Sustainable Ballard

Est. 2003 · Seattle
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Tag: community

  • Ballard Sprouts Updates

    Ballard Sprouts Updates

    Our little sprouts are doing well in the new giving garden, wood chips have been spread around the back yard and we are getting ready to erect our new greenhouse. Our next tasks are to create a level foundation for the greenhouse out of 4 x 4’s and start to assemble. 

    We will do this in 2 work parties:

    Sun Sept 7 from 2 – 4 pm – level soil, build the foundation and attach the greenhouse base

    Sat Sept 13 from 10 am – 12 pm – assemble the rest of the greenhouse

    If you are interested in helping install the greenhouse on either day, contact Jenny with your availability.

    You can participate in other ways as well! Contact Jenny about any of the following:

    • If you would like to devote a portion of your garden to growing vegetables for the Ballard Food Bank next Spring and would like to get veggie starts from our Sprouts program, please send your contact info and we let you know what we are growing and when the plant starts are ready for pick up in central Ballard.
    • If you do your own starts and expect to have more than you can fit in your garden and would like those to go to giving gardens, we are happy to receive and distribute those for you.
    • We’re happy to have more volunteers help with work parties next Spring where we plant seeds or transplant starts into bigger pots.
    • We can always use volunteers to weed and help improve the garden in preparation for showing it on the Edible Garden Tour next year!

    Below are some photos from our wood chips work day and of our giving garden growing!

  • Grow your business…Sponsor our 16th Annual Festival

    Grow your business…Sponsor our 16th Annual Festival

    The Sustainable Ballard Festival is one of the highlights of the year for Ballard, drawing over 4,000 attendees.  It is an important showcase of our community’s efforts to promote sustainable ways of living.   Attendees get ideas and inspiration, make connections, and open their eyes to new possibilities for living more lightly on the earth.

    2007GlobeDoesBallardThe festival is organized around action areas, such as transportation, civic engagement, green building, water, food and garden, health and well-being or media and communication. Attendees have many opportunities to express themselves, learn new skills, share ideas and just play!

    2006Ann at community tentEvery year, we invite the Ballard community and local green organizations to help create this unique and joyful celebration.  Your support helps us to cover costs of this free public event and to provide quality education to the community throughout the year. Your sponsorship also offers you a unique and low cost/high value publicity opportunity.  This  year’s theme is GREEN STEPS — you can use your sponsorship to show attendees the steps they can take to a greener  lifestyle.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

    Sponsorship is a great way to take a stand for a healthier planet while promoting your products and services to thousands of potential customers.  If you are a socially and environmentally responsible organization or company and would like to sponsor the festival, please review our sponsorship levels below , then use our online application.

    All sponsors receive recognition in festival promotion materials and our website, and are invited to exhibit at the festival.  If interested, please fill out the exhibitor section of the application, as well as the sponsor application.  Questions?  Please contact us by email.

    We hope you will join us for this year’s 16th Annual Sustainable Ballard Festival and support the community with your participation!

  • The City of Seattle is Looking for Tree Lovers!

    The City of Seattle is Looking for Tree Lovers!

    Do you dream of living in a tree house? Do you eagerly await the first leaf buds in the spring? Do you love to lie on your back and watch branches dancing in the breeze? Does a stroll down a tree-lined street put a smile on your face? You may be a tree lover!  

    Applications are now open for City of Seattle Tree Ambassadors!  image002

    What is a Tree Ambassador?

    Tree Ambassadors are volunteers who help nurture Seattle’s trees with the goal of growing and caring for the urban forest. Tree Ambassadors help build community and create a culture of caring for our community’s trees.

