ORIGINAL REPORT, 12:12 PM: Until 3 pm, you are still welcome – actually, we’d say encouraged! – to join the volunteers busy right now with something you just don’t see that often, captured for posterity in our 15-second Instagram video clip above: De-paving! The historic, nearing-a-century-old Highland Park Improvement Club is greening its grounds (with help from Sustainable Seattle) and taking out old asphalt to (un)pave the way for that; HPIC’s Rhonda Smith told us more about the rendering shown in our preview the other day, with not just a reconfiguration but also new planting planned next month. A donated catered lunch is on the way and work will continue today until 3 pm – just go stop by at 12th/Holden. As Blair Johnson quipped, as is done during so many volunteer work parties, they’re removing invasives – just that in this case, it’s invasive asphalt.

(P.S. We’ll be adding photos later tonight.)

ADDED 7:42 PM: As promised:

They were starting toward the south side and moving north – lots of square footage to de-pave!

A trailer filled up with pieces of removed asphalt:

The de-paved area won’t all be greenery and dirt – see the plan here. Part of the HPIC lot already had been “de-paved” for a raingarden, and this is a continuation of the theme.