Parkways Seattle Parks and Recreation

Seattle Parks and Recreation and Volunteer Park Trust invite the community to view the final design for the future Volunteer Park Amphitheater on Sunday, September 22, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the Fall Restoration Day event in Volunteer Park. Please join us at the Open House tent on the west edge of the park at E. Highland Drive. Come meet the design team, view the design and learn about the next steps for the project. Volunteer Park is located at 1245 15^th Ave. E.  

The amphitheater replacement design is based on outreach with the community, and input form the Friends of Seattle Olmsted Parks and the Landmarks Preservation Board. The new amphitheater will be fully accessible, have overhead weather protection for the performers and include public restrooms.

The Seattle Park District Major Projects Challenge Fund provided $900,000 in funding to move the community-initiated Volunteer Park Amphitheater Replacement project forward through the final design phase and construction. Volunteer Park Trust will match the Seattle Park District Major Projects Challenge Fund award. They are currently fundraising and have been awarded grants for the project from King County’s Culture and the Washington State Department of Commerce. To learn more about the project or to donate, visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/volunteer-park-amphitheater-replacement.

For additional questions please contact David Graves, Strategic Advisor, at 206-684-7048 or David.Graves@seattle.gov.

To learn more about the Fall Restoration Day in Volunteer Park visit  https://volunteerparktrust.org/event/fall-restoration-day-2019/.

Help us create a healthier, happier, and greener Seattle by coming out to our biggest planting event of the year – Green Seattle Day! On November 2nd we will be planting the city’s future forest at 17 neighborhood parks. From creating wildlife habitat, to combating climate change, and providing a place for residents to recreate, having a hand in Green Seattle Day is one of the best ways to give back to your neighbors, parks, and your local forest.

All community members are welcome, and no experience is necessary! The event is family friendly and open to all ages. Hundreds of volunteers will plant native trees, shrubs, and groundcovers that will become the future forest of Seattle. We will provide all of the necessary tools and training for the day, along with light refreshments.

We hope that you will lend a hand in the neighborhoods you live in, and volunteer at the park closest to you. Spots do fill up quickly, so please sign up in advance to help us plan a great event. Information and registration links can be found at: https://www.greenseattle.org/get-involved/green-seattle-day/ 

Questions? Please contact the Green Seattle Partnership by email at info@greenseattle.org, and by phone at (206) 905-6924.

The Discovery Park Advisory Council is looking for new members to join their team.  The council meets once a month with Seattle Parks and Recreation staff to offer community perspective, advice and consultation on environmental education programs, visitor services and interpretation within Discovery Park.

Meetings are held at the Discovery Park Visitor Center and are scheduled for the fourth Wednesday of every month, September – June.

If you are interested in joining the council or would like to learn more about this opportunity, please come to our next meeting on September 25, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Volunteers with a background in environmental education, grant writing and/or event planning are especially welcome, but there are no special skills necessary: just a love for the park and a desire to see it thrive and serve the needs of all Seattle’s citizens. 

Please Join us!

Seattle Parks and Recreation is working with Harkness Construction to make accessibility improvements to the Alki Beach bathhouse building, the 63^rd St. comfort station, and surrounding park paths and paved areas including a new ramp near the statue of liberty plaza. This work at Alki Beach Park addresses 30 U.S. Department of Justice Americans with Disabilities Act citations as well as other barriers to accessibility.

Harkness Construction will begin work the week of September 16, 2019 and construction will be complete in January 2020. Portions of the park, bathhouse and paths will be temporarily closed, however, the contractor will work to minimize the impacts to the park. During construction the restrooms will be closed temporarily and portable toilets will be provided for park visitors.

For questions about the project please contact Mike Schwindeller at 206-615-1165 or mike.schwindeller@seattle.gov or visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/find/parks/alki-beach-park.

The Garden Innovators Program is a Seattle Parks and Recreation youth internship program that focuses on analyzing the societal intersections of culture, food, history, health and wellness, and garden science. Participants also look at the complexities of systemic and environmental racism, and analyze how different elements play a role in healthy resources and food access. The program is based out of the South Park neighborhood, which was identified by Public Health King County-Seattle as a “food desert”.

This summer, Garden Innovators participants explored the impact of food culture on health, learned basic ecological concepts around botany, explored ways to promote a healthier environment in their communities, and gained an introduction to basic business building and marketing strategies.

In July, Garden Innovators interns visited Pike Place Market to see how fresh food is displayed and sold there, as well as for a taste! With the guidance of two professional chefs at the Atrium test kitchen, the Garden Innovators had an opportunity to prepare a meal of toasted veggie sandwiches and pasta, along with a tossed green salad with fresh-made dressing.

The internship program culminated with the youth gaining real world experience in the food industry through a partnership with Resistencia Coffee in South Park. Participants learned barista skills and about the coffee industry, and also used their newly acquired business skills to oversee a farm stand that operated on Wednesdays over the summer in Resistencia Coffee’s outdoor space.

The Garden Innovators program is supported by the South Park Community Center and Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Urban Food Systems Program, which provides access to healthy food and active recreation opportunities while focusing on increasing environmental stewardship through food system programs. Learn more here.

All Seattle Parks and Recreation community centers, pools, teen life centers, and the Discovery Park visitor center will be closed on Thursday, Sept. 19 for a staff training. The only programs that will be operating will be Preschool and School Aged Care; all other programs, lessons and activities will be canceled for the day.

Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) and Freeway Park Association invite the community to Brews and Tunes in Freeway Park on Tuesday, September 10, 2019 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Please join us at Freeway Park’s Seneca Plaza, 600 Seneca St. to learn about the future capital improvement projects and park activation. The event includes a beer garden and music by Stucky Jackson and the Boys. 

SPR has $10 million in funding from the Washington State Convention Center Expansion Project as part of the public benefit package associated with the Convention Center expansion. The funding will repair, restore and enhance Freeway Park. The majority of the funding ($9,250,000) is dedicated to capital improvements at the park and the remainder ($750,000) is focused on activation within Freeway Park.

The initial scope of the capital improvements is based on the Finding Freeway Park concept plan, produced by the Freeway Park Association, and identifies infrastructure upgrades, lighting, wayfinding and possibly a new restroom. The design phase is expected to be complete with all necessary permits/approvals and construction bid documents by June 2021.

For additional questions please contact David Graves, Strategic Advisor, at 206-684-7048 or David.Graves@seattle.gov  or visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/about-us/current-projects/freeway-park-improvements.

 Did you know that the Every Kid Outdoor Program provides 4th grade students with free entrance to public lands? See the following details from our friends at the Seattle Area National Park Sites:

If you are a fourth grader (including home-schooled and free-choice learners 10 years of age) you get unlimited, free access for you and your family to any federal lands or waters through August 31, 2020.

In the Seattle area, the Interagency Fourth Grade Pass covers the $30 entrance fee at Mount Rainier and Olympic national parks, the $5 trailhead parking fee at Mount Baker-Snoqualmie and Olympic national forests, the $3 parking fee at the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, the $10 youth admission fee to the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, and more!

To obtain the free pass, fourth grade students can visit nps.gov/everykidoutdoors, participate in a short educational activity, and download a voucher. The voucher is valid for multiple use between September 1, 2019 and August 31, 2020 and may be exchanged for a plastic keepsake pass at participating federal lands.

The Every Kid Outdoors Program was established by Congress in 2019. It replaces the Every Kid in a Park Program which was launched in 2015. It is an interagency collaboration between the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Forest Service.

More info here: https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/every-kid-outdoors-program-provides-fourth-grade-students-free-entrance-public-lands