    Tree Ambassadors work in one of three project areas:

    • Tree Walks: Tree Walks are fun, positive community events that engage neighbors with the trees surrounding them. Tree Ambassadors develop tours to highlight interesting or significant trees in their neighborhoods and lead their walk as a public event. Check out the schedule of upcoming walks or download one of the self-guided walks here. Don’t see a walk in your neighborhood? Become a Tree Ambassador and design Seattle’s next Tree Walk!Tree Ambassadors in this track are given an introduction to tree identification and taught skills in making maps and organizing community events. After the training, staff will assist Tree Ambassadors in identifying good routes, mapping trees on that route, writing accompanying text, and putting together a public event.
    • Landscape Renewal: Tree Ambassadors plan and organize small-scale landscape projects in residential areas. Tree Ambassadors “adopt” sites and organize work parties to weed, mulch, and activate these neighborhood green spaces. Check out the events page and come volunteer at an upcoming work party.  Tree Ambassadors in this track are taught basic landscaping and site design skills, how to identify and remove invasive species, proper mulching, how to plan safe events, and community event organizing. After the training, staff help volunteers identify appropriate landscapes to work in, develop site plans, organize community work parties, and secure tools, mulch, and other equipment. Find a site to love in your neighborhood!
    • Street Tree Stewardship: Tree Ambassadors provide critical care to help young street trees thrive. Tree Ambassadors plan work parties to weed, mulch, and care for the trees that make our neighborhoods walkable, attractive, and healthy. Check out the events page for other opportunities to join us. We are not training new volunteers in this track at this time.

    For more information and to apply, go here.

  • Join Seattle’s Climate Action Conversation

    Join Seattle’s Climate Action Conversation

    On February 25, the Office of Sustainability & Environment will launch “Community Climate Forums”, a quarterly opportunity for residents and grassroots sustainability organizations to provide on-going feedback on the City’s climate action work.

    The forums will be moderated by Jill Simmons, Director of the Office of Sustainability & Environment.

    The general format will be in two parts:

    1. The City will open up a conversation on a key climate action focus area and engage the community in a dialogue on specific city actions and/or policy development.
    2. The community will then present community-led projects and priorities with a special focus on how they support Seattle’s climate goals and where the City can support or coordinate with the community for best results.

    The February 25 Community Climate Forum will feature remarks by Councilmembers Mike O’Brien and Sally Bagshaw and Ray Hoffman, Director of Seattle Public Utilities to engage attendees in a dialogue around SPU’s climate action work in 2014.

    Community Climate Forum
    Tuesday, February 25
    4:30 – 6:30 pm
    Bertha Knight Landes Room, Seattle City Hall
    600 4th Ave

    Light refreshments will be served.

    Feb 25 Forum Agenda
    • Welcome Remarks by Councilmembers Mike O’Brien and Sally Bagshaw
    • Brief overview of the Seattle Climate Action Plan and purpose of the forums
    • Focus on SPU’s climate action activies in 2014
    • Overview of the Community Climate Projects program and discussion of award criteria
    Please RSVP, 206.233.7014
  • Gardeners Needed!

    Gardeners Needed!

    4- Sallie at work!Excited to get your hands into the soil even though that final frost of the year has not yet arrived?
    Come join us in the greenhouse seeding flats, transplanting seedlings and generally providing nurture and sustenance to this years Giving Garden’s starts.

    Greenhouse Work To Start February.  Training Workshop scheduled for Feb 25.  Volunteers for this great local program can get involved by contacting Lori and let the fun begin !!!

    This project is part of Sustainable Ballard’s Ballard Sprouts Program.

  • 7th Annual Strengthening Local Economies Everywhere Dinner!

    7th Annual Strengthening Local Economies Everywhere Dinner!

    Community Alliance for Global Justice presents

    7th Annual Strengthening Local Economies Everywhere Dinner!

    Saturday, September 7th, 2013 

    NEW Location: University Christian Church, 4731 15th Ave NE


    Tickets available now on Brown Paper Tickets! 
    Tickets are sliding scale, $40-$100. Kids are only $10. We sell out, and this year we have a smaller venue, so get yours soon! Or be a Table Captain and organize a table of 10 people!
    $100 tickets sponsor a farmer/foodworker to attend!
    Solidarity tickets available; contact us for more information.

