Till 5 pm, you are invited to join the celebration at City Mouse Studio and Store (WSB sponsor), the new name of Donna Ryan‘s photography studio and kids’ shop in The Junction (4218 SW Alaska). That’s Donna on the left with Laney; in the middle, Michelle and Ava, and at right, Aubrey and Oliver (the latter four were among the well-wishers stopping by at the same time we did this morning). Treats – as you can see in the photo – and prizes too. Earlier this morning, the West Seattle Tool Library welcomed visitors to another round of Ask An Expert:
(Photo by Heather P. Brincko)
From left to right: Joshua Brincko from International Studio, visitor Christie, Laura Elfline and Doug Elfline from Mighty House Construction). You don’t have to wait for the next Ask An Expert to visit the Tool Library – its regular Sunday hours are 1-5 pm, so you can drop by and check it out tomorrow (here’s where to find it).
The latest edition of the Seattle Channelshow “CityStream” (which you can watch above in its entirety) showcases a whole lot of sustainability-minded West Seattleites – the first story is about Sustainable West Seattle (including the West Seattle Tool Library) and the final one is about “green cleaning,” with the spotlight on CoolMom. (By the way, have you seen their new website at coolmom.org?)
Although the group’s “volunteer fair” format couldn’t happen Tuesday night because of space/time limitations related to the venue change, it was a busy night of “annual reports” for 2010, and guest presentations from the West Seattle Wildlife Habitat Project and the Salish Sea Trading Co-op.
Highlights on what’s been accomplished – and what’s coming up, plus the lineup of new SWS leadership, ahead:Read More
Continuing our look ahead to the post-holiday week: Volunteering opportunities like tabling at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market – where Micah Summers(above) led a home-brewing demonstration yesterday – are part of what Sustainable West Seattle will discuss at its monthly Community Forum tomorrow night (6:30 pm Tuesday, Senior Center of West Seattle, California/Oregon). Lots of other projects you can get involved with, including the forthcoming SWS film series. Other planned presentations include the West Seattle Wildlife Habitat Project and the Salish Sea Transport Co-op.
Stopping by theSustainable West Seattle table at West Seattle Farmers’ Market today, we got the word on the program that will start the group’s new film series: “The End of the Line” (trailer above), exploring the effects of overfishing, with a bonus guest speaker: Chef Hajime Sato, proprietor of Mashiko, the West Seattle restaurant that now serves only sustainably caught seafood. The screening is set for 7 pm March 21st at the Admiral Theater. SWS’s Chas Redmond says they’re hoping to offer film screenings quarterly. Before then, you can catch up with SWS at its January and February community forums – at 7 pm January 18th, it’s an update on the West Seattle Wildlife Habitat Project, a local tourism initiative, and volunteer opportunities; at 7 pm February 22nd, the focus is on an ever-hot topic, “West Seattle’s Transportation Future.” (Those two community forums will be at the Senior Center of West Seattle, California/Oregon.)
Still time to get over to Camp Long Lodge and join in the Sustainable West Seattle Money-Free Shopping Spree. There you’ll find a SWS leader doing double duty today – Stu Hennessey not only is participating in the spree, which is part of “Green Saturday,” he’s also been a leading local advocate for “Small Business Saturday” (his Alki Bike and Board was among the West Seattle businesses featured in TV coverage). The “Shopping Spree” is a chance to exchange handmade items or service offerings, without money, to get holiday gifts – you’ll also find Steve Tracy there with his metal creations:
And this quilted wall hanging is the work of Lin Sierra:
Camp Long Lodge is at 5200 35th SW – look for the trademark Seattle Parks striped sign along 35th.
