Ballard Social is a monthly cocktail party for those who live and work in Ballard.  This month, we’ll be there to meet our neighbors, to talk about Sustainable Ballard and to hear what YOU think would make our neighborhood a more sustainable community for all.

Ballard social is the 3rd Wednesday of every month, a different bar is chosen each time.  This month it’s at Pono Ranch — come check it out!  

It’s easy, it’s casual … come on down for a tasty cocktail and a chance to meet some new neighbors!

City Fruit Ambassador Program

Bring your family and friends out to Commodore Park this summer to restore this ship canal shoreline park with Friends of the Cedar River Watershed through the Green Seattle Partnership! Commodore Park is just south of the Hiram M. Chittenden (Ballard) Locks, with a great view of the Locks and ship canal leading into Puget Sound. Volunteers will weed invasive plants from the park in preparation for the planting of a diversity of native plants in the fall. During and after the event, volunteers will have the opportunity to visit the Locks to see salmon passing through the fish ladder on their way from the ocean to Lake Washington! Salmon Journey naturalists will be onsite at the Locks and fish ladder to talk to volunteers about the fish passing through the ladder and about the amazing journey of salmon. Come to to improve habitat and see salmon!

Time: 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Location: Commodore Park, 3330 W Commodore Wy. Park in the main lot or on the street and meet in the grassy area next to the lot.
Contact: Email Amy Kaeser, amy@cedarriver.org, and list name and # of people to sign up.

WHERE:  Ballard Boy & Girls Club
1767 NW 64^th St.
Seattle, WA 98107

INFO:  For more information on Swansons Nursery, please visit:
http://swansonsnursery.com.

See Seattle’s Urban Farms!

This is your chance to visit folks who are keeping chickens and creating urban farms in the Seattle area. On Saturday, July 12, glean great ideas from creative neighbors who are incorporating animals and unique gardens into their home landscapes.

In this self-guided tour, you will see simple chicken coops built in an afternoon and elaborate finely-crafted coops that took weeks of planning and building. See what accommodations are needed for keeping miniature goats, ducks, mason bees, honey bees and bunnies. There are sites all around the city, including NW, NE, West Seattle, SE, Central, as well as NE & SE outside of Seattle. Enjoy a unique and inspiring urban adventure!

Seattle Tilth has been hosting this event, or a version of it, since the 90’s. This year, a panel has selected the best 25 urban farms. Panelists include Seattle Tilth educators, Jessi Bloom from NW Bloom, Rachel Duthler from Danny Woo Community Garden, Jake Harris from Stone Soup Gardens, Charmaine Slaven from Seattle Farm Co-op, and Kevin Scott-Vanderberg fromPortage Bay Grange. Prizes will be awarded and tourists will be able to choose the “People’s Choice” award. 

Did you know that Seattle is a national hot spot for chicken coops and urban farms? See for yourself! Or, if you are a gardener or urban farmer, learn some tricks from others by going on the Chicken Coop & Urban Farm Tour this year.

Tickets & Maps

Buy your tickets online today!

The last day to purchase tickets online to receive a mailed map is Wednesday, July 10. After that, a google maps version of the route will be provided to ticket-buyers.

You can also buy your ticket at these Seattle locations:
Central Co-op
City People’s Garden Store
City People’s Mercantile
Next to Nature
Portage Bay Grange **Sponsor**
Walt’s Organic Fertilizer Co
Seattle Tilth Office
Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands

Individuals = $12

Seattle Tilth members or bicyclists = $10
Youth (ages 4-15) = $5
Groups/Family (3-6 people) = $35
Groups/Family, Seattle Tilth members or group of bicyclists = $30
Ages 3 and under = Free

Many thanks to the volunteers and gracious hosts who opened their gardens to nearly 200 people during our 6th Annual Edible Garden Tour last month!    We raised $1,750 which will go directly towards community projects in Ballard!   Carolyn, Chuck, Kathryn and Jean took home great raffle prizes — for that we give a special thanks to our sponsors:  Swansons Nursery, Honoré Artisan Bakery and New Roots Organics.  Our thanks to Feet First for organizing a walk-within-the-tour; you can see their great photos here.

Additional thanks go out for:

• tour organizing – Jennifer Mundee and Paula Jenson;
• additional publicity – Margaret Wetter and Eric Thomas;
• raffle organizing and a terrific Little Free Library for the raffle – Jenny Heins;
• collecting business coupons – Kathryn Hill;
• scouting gardens and arranging thank-you baskets – Paula Jenson;
• poster design and map creation – Suzanne Findley;
• help at the info booth – Eric, Jenny, Cindy, Suzanne, Candace, Simone & Kathryn
• and to our committee who put up posters, helped with organizing, and made goodies to thank our gardeners: Mary Beth, Jean, Cindy, Julia, Dan, Donna, Ellie, Jenny, Laurette and Candace!

We are indebted to the gardeners at the 17 sites that were on the tour this year — thank you for growing! not mowing.

Sustainable Ballard is collecting men’s clothing, accessories and toiletry items to support The Bridge Care Center at Ballard Commons, a drop-in center for men and women experiencing homelessness and displacement in the Ballard area. They offer a variety of services including a clothing bank, job search support, computer usage, advocacy & referral services.

The Bridge has recently moved to a location one block east of Ballard Commons Park and is currently very low on men’s clothing items.  As the warm summer months approach, there are lots of requests for t-shirts and shorts.  Popular items such as jeans, socks, toiletries, backpacks and sleeping bags are also needed.

If you have items to donate please contact Orna to arrange for pick up or drop them off at the Sustainable Ballard booth at the Ballard Seafood Fest on July 12-13.

Join us at an outdoor potluck picnic at the Ballard P-Patch at 7:30 on Wed 7/30!

We’re firing up a Community Kitchen where neighbors come together to cook, learn, save money, have fun and promote good health.

In our go-go world, fast food and processed foods can be tempting time savers.  Cooking might seem like too much trouble or create too much waste in one and two person households.  Or maybe your little edible garden patch is pumping out more produce than you know what to do with.

Together, we’ll learn (and teach!) how to prepare healthy, yummy and economical dishes, for one or for a crowd, using local, organic products.

There are many ways to get involved!

• Join our Facebook Group
• Not on Facebook?  Email Chris to subscribe to email updates
• Attend our monthly gatherings – our first one will be an outdoor potluck picnic at the Ballard P-Patch at 7:30 on Wed 7/30
• Volunteer your space for a Community Kitchen event
• Lend your expertise to teach a skill or lead an activity
• Keep your eyes on our event calendar

What do you have to share?  What do you need?

Check out ÜberLocal, a barter … swap … sell … give-it-away site for your gardening and kitchen needs, keeping it right here in the neighborhood!  It’s a social marketplace for everything urban food.

Sunday, July 6: 11:00 a.m. – Noon 

Instructor Theresa Elliott, an avid gardener, teaches some easy yoga poses and stretches that will help you before, during, and after gardening. This session is specifically designed to target trouble spots for gardeners: hips, knees, and back. Come as you are, no experience or props necessary, and participation is optional. A take-home handout will be available as a handy reminder.
Theresa Elliott is director of Taj Yoga and co-director of Pacific Yoga Teacher Training located in Crown Hill. Contact: Theresa@tajyoga.com

Seminars at Swansons

Seminars offered at Swansons are free, unless otherwise noted. Some may require sign-up in advance so we can prepare materials. Please be aware that seminars are often full, so we recommend arriving 10 minutes early to be assured of a seat. Due to limited space, we ask that you do not bring your pet to seminars. Come enjoy Swanson’s seminars and improve your gardening know-how!