Our schedule for the Winter 2012 is:

• February 5 – drop by – it’s s’posed to be Sunny!!
• February 19 (demo day)
• March 4
• March 18 (demo day)

The second tabling each month is where we host demonstrations using tools from the Tool Library.   We also have the new West Seattle Walking Trails map and more Central District maps.

We’re here to help you with your questions about being more sustainable, about being a bit more green, and we’re here to take your left-over or under-used tools for the West Seattle Tool Library.

We also have the latest information on the many projects SWS members are involved with, including Permaculture and the Sustainable Film Series.  Concerned about earthquakes?  We have information on Emergency Preparedness here in West Seattle, as well as other community info from partners like CoolMom.

We’re tabling at the Farmers Market and working with the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance folks to keep a non-profit and green presence in the Market area.

If anyone is interested in tabling, drop by and leave your name and contact information and we’ll be happy to schedule you for a shift.  This is a great way to meet your fellow West Seattleites and a great way to make a better acquaintance with the farmers and producers who help keep the West Seattle Farmers Market such a great place to shop healthy and local.

Sunrise Heights and Westwood neighbors will have seen King County Wastewater Division crews doing field investigations throughout the fall. This is necessary field work to understand the characteristics of Sunrise Heights and Westwood neighborhoods and begin the process of selecting sites for the bioretention swales.

To learn more about the project visit the Barton CSO web page: www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wtd/Construction/Seattle/BartonCSO-GSI

Check out the Barton CSO Project Field Work video!: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wtd/Construction/Seattle/BartonCSO-GSI/Video.aspx

The Barton Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control project team has been conducting ongoing field investigations since early September.

What have they learned:

Field work to date indicates that soils do not infiltrate well consistently across the project area at shallow depths (0-20 feet) although there is a larger, deeper soil layer called Vashon Advance Outwash that does infiltrate well. Field work will continue through mid-January to further examine the Vashon Advance Outwash soil layer to understand what happens to water once it has infiltrated into this layer and the relationship to the regional water table (aquifer). The project team’s goal is to site bioretention swales in the best possible location for intercepting stormwater runoff from the street and providing CSO control. The information gathered from the geotechnical testing will ultimately be used to design the bioretention swale system and determine the design for infiltrating into the Vashon Advance Outwash soil layer.

Next Steps

The project team will continue to survey streets within the project area, sample groundwater and collect and monitor data from the installed wells.

The data gathered from the field investigations will be plugged into a computer model of the project area. This model will be used to help the team determine the number of bioretention swales that will be needed to control overflows into Puget Sound from the Barton Pump Station.

Community meeting will held in early 2012 to share results of field work and discuss the locations and approach to the design of bioretention swales.

Block level outreach and design workshops will be scheduled with neighbors on streets selected for bioretention swales.

For more information contact Kristine Cramer at 206-263- 3184 or kristine.cramer@kingcounty.gov, visit the Barton CSO web page at www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wtd/Construction/Seattle/BartonCSO-GSI, or watch the Barton CSO Project Field Work video at http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wtd/Construction/Seattle/BartonCSO-GSI/Video.aspx

In response to challenging budgets and a directive from City Council, Seattle Parks and Recreation spent 2011 meeting with community stakeholders and staff to develop a new plan for operating community centers in 2012. That work has resulted in a new tiered system for operating community centers that reduces operating costs, while maintaining essential services.

In the new system, community centers are grouped into five geographic areas of five centers each. They are managed and programmed in a coordinated fashion. The new system partially or fully restores the current limited use sites. Five limited use sites were established in 2011, which involved a significant drop in public operating hours. The new tiered system for 2012 saves approximately $1.23 million in the 2012 budget.

The tiered system is as follows. Click here for the new hours.

Southeast Tier Community Centers

• Jefferson
• Rainier
• International District/Chinatown
• Van Asselt
• Rainier Beach (closed for renovation in 2012)

Southwest Tier Community Centers

• High Point
• Delridge
• Hiawatha
• South Park
• Alki
• Southwest is now a Teen Life Center only; the Southwest Department of Neighborhoods Service Center will be relocated to this center

Central Tier Community Centers

• Garfield
• Montlake
• Queen Anne
• Yesler
• Miller

Northeast Tier Community Centers

• Meadowbrook
• Northgate
• Ravenna-Eckstein
• Laurelhurst
• Magnuson

Northwest Tier Community Centers

• Bitter Lake
• Loyal Heights
• Green Lake
• Ballard
• Magnolia

Hours for Teen Life Centers and Late Night Programs have also changed to address 2012 program funding, ensure programs are held when teens are out of school, add Saturday hours and sustain a 46% increase in Teen Life Center participation.

New hours can be found online at http://www.seattle.gov/parks/centers/operations.htm

Background

In January 2011, Seattle Parks and Recreation convened a Community Center Advisory Team, consisting of community members, representatives from the Board of Park Commissioners, representatives of employee unions, employees, the Associated Recreation Council, and City Council and City Budget Office staff. The team met throughout the spring to discuss options for moving forward.

They recommended nine possible options. After taking the nine options to the public via community meetings and an online survey, the tiered geographic recommendation floated to the top.