(Patrick Dunn and Christina Hahs with the cider press)
Got apples? Pears? The cider press demonstrated at today’s West Seattle Farmers’ Market by Sustainable West Seattle is available to borrow from the WS Tool Library – as is a smaller one, SWS tells us. The library’s open Saturdays and Sundays (hours and location here). And Sustainable WS is looking ahead to a big annual event next Saturday – it’s the Money-Free Shopping Spree, and you don’t have to be a member to be part of it. 4-8 pm on Saturday, November 27 – which has been dubbed “Green Saturday” as a counterpoint to “Black Friday” – at Camp Long Lodge, bring handmade crafts, food, or certificates of services you can provide. This is an exchange event, not a sale. Full details, and ideas of what qualifies, can be found in this update on the SWS website – they’re also requesting that would-be participants add comments there with information on what they will bring. (And this comment from SWS’s Stu Hennessey also addresses the potluck that’ll kick off the Money-Free Shopping Spree.)
We had our 100th member walk through our Tool Library doors a little after noon today. To mark the milestone properly, The Tool Library awarded Carl Sheit with a $20 gift certificate to Junction True Value, a free Tool Library t-shirt and an honorary lifetime membership.
Our Tool Library Manager, Micah Summers, estimates that we probably also received our 1,000th tool earlier in the day, after a very generous donation from a couple who were happy to be making some room in their garage.
Not surprisingly, the Tool Library is now looking to expand to other West Seattle locations to increase the community’s ability to access the collection. As part of that process, we’d love to hear from West Seattle.
(WSB photo from October 2009) By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The timing was perfect.
On the day that a key document went public, a first draft of the next phase of trying to heal the polluted Duwamish River, Sustainable West Seattle convened a Community Forum with experts who explained why it matters and why your opinion matters.
The forum, with more than 40 people on hand inside Camp Long Lodge last night, wasn’t only about the Feasibility Study that went public hours earlier (links are atop the right sidebar of this site). But since the topic – the Duwamish River’s past, present and future – is intertwined with the issue of how to handle its pollution, that’s where the discussion tended to focus.
With Sustainable West Seattle vice president Gary Lichtenstein as moderator, they spoke for two hours, including Q/A. Before we jump into the highlights – we recorded the entirety of the forum on video – with a fixed camera, so it may be more useful as audio than video – it’s in three chunks, left to right (you can watch any clip fullscreen by clicking once to bring up its title, then clicking on the title itself to go to its page at blip.tv):
From tonight’s Sustainable West Seattle Community Forum: Before the night’s main feature – a panel on the Duwamish River (still under way – full coverage later) – some news about city-landmark ex-Fire Station 37 at 35th/Othello (map). SWS president Brian Allen announced that the group is “exploring the possibility” of buying the station with a “large coalition” of partners and donors, to turn it into “Sustainability Station 37.” As we reported here in July, the city has already started the process of figuring out what to do with the historic station; firefighters moved out earlier this month and are now in the brand-new station a few blocks south, at 35th/Holden (map). As for the potential purchase, Allen promised an “initial organizing meeting” in the next two weeks – watch the Sustainable West Seattle website for more info (you can find his contact info there too).
9:18 PM UPDATE: Now that the meeting’s over, we talked to him to find out more: The concept is still fluid – “come to the meeting!” he smiled – but it could be a permanent HQ for Sustainable WS, for offshoots like the West Seattle Tool Library (currently ensconced at South Seattle Community College), and for services that support sustainability – very much a work in progress, and finding the funding, he acknowledged, won’t be simple, but they’re hopeful.
