Japanese Garden North Wall & Pavilion and the Woodland Meadow Project
Seattle Parks and Recreation, UW Botanic Gardens, and the Arboretum Foundation are partnering to shepherd forward two Master Plan projects, the Japanese Garden North Wall and Pavilion and the Woodland Meadow project, at the Washington Park Arboretum.
The community is encouraged to attend a meeting this Thursday, November 16 for the Japanese Garden North Wall and Pavilion project and a meeting on Thursday, December 7 for the Woodland Meadow Project. Both meetings will take place between 4 and 6 p.m. at the Graham Visitors Center in the Arboretum (2300 Arboretum Drive East, Seattle, WA 98112). Members of the public can meet the design teams and provide input on the projects.
“These projects represent not only important improvements for accessibility and visitor amenities, but also expand the range of educational and cultural programs that can be offered in the future,” said Jane Stonecipher, Executive Director of the Arboretum Foundation. “Community involvement is a key part of our process, and all the Arboretum partners look forward to sharing the early thinking on these projects.”
Japanese Garden North Wall and Pavilion project will provide essential infrastructure and accessibility improvements to the north end of the Seattle Japanese Garden, as well as the addition of elements that were included in the original 1959 plan but never completed. These include a pavilion structure that enables all-weather cultural programming and educational space, terraces, restrooms and additional accessible viewing of the Garden. The project is in the initial planning stage and is partially funded. The Arboretum partners are seeking additional funding for this project.
Woodland Meadow Project reimagines the current Crabapple Meadow, the site of the former field nursery for the Arboretum. While the large lawn is used in the driest part of the summer months, poor drainage makes it unusable the rest of the year. The new Woodland Meadow will serve as a year-round gathering and celebration space within the Washington Park Arboretum. The Arboretum team has high aspirations for augmenting programming in this space that is inclusive for the whole community. The new Woodland Meadow will be designed to accommodate more active uses, with gardens and hardscape that allows for a range of activities, such as educational programming, community events, fundraisers, weddings and receptions, and concerts. It will include one or more site features dedicated to honoring the contribution to the Arboretum’s volunteers. This project is in the design phase and partially funded. The partners are seeking additional funding for this project.
“These projects open the door to a range of new programs for the community while allowing us to steward the wonderful garden spaces we all love,” said Dr. Christina Owen, Director of University of Washington Botanic Gardens. “Our goal is to make our spaces welcoming and accessible for all our community members and these projects will help us take a strong step forward in that.”
“Our partnership with the Arboretum Foundation and UW are seminal pieces to supporting our thriving environment and resplendent Washington Arboretum Park,” said AP Diaz, Superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation.
For additional information please visit https://arboretumfoundation.org/our-work/revitalizing-the-arboretum/ or contact Jonathan Pagan at jonathan.pagan@seattle.gov.
