The Maple Leaf play area dedication is Saturday, May 18, 2013 from 10 a.m. – noon. The park features a zip line, climbing rocks, and a children’s garden.

The community knows Roxhill Park as the “Castle” park and at this celebration they will celebrate that it will still be known as “Castle” park and the new streetscape skatepark north of the play area.

In 1994, the community built the original castle play structure at Roxhill Park. In 2011, during the extensive community planning process for the Parks and Green Spaces Levy funded play area renovation project, the community learned that the castle would be removed. They made a commitment to organize the volunteers required to complete the “build” of another Leather and Associates play area design. The community build was realized over five days in early November 2012, resulting in the new castle structure and play area. The volunteer and community support was great!

“I didn’t understand the importance of this park when I signed on. But I get it now: kids need a place that is special, just for them, something that says ‘I value you.’ Well, nothing says ‘I value you’ quite like ‘I built this for you with my hands,” said Mat McBride, Delridge Neighborhood District Council Chair and Roxhill Volunteer Coordinator. “This park is a testament to the work of everyone who believed that. I’m honored to have been a part of it.”

The Parks and Green Spaces Levy included $450,000 for planning, design and renovation of the play area and $600,000 for the planning, design and construction of a skatespot. The community received a Department of Neighborhoods Small and Simple Award of $20,000 that allowed for the community build out of the play area.

Seattle Parks hosted five public meetings for these combined projects and presented the skatepark designs for review by the Seattle Design Commission. The Citywide Skatepark Plan, developed through Seattle Parks and Recreation with extensive community input, recommended Roxhill Park as a good site for a skatespot. In Seattle, a skatespot is defined as a skatepark ranging in size from 1,500 to 10,000 square feet.

The Rob Dyrdek Foundation (now the Street League Skateboard Foundation) donated design services and skate features for the park from Street League DC Pro Tour.

Parks’ in-house landscape architects worked with California Skate Parks, who designed the skatespot. Parks awarded the construction contract for the skatepark to Grindline Construction of West Seattle.

The Roxhill Park skatespot is the Street League Skateboard Foundation’s eighth “Safe Spot Skate Spot,” a program conceptualized by Rob Dyrdek, which seeks to create safe and legal havens for skaters across the country. The main goals of the program are to provide communities with safe and legal skate plazas, increase and encourage the active engagement of people in the sport of skateboarding, and design and develop skate plazas in cities and towns throughout the world. The program also provides an alternative option for communities with limited budgets or space restrictions to develop real street-skating locations.

Roxhill Park improvements are the result of many public/private partnerships working together. This event celebrates both the completion of the project and the amazing work done by the neighborhood, the extended West Seattle community and the entire skate community. 

For more information on the project please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/roxhill/  for more information about this event please contact Karen O’Connor at 206-233-7929 or Karen.o’connor@seattle.gov.

For more information on the Street League Skateboard Foundation, please go to http://robdyrdekfoundation.org/.

On December 18, Mayor McGinn announced the creation of additional space for community gardening and urban agriculture in the city. Approximately 185 P-Patch community garden plots will be developed or made available, along with 14,500 square feet of land dedicated to large tract gardening.

Joining the Mayor at the announcement was Councilmember Sally Bagshaw; Joyce Moty, president of the P-Patch Trust; Erika Harris, a gardener from the Spring Street P-Patch; and Bernie Matsuno, director of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.

Based on the recommendations by the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee, the city is providing these opportunities by investing $427,000 of the inflationary funds that were not spent as part of the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy.  The funds will be used to add approximately 115 new community garden plots by building gardens in Licton Springs, First Hill and Capitol Hill and by adding additional plots to the Judkins P-Patch. It will also create two urban agriculture sites on city-owned land in Squire Park, and double the size of the Marra Farm Large Tract Project to provide additional gardening space for three low-income farmers. In addition, existing P-Patch plots will be resized in 13 P-Patch community gardens to provide gardening opportunities for 70 families.

In 2008, voters approved the Parks and Green Spaces Levy which earmarked $2 million to build four additional P-Patch community gardens. Through significant community involvement, leveraging of funds, and support from other city departments, the P-Patch Program will have completed 17 new gardens and expanded five existing gardens by 2014. The inflationary-funded projects will be completed in 2013 or 2014.

For details on the new projects, view a Fact Sheet and the map showing the existing and new levy projects. And for more information overall on the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy projects in community gardening, visit http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/ppatch/levy.htm.

As a Parks and Green Spaces levy project, Kirke Park P-Patch has been in the works for more than two years. Community members volunteered more than 450 hours preparing the beds and working together to design and  build a garden shed and picnic table.  The garden shed itself honors the name of the park – “Kirke”- which is Norwegian for “church.” There are presently 37 -100 square foot plots, and over time the P-Patch will have a food bank giving garden and children’s garden spaces.   

~ Make apple cider on our old-timey cider press 
~ Paint pumpkins, carve zucchini, and meet our famed “tromboncino” squash
~ Take on your friends in a gunny rack race
~ Enjoy grilled veggies, salmon, and other treats – bring something to throw on the grill or a potluck dish
~ Tour the farm and learn about Lettuce Link’s work to grow & share good food with all

Marra Farm is located at 9026 4^th Ave S in the South Park neighborhood of southwest Seattle. Parking is available on the street in front of the farm, as well as off Director Street between 5^th and 7^th Ave S. Marra Farm is accessible by buses 60, 131, 132, and 134. Facebook users, RSVP to the event here. For more info, contact Amelia at amelias@solid-ground.org

Click here to read and watch the King 5 report on how the forest is growing.  Click here to go to the P-patch page on the project.

WHEN:

Meeting #1: Project overview, P-Patch site visit, and brainstorming         Saturday, Dec. 10; 10:30 – 11:45 a.m.      
Meeting #2: Compare, rank and refine alternative design plans                 Wednesday, Jan. 11; 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.    
Meeting #3: Presentation of final schematic plan                                              Tuesday, Jan. 31; 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.              

WHERE:

All workshops will be at Seattle Center in The Next 50 Headquarters located at the east end of the 3rd floor of Center House. Seattle Center House is located at 305 Harrison St., Seattle, WA, 98109.

 WHAT:

In partnership with neighborhood volunteers and Seattle Center, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is developing a new P-Patch community garden on top of the Mercer Garage at 3^rd Avenue N and Mercer Street.  The project is funded through the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy which dedicated $2 million to P-Patch community garden development. In partnership with community volunteers, the P-Patch Community Gardening Program is supporting 20 new or expanded P-Patch gardens. 

For more information contact Phi Huynh at 206.684.4531 or phi.huynh@seattle.gov.   

Saturday, October 1, 2011
Time: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Location: Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands at Atlantic City Nursery
5513 S Cloverdale St, Seattle WA 98118

This will be an event for the whole family. Activities will include:

• Farm and Wetlands walking tours
• Live music from local bands
• Delicious food to cook and eat

Meet neighborhood farms and special guests……. and many more!