Three updates from Patrick Dunn with the West Seattle Tool Library, entering its first winter since its creation as a Sustainable West Seattle project. For one, they’re about to hit a membership milestone – and that includes some prizes you might be eligible to win! Second, a free workshop is ahead, and third, the Tool Library’s hours are changing this weekend. Read on for details on all of the above: Read More
It’s the eastern border for much of West Seattle, the front porch for South Park, a lifeline for everything from salmon to industry, and it has some of the worst pollution in the U.S. What’s in the Duwamish River‘s future? Sustainable West Seattle has just announced an all-star lineup for its next Community Forum, coming up 7 pm Monday night at Camp Long – read on for the official announcement:Read More
Though this year’s Eat Local Now! was in SODO, it had lots of West Seattle presence, not just because of presenting organizations like SWS and CoolMom.org, but also the food and beverages:
West Seattle-area flavors included Raven’s Brew coffee from Bird on a Wire Espresso, beer from Elliott Bay Brewery and Big Al Brewing, wine selected by Bin 41 (WSB sponsor), sustainable sushi by Chef Hajime Sato from Mashiko, sweet potato crab cakes byFresh Bistro‘s Chef Dalis Chea, Red Beet and Butternut Squash Salad by Blackboard Bistro‘s Chef Jacob Wiegner:
And we could go on … those are just a few items from the menu (which even included Apple Honey Tarts by On Safari Foods‘ Pastry Chef Traci Knight, described as “local apples cooked with honey from the West Seattle Meadery”). Eat Local Now! also featured a silent auction benefiting SWS, CoolMom, and BALLE Seattle, with a long list of donations from three dozen businesses, many from West Seattle (as previewed here):
(As a co-sponsor of Eat Local Now!, we donated an item for the silent-auction too – a social-media how-to consultation.) One more note – when we caught up with SWS members promoting Eat Local Now! at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market last Sunday, they mentioned “the famous Eat Local Now! underwear” would be on sale too. We thought they were joking. Nope:
The Eat Local Now! gala also featured live music and speakers, and was sold out again this year – all 300 tickets gone by late morning today. Want to learn more about sustainable locally grown food? Check out the videos on the Eat Local Now! YouTube channel, produced by sustainability advocate Wendy Hughes-Jelen of High Point.
Once again today, the Sustainable West Seattle crew at the WS Farmers’ Market was getting the word out about Eat Local Now! – the dinner/auction/education/entertainment gala this Thursday night at Herban Feast‘s Sodo Park (buy tickets online now!) – but that’s not the only local-food event on the horizon: Tonight, Stu Hennessey of SWS (he’s in the center of our photo, with Christina Hahs and Chas Redmond) sent this announcement:
Community Orchard of West Seattle work party for 350.org
Join Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle and Sustainable West Seattle as we build a community orchard that will provide locally grown fruit, nuts and berries to the Seattle area. This event takes place on the campus of South Seattle Community College, 6000 16th Avenue SW, at the south end of the school property.
We will meet at 1 pm and work to 5 pm. on 10/10/10. Community gardens and orchards are being built throughout our nation to bring seasonal fruits, vegetables, nuts and berries to local residents with low to NO carbon demand. Since the Community Orchard of West Seattle will be built with organic farming techniques and will be distributed locally, the fossil fuel element will be left out of the equation. To find out more about the Community Orchard of West Seattle go to: www.gleanit.org
And back to event #1 – find out more about Eat Local Now! (with co-sponsors including WSB) at eatlocalnow.org.
(P.S. While you’re at the SWS site – which is one of the 100+ sampled by this frequently updated WSB page, by the way – take a look at Andy Silber‘s latest “Energy Blog” story, connecting you with the newest information on electric cars.)
(WSB photo from Eat Local Now! in October 2009) Last year’s Eat Local Now! – held in West Seattle – was a hit, with hundreds of people sharing an evening of good good, good discussion, and interesting info about food sustainability. Organizers including Sustainable West Seattle and West Seattle-co-founded CoolMom are starting to cook up this year’s event, and hoping you can help:
Eat Local Now! is a joint fundraiser of Sustainable West Seattle, Cool Mom, and The Good Business Network with the mission to promote the importance of and strengthen the local food systems and economies of Seattle and Puget Sound. Last year our dinner served 225+ attendees at the Masonic Hall in West Seattle and was educational, fun, and a fantastic dinner value. This year we are very excited to be partnering with Herban Feast to have the event at their Sodo Park catering venue on September 30th. This beautiful space is sure to make this years event something to be proud of.
Our organizing team would love your help either in the coming weeks or the day of the event. If interested, please attend our next organizing meeting at Big Al’s Brewery (9832 14th Ave SW) 7-9 pm in White Center on August 5th. We could use more help in the areas of marketing the event, seeking food, beverage, or sponsorship donations, organizing a silent auction, decoration, tabling, poster distribution, developing the evening program, or serving and greeting during the event itself. If you can’t make this next meeting, please e-mail Bill Reiswig at bill@sustainablewestseattle.org with your interests. Thank you!
Those bees were part of GreenLife at Summer Fest, the West Seattle street festival’s first-ever sustainability/gardening expo, co-sponsored by Sustainable West Seattle. If you think beekeeping is only for the pros – not so – you can do it in your own backyard! How? Find out tonight, as SWS invites you to come learn more about beekeeping at its monthly community forum. 7 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle – more details on the Sustainable West Seattle website. (Wondering what else is up today/tonight? Check the WSB West Seattle Events calendar here.)
It’s been a big month for Sustainable West Seattle. First, the group’s third annual festival brought out hundreds as part of ReFRESH Southwest at Delridge Community Center on June 5; a week later, the long-planned West Seattle Tool Library celebrated its grand opening; and Monday night, nine days after that milestone, SWS had more news: Announced at their monthly Community Forum at the Senior Center of West Seattle, they’ve gotten their official nonprofit status, which means your donations are tax-deductible. Speaking of donations, the Tool Library is now up to 500 tools (here are its hours) and starting July 4th, SWS will table at the West Seattle Farmers Market every other Sunday, which means another chance for you to drop off tool donations. They STILL need that electric pressure washer, by the way! (And before next month’s meeting, they’ll be co-presenting GreenLife during West Seattle Summer Fest, July 9-10-11 in The Junction.)
Monday night’s featured topic was public campaign financing and its role in sustainability. At right is Craig Salins, executive director of Washington Public Campaigns, which just celebrated its biggest awards banquet yet, more than 300 people at South Seattle Community College‘s Brockey Center on Saturday night. His group contends that public financing of political campaigns would enable more voices to be heard – particularly by the elected officials who should be paying more attention to their constituents’ needs, instead of spending their time in endless pursuit of the big money that is usually required to pay for a winning campaign these days. The group has worked in particular to advance legislation to publicly fund state Supreme Court campaigns; Salins told SWS that the bill had support, but the Legislature ran out of time to deal with it while trying to pass a budget, so WPC will try again next session. He also said the group’s working on a Town Hall meeting about public financing next month. Side note: 34th District State House Position 2 candidate Marcee Stone is past president of WPC and a longtime public-financing advocate; one of her opponents, Geoffrey “Mac” McElroy, was the lone candidate in the audience at the SWS meeting..
Sustainable West Seattle’s community forums are usually at 7 pm on the third Monday of the month; on July 19, the spotlight’s on beekeeping. In the meantime, this Thursday, anyone interested in permaculture is invited to join that SWS subcommittee at Uptown Espresso to talk about a rainwater project on the Pathfinder K-8 campus.
Jennifer and Lacy were the first two renters for the brand-new West Seattle Tool Library, which opened its doors at 9 this morning on the north side of the South Seattle Community College campus. They’re borrowing tools to help build a chicken run. You are welcome to visit the Tool Library (bring 2 forms of ID to rent something) before 2 pm today – you’ll meet friendly folks like Sustainable West Seattle‘s Patrick and Gary:
They’re also planning a brief dedication ceremony around 12:30 pm, if you’d like to be on hand for that. You’re also still welcome to bring tools to donate – as long as they’re in good working condition, and not gas-powered. P.S. You can browse the Tool Library inventory online by going here. (While you’re at SSCC, note that the Northwest Wine Academy‘s summer release event continues noon-4 pm today, just steps from the Tool Library – it’s a twofer!)ADDED SATURDAY NIGHT: One more photo:
We checked back at the Tool Library in early afternoon – just missed the dedication ceremony because we got sidetracked to check out the big Harbor Avenue rescue response, but we did catch this crowd of browsers.
In addition to the Morgan Junction Community Festival (here’s our latest preview), we have new info on two other major events coming up Saturday – First, volunteers getting ready to open the West Seattle Tool Library on Saturday got together at its South Seattle Community College location last night for some last-minute work. One big thing they want you to know – repeated in an announcement toward the end of tonight’s 34th District Democrats meeting – you’ll need two forms of ID to borrow tools (the second one can be a library card or current utility bill. Tools they still need: Electric pressure washer and portable table saw. The grand opening is 9 am-2 pm on Saturday; go to the SSCC north entrance on 16th SW. Another event on Saturday centers around under-constructionJunction Plaza Park:
Brian Presser of TouchTech Systems in The Junction sent that photo tonight – he noticed a big crew working fast after the rain stopped: “Bricks going in, landscaping, lots of workers. Like Extreme Home Makeover – only for a park!” On Saturday, it’s the rescheduled planting party to put 800 plants in at the park, which is to be dedicated in less than three weeks – the evening of June 29th. If you’re not already signed up to volunteer Saturday, you can check to see if they still need help – info’s here.
Hope to see you at tomorrow’s ReFRESH Southwest – the umbrella name for this year’s combined Delridge Day and Sustainable West Seattle Festival events, all happening tomorrow at, in, and around Delridge Community Center, 1-5 pm (after the Clean and Green cleanup and Delridge Walks events in the morning!) — here again is the outdoor exhibitors’ map (WSB is #26), and now for the first time we have the full schedule of indoor and outdoor events, from arts to games to the sustainability workshops and beyond, just forwarded by SWS Festival coordinator Christina, after the jump:Read More
Counting down to the next big festival – ReFRESH Southwest, combining Delridge Day and the Sustainable West Seattle Festival – this Saturday, 1-5 pm at Delridge Community Center – we’ve got new information tonight. First: SWS, which is handling exhibitors, has provided the map of who you’ll see where (hope you’ll stop by to say hi – WSB will be next to North Delridge Neighborhood Council, where, as reported here yesterday, the cool (Heart) Delridge T-shirts will be on sale, and we’re told you do NOT have to pre-order!). Here’s that map – we’re #26. Meantime, SWS Festival coordinator Christina provided the list of workshops during Saturday’s festival:
1:30 – 2 pm – Keeping Goats by Jennie Grant, Goat Justice League
2:30 – 3 pm – Electric Vehicles by Craig Vinton
3:30 – 4 pm – Keeping Chickens by Jenifer McIntyre, Seattle Farm Coop
4:30 – 5 pm – Keeping Bees by Puget Sound Beekeepers Association
One more new tidbit tonight – the flyer’s out for the city-supported Clean and Green cleanup that will precede the festival, 9 am-noon, centered around Southwest Youth and Family Services, whose HQ is south of Delridge Community Center. Here it is as a 1-page PDF. And you can still sign up online for Delridge Walks – as an individual or group – to walk to the festival from your part of West Seattle.
Last year at West Seattle Summer Fest, the then-new (Heart) Delridge T-shirts were a hit – at the information booth, we fielded multiple queries on where people could find the North Delridge Neighborhood Council‘s table so they could buy one. Just got word from Holli Margell of NDNC (who’s modeling the shirt in the 2009 photo at right) that they’re selling them at this Saturday’s Delridge Day/Sustainable West Seattle/ReFRESH Southwest Festival – but you need to preorder, so that yours will be waiting for you at the NDNC booth:
We have a new batch of Heart Delridge T-shirts ready to sell to raise money for the North Delridge Neighborhood Council. Sized from kids 2T to XXL, they cost $15. You can reserve one of them by e-mailing heartdelridgetee@gmail.com with your name and desired size and it will be waiting for you at the booth.
The festival is 1-5 pm Saturday on the Delridge Community Center grounds; several big events will precede it in the morning, including community-cleanup activities and Delridge Walks – there’s still time to get a group together to walk to the festival, and potentially win a prize! You can sign up here. Meantime, there’s more festival info here, including activities/music highlights.
Monday night’s featured topic was public campaign financing and its role in sustainability. At right is Craig Salins, executive director of 
Last year at
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