The November work party was a fine end to a great year for North Beach Park. We had 12 volunteers who got more than 150 plants into various places through out the park, including some wetlands. It was great to emerge from the cool park into an atypically warm, dry, sunny November day.


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EarthCorps coordinated five work parties in North Beach Park, starting in April and ending last Saturday, November 9th. They accomplished a tremendous amount of work, clearing more than 10,000 square feet of space and more than 240 plants, ranging from ground cover up to conifer and deciduous trees.

The day started earlier than usual, with some ( Read more... )

October and November are going to be busy months in North Beach Park, as we finish up clearing invasives and head into planting season.

October 12th (Saturday) and 23rd (Wednesday): EarthCorps will remove invasive plants in preparation for November planting. EarthCorps work parties are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit the EarthCorps website to sign up.

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It was pretty darn wet this morning, but at least it wasn’t cold. Five of us set out to do some survival rings on trees that desperately needed some help. As we walked down the trail, I tried what I remembered of the St. Crispin’s Day Speech. The bit about “those who lay warm in their beds” sounded entirely too tempting, so I stopped quickly.

Our ( Read more... )

This spring, the Parks Department gave North Beach Park 1/4 acre of invasive plant clearance on steep slopes, an area volunteers are not allowed to work. I’ve always assumed it was a liability issue, which I think now is only partly the case. I now see it as a skill set issue as well.

I forgot about it until I was asked to review the contract a ( Read more... )

What with summer schedules and other things, only four of us were at the July work party for Friends of North Beach Park. But it’s frequently the case that summer work parties are poorly attended. I mean, look at that sky!

But those of us who were there got quite a bit done, and had a good time doing it. Plus, we were in the shade for the most ( Read more... )

There is a stream that runs through North Beach Park, emerging from just under 24th Ave NW and running through the park, then through private property to the Sound. But there are also a number of broad horizontal seeps that enter the park. My research will ask a lot of questions about them:

1. How many are there?
2. Where do they enter the park?
3. Where do ( Read more... )

Welcome summer to North Beach Park Saturday, June 22. We’ll concentrate on building ivy platforms to prepare for the EarthCorps work party in July. If enough people show up, we’ll send an expeditionary force into the park to do a survival ring or two. But come see the park in its summer splendor. It’s like a jungle!

Here are the usual details:

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We had 14 volunteers Saturday morning, for a total of 27 volunteer hours. It was an excellent turnout and we had a great time. The first thing we did was finish mulching Knotweed Hill. We’re glad to get that done!


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Saturday, April 27th, 9 a.m. to Noon
(details below)

April has been a busy month so far for North Beach Park!

April 7th was the Groundswell NW Annual Meeting. There were two inspirational presentations, by Dawn Hemminger (about the 14th Ave. NW park) and Milenko Matanovic from the Pomegranate Center (Read more... )