant we received from the City is a matching system.  All volunteer hours will contribute to making the $17K match. Lunch and childcare will be provided.

The new space is getting closer and closer to reality!  We are delighted to have Tom Grover, President of Kompan Play Equipment living in our neighborhood.  He plans to attend our next meeting on June 10th to lend his expertize along with his local consultant and child development specialist.