    About the Dinner:
    Happy Hour 5-6:30pm
    Enjoy libations, live music from Seattle Fandango Project, and delicious hors d’oeuvres provided by Kaspar’s while acquainting yourself with featured food justice organizations and groups promoting community development, food sovereignty and food workers’ rights. Get started early on our Silent Auction full of local and fair trade goodies, as well!

    Dinner 6:30-9pm
    Join us for a delicious dinner featuring dishes from Cafe Flora and Madres’ Kitchen, in addition to plates prepared by CAGJ’s in-house chefs and Community Kitchens Northwest using the seasonal bounty of Northwest farmers, ranchers and fisherfolk along with select Fair Trade ingredients. This year’s dinner will highlight in particular Pacific Northwest native foods. The Dessert Auction featuring more than 30 different desserts will make your mouth water!

    Keynote: Saru Jayaraman
    “Serving Up Justice: Why Sustainable Food Must Include Sustainable Working Conditions for the People Who Serve Us”Saru Jayaraman is codirector of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, author of Behind the Kitchen Door, and director of the Food Labor Research Center at UC-Berkeley – This year’s SLEE dinner celebrates food service workers and their accelerating struggle for better conditions. Fair food means fair conditions up and down the food chain, including the people who serve us at the table. Join us and our friends at Restaurant Opportunities Center United, Working Washington, and Unite HERE, among others, to celebrate the recent struggles of food service workers.

    Support the SLEE Dinner!
    To help in any of the following ways, please contact this year’s coordinator, Jasmine Zhang: slee@seattleglobaljustice.org, or call 206-405-4600. Thank you!
    Distribute Posters!  Contact us if you can put posters up in your neighborhood, workplace, etc!
    Volunteer! (and get in for free)! Child-care, bartenders (people with liquor serving permits), servers (experience great but not required!), and set-up/clean-up crew needed!
    Sponsor SLEE! Sponsors receive recognition at the dinner,
    and on our poster, website, & in the printed event program for 300.
    Be a Table Captain! Fill a table for 10 people, $400 – $1000 sliding scale… or come & bring a friend!
    Donate to Silent Auction! An experience, cabin get-away, massage, gift certificate, garden stuff….
    Make a dessert for the Dessert Auction! Any wonderful creation of yours to help us top off dinner!

    This event is wheelchair accessible and child-friendly.
    Childcare available for kids 2-11 from 6:30-9pm – please sign up through Brown Paper Tickets!

    For more information, or to volunteer for the event, please contact CAGJ: 206-405-4600 or email Jasmine, SLEE Coordinator.

  • Donations Needed Now for New Community Members at Nyer Urness House

    Donations Needed Now for New Community Members at Nyer Urness House

    NYHouseWHAT’S NEEDED:

    Brooms
    Dust pans
    Dish soap, scrubbers, dish rags
    Misc. Toiletries
    Ice trays
    10 inch skillets
    Medium sized pots with lids

    Please bring donations to our next Social at Hilliard’s, or to your Night Out Block Party August 6.

    Tell your neighbors! They’ve been wondering too what to do with that extra stuff in the garage!  Now there’s a good place for it to go.

     

    THANK YOU FOR YOUR GENEROSITY!!!

  • July 20th – Seven Wonders of Ballard Bike Tour

    July 20th – Seven Wonders of Ballard Bike Tour

    ggs250-rideabikeJoin us for a leisurely Saturday morning ride to explore seven wonderful treasures of Ballard — historic, fanciful and peculiar — and get to know more about our community and neighbors.

    A few of these “wonders” are well known to many residents and we hope some will be a delight to discover. We will try to use mostly those streets that have a bike lane or low traffic volume. A little exercise, a little fun, and a little discovery of our neighborhood.

     

    Details:

    July 20th, 9:00 am – 10:30 am
    Start point: Ballard Commons Park (58th & 22nd)
    FREE!!