ToolShedForum03072011

Help! I Need Somebody…Not Just Anybody…

Thank you to all who have submitted to our Call to Artists thus far! We appreciate your time and creativity, and look forward to working with you!

So what has been going on? Recently we’ve been growing in numbers, a pleasant surprise for all of us here at Howell Collective. With our growing numbers, we have a growing number of questions. How will we govern ourselves? How will we log volunteer hours? Are we restricted to the boundaries of Capitol Hill? What do we plant, and how do we decide that? If you weren’t able to help with planting, can you help in the harvest? How do we keep our garden secure?

With these and many other questions, we are looking to talk to people! Are you a part of a community garden? Do you know someone who is part of one? A friend of a friend? Out of state, in state, we want to talk to you! Share with us your experience!

Please email us at howellcollective@gmail.com, or comment below if you have any insight or wisdom to share. Part of the beauty of communal gardening is the shared experience, the network of people and support that we are building. Come and be a part of it!

Call to Artists!

HOWELL COLLECTIVE, A CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY GARDEN PROJECT

CALL TO ARTISTS

The Howell Collective is a community garden project serving the residents of Capitol Hill and beyond. With support from the Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Seattle P-Patch program, the Howell Collective hopes to create a space of value that will bring together the community, offer relief from the surrounding dense urban environment, and support the engagement between neighbors and nature.

The Howell Collective is currently seeking proposals for three pieces that will be featured in the garden: a TABLE to be used for demonstrations, projects and gatherings; a SET OF TWO BENCHES to be positioned in different parts of the garden as designated sitting areas; and a SIGN welcoming guests to the garden.

Artists may submit proposals for one, two, or all three pieces. Pieces must be weatherproof, durable, use materials closest to nature, and reflect the Howell Collective’s mission statement. All entries must include the following:

1. Artist name and contact information

2. Title of piece(s)

3. Written description of piece(s), including dimensions and materials used

4. Preliminary sketches or mock-ups of piece(s)

5. Price estimate for each piece. The Howell Collective will be providing funds for materials, UP TO:

a. $1169 for the table

b. $1000 (2@ $500 each) for the benches

c. $400 for the sign (with up to an additional $400 designated for a supporting structure)

Deadline for entries is March 20th, 2010, with the piece(s) expected to be completed by May 2010. Please send submissions to:

Attn: Howell Collective Call to Artists

P-Patch Program

PO Box 94649

Seattle, WA  98124-4649

OR electronically at

howellcollective@gmail.com

Meeting Rescheduled and Garden Tour!

Photo by Jord Wilson

In observation of the greatest healer and knower in the universe, one’s heart, we will not be meeting Sunday, February 14^th.  In truth, we are not meeting Sunday, because we are meeting on SATURDAY, 4pm at Bradner Gardens (29th Ave. S and S Grand St.) with organizer, Joyce Moty. While we are getting a tour of the garden, this will mostly be an informational meeting about the trials and tribulations, ups and downs of starting a community garden. We plan on asking Joyce the following:

• What was the first month like?

• How did you utilize volunteers?

• How did you make it work?  With p-patchers at your site and with the community at large?

• Any warnings?

So bring your questions and your umbrella in case in rains!

Our Neighbors!

Last Saturday, the Howell Collective got a first-hand look inside the First Church of Christ, Scientist, a renovation/restoration/renewal project undertaken by Joe Sacotte and Joel Lavin, that shares a lot with the future site of the community garden. The space, now called The Sanctuary, is being transformed into a residential building holding twelve condos, each with their own unique layout and atmosphere.

Joel was kind enough to give us a tour, showing us the ins and outs of the place, as well as some background on how ideas and construction evolved.

The original dome ceiling, kept intact.

Joel demonstrating how the original stained-glass windows open.

The wood for the stairs was made from the old pews from the church.

The glass topped-things Joel and Leslie are sitting in front of in the second photo? Those are one-way mirrors that allow the occupants in the bedroom below to see the beautiful domed ceiling.

And here is Lindsay trying the view out for herself.

A view of Seattle from one of the rooftop decks.

At the close of our tour, conversation turned to the community garden. Joel said, “In order to be respected, the garden must look respectable.” This struck  a chord with the group, as the groundbreaking nears and construction concerns will soon arise. The garden will be sharing a space with a beautiful park and gorgeous church, and we will surely be inspired by Joel’s work with the First Church when our idea of a garden becomes a reality.

What Is Going On?

The asphalt remains, parking spot lines unfettered. The parking lot at Howell and 16th may look nothing close to the park and garden the neighborhood is waiting for, but trust us, plenty is going on behind the scenes!

The Howell Collective has set up an official meeting time and space at BLUEBIRD HOMEMADE ICE CREAM AND TEA ROOM at 12th and Pike, every SUNDAY at 5:30 PM. Please join us in the upstairs meeting room (PS, the snickerdoodle ice cream is AMAZING)!

At said meetings, we have been planning for everything related to the garden, from fresh start to fresh harvest. The quick 411 on what we have been talking about:

-THE BREAKING OF THE GROUND has been pushed to April, which gives us more time to really think about what we want our garden to look like! While many of us have ideas and thoughts, almost none of us have the expertise. Which is why we have decided to started to think about…

-RECRUITING AN EXPERIENCED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT to sit on our steering committee. If you or anyone you know has experience in landscape design and wants to help make the Capitol Hill neighborhood a better place for neighbors and nature, please email us at howellcollective@gmail.com, or attend one of our Sunday meetings!

-As well as a landscape architect, we are also looking for a MASTER GARDENER to join our cause. While the physical garden may not actualize for months, the Howell Collective is looking for someone to advise us on all things gardening, as well as tending to the garden itself at least once a week. Again, interested parties, please email us at howellcollective@gmail.com, or meet us on Sundays at 5:30!

-Have expertise but don’t have the time commitment? The Howell Collective is looking for SAVVY VOLUNTEERS to help us out at each stage of the construction of the garden. Are you a creative composter? Have a passion for perennials? Know which herbs are indigenous to the region and therefore will grow best given our climate and altitude? We are looking for instructors to help the community build its garden. More details to come on when and how the classes will take place. Let us know what you’re all about by emailing us at howellcollective@gmail.com.

We look forward to meeting you, and thanks for your support!

Howell Collective To Be A Part of “Seven Hills Park”

A recent press release regarding the park at 16th and Howell, now officially called Seven Hills Park. How elegant! How official!

PARKS SUPERINTENDENT NAMES TW0 PARKS
IN LAKE CITY AND CAPITOL HILL

Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Tim Gallagher has named new parks in the Capitol Hill and Lake City neighborhoods Seven Hills Park and Virgil Flaim Park, respectively.

Seven Hills Park

Parks acquired the Capitol Hill site at the northeast corner of E Howell St. and 16th Ave. E in 2007 with funding from the 2000 Pro Parks Levy and King County Conservation Futures tax revenues. The approved plan consists of an open lawn in the middle bordered by a collective garden to the north and a crushed rock plaza and a pathway lined with trees to the south. Other elements include a garden walk, steps, a plaza and benches, barbeque, a picnic table, and an art element.

The art element, “Seven Hills of Seattle,” designed by Mithun Landscape Architects, includes a grouping of seven boulders for creative play and seating that represent the seven hills of Seattle, called out in an early effort by early 20th century civic boosters to liken Seattle to Rome. (The hills are First Hill, Second Hill [Central Area ridge], Denny Hill [now the Denny Regrade and Belltown], Capitol Hill, Yesler or Profanity Hill [actually part of First Hill], Beacon Hill, and Queen Anne Hill. Some accounts include Magnolia Bluff, Sunset Hill, Duwamish Head, and West Seattle Hill.

Parks received more than 50 suggestions for a name for this park, and the Naming Committee settled on Seven Hills Park, suggested by first grade students at nearby St. Joseph’s school after the artwork in the park that represents Seattle’s seven hills.

Construction on the site, also funded by the Pro Parks Levy, is scheduled to be completed by spring 2010.

Virgil Flaim Park

Parks acquired this Lake City site, located at 12312 – 26th Ave. NE, from Seattle Public Schools in 1987 after Lake City Elementary School, for which it served as the playground, was surplused. Citizens and groups submitted nine suggestions for the park’s name, and the Naming Committee agreed on the name “Virgil Flaim Park” after the long time Lake City resident and active Lions Club member.

Flaim’s personal initiative led to many improvements to the Lake City community, including this park. He was executive director of the Lake City Community Center from 1986 until his retirement in 2001, and the proposal to name the park after him received support from the Lake City Lions Club, Lake City Community Center, Lake City Western Vigilantes, Lake City Western Vigilantes Sidekicks, and the Lake City Chamber of Commerce.

The Park Naming Committee is comprised of one representative of the Board of Park Commissioners, one representative of the Seattle City Councilmember who chairs the committee dealing with parks issues, and one representative of the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation. For more information about the park naming process, please contact Paula Hoff, Seattle Parks and Recreation, at 206-615-0368 or paula.hoff@seattle.gov.