Then, Parks staff held 27 public meetings to hear from communities about what activities and hours they would like to see at their nearest community center. The results of those meetings helped inform the new operating hours.

City Council approved the new tiered operating model in its 2012 budget.

The local folks who created Walk Score have  launched a new site that helps you find apartments by commute time. Whether you prefer driving, public transit, walking, or biking, Walk Score can help you find a commute that fits your lifestyle.

Visit walkscore.com/apartments and enter your work (or school) address, select your preferred mode of transportation, and set the time slider to how long you’re willing to commute.

Apartment listings from craigslist are automatically sorted by estimated commute time and can be further filtered by Walk Score, price and size.  Walk Score is also soliciting feedback at this site: http://getsatisfaction.com/walk_score/products/walk_score_walk_score_apartment_search

In 2008 the Green-Duwamish Map first edition was printed and released at the April Earth Day “Duwamish Alive” celebration. Since then, the partner organizations who helped create the map have handed out nearly 30,000 maps to volunteers, visitors, school groups, and other interested parties.

In 2009, the Green-Duwamish map won the prestigious Exhibit Award from the Association of King County Historical Organizations.

In April 2011, we printed another 30,000 maps, and included all recent updates, including new bike routes and trails, heritage sites, parks, habitat restoration areas, as well as new photos and images.

For more information, or to order maps, please click here!

Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to assist DRCC/TAG with the map’s distribution. We want to provide maps for free to school children, local libraries, community centers, tour participants, and other visitors to the Duwamish River.

Click here to donate to the map project, in any amount.

Ecofreek.com is a search engine that searches the web for free and ‘for swap/trade’ items people no longer need from over 45+ sources, 10,000 libraries, real estate, agricultural/seed swap sources and more-providing the most diverse and accurate results anywhere in the world. Also included are items for trade like books, sports equipment, antiques, automobiles, bicycles, motorcycles, CDs/DVDs, computers, property, seeds/gardening supplies, and lots more.

Ecofreek’s mission is to provide a means for people to find items they need while reducing landfill waste.

Ecofreek encourages people to exchange and re-use items though their search engine and also their ‘places to give things away’ section. Feel free to recommend new resources as well.

Enjoy your experience and let Ecofreek know what they can do to improve the service.
View our frequently asked questions here.  Visit their donation page for some great merchandise in exchange for a monetary donation.

For more information, contact the ecofreek team at info@ecofreek.com or call 510-962-4385 or contact  Nicole Boivin – Founder, at nicole@ecofreek.com.

In recognition of Emergency Preparedness Month this September, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods (DON) and Seattle Office of Emergency Management (OEM) encourage community members to apply for funding to help them organize and engage their neighbors and plan for emergency and disaster situations.

The deadline for the Small and Simple Projects Fund for awards up to $20,000 is Monday, October 17 by 5:00 pm. Community members can also apply to the Small Sparks Fund for awards up to $1000 with applications accepted year-round. To learn more, visit www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/nmf/.

Two workshops have been scheduled for community members to learn more about the NMF program and emergency preparedness project ideas.

The workshops will be held:

• Tuesday, Sept. 13, 6:00 – 8:00 pm at the Ballard Public Library (5614 22nd Ave NW); and on
• Thursday, Sept. 15, 6:00 – 8:00 pm at The 2100 Building (2100 24th Ave S).

All applicants are strongly encouraged to attend a workshop.

Community members are also encouraged to contact a Neighborhood Matching Fund Project Manager before applying at 206-233-0093 or NMFund@seattle.gov. For those applying for emergency preparedness projects, contact the Seattle Office for Emergency Management at SNAP@seattle.gov or call 206-233-5076.

The kids may still be running through the sprinkler, but for us parents, back-to-school time is here, and along with it that nagging issue of school lunches. What can you put in that lunchbox that’s healthy, gentle on the environment and — importantly — that your child will actually eat?

The Environmental Working Group wants to help you feel good, not frustrated, about school lunches. So EWG staffers, including our in-house nutritionist, put together these tips to help you start the school year on the right foot for your child’s health and the environment — in just five easy steps.

Click here to learn more about each of these smart, doable tips for healthy, low-impact school lunches.

If you are a participant, log those trips.  If you are not a participant, go to the King County Metro sign-up page and join.  The benefits are six free Metro transit passes, a card which is good for discounts at West Seattle shops, an account where you can log your savings, and the new West Seattle Trails walking and bike map.

The program is part of the mitigation for the continuing work on the Alaskan Way Replacement Project and is funded, in part, by the State of Washington and King County.  The goal is to provide West Seattle residents with more choices for transportation and to reduce the number of single-car miles driven, which helps reduce the local carbon footprint.

Take a deep breath. How clean is the air you just inhaled? It all depends on where you call home.

The Sierra Club Beyond Coal campaign has launched an online air pollution map that shows how much air pollution there is where you live, how many people are at risk for health problems from coal pollution, and how many asthma attacks and premature deaths are caused by coal-fired power plants.

Want to know how clean (or dirty) your air is? Check it out the link.