October Update: Alternative Site for SE Community Garden

The Friends of Linus Pauling Community Garden met on Thursday, October 14th to discuss a new site for the community garden. We were receiving opposition from PPS as we tried to pursue use of the original site (the PPS-owned, fenced-in area near 14th and Alder at Washington School). We were faced with two options: support from PPS if we chose to instead expand upon the DaVinci school garden, located at NE Everett and 26th; or, support from PP&R if we chose to utilize the PP&R-owned land at the Washington School site.

After last Thursday's FLPCG meeting, attending members of FLPCG voted for the later, opting to keep our efforts focused in the southeast Buckman neighborhood. Of the PPS "greenspace," located south of the high school building, there is a small 75'x125' parcel owned by PP&R that can accommodate approximately 40 plots (10'x20'). The sunny space will not need to be depaved, but it will need to be fenced in. Additionally, by choosing to focus our efforts at the PP&R-owened Washington School site, we ensure continued support from Nick Fish's office, a great ally to have on our team.

Upcoming efforts that will require a burst of efforts from FLPCG members include:

• Scheduling soil testing, first and foremost, to ensure the space is able to be used for edible gardening
  
• If soil testing proves favorable, we'll get the site officially designated as a future community garden
  
• Canvassing the neighborhood to garner support for the new community garden site
  
• Newspapers contacted/articles written to promote our efforts and ensure visibility within the community
  
• Grants written to acquire funding for our efforts

Please click here to contact Sandy, who is organizing our canvassing efforts in the Washington School neighborhood on November 6th, at 2:00 PM. If we get enough volunteers, it should only take a couple of hours. Lucy and Windy have agreed to contact newspapers/write articles, but any additional leads/writers would be greatly appreciated. Grant writing will be handled by Lora, but again, any additional volunteers to help take on this task would be helpful. Please be sure to utilize the message boards at our FLPCG Group (click here) for organizing efforts and internal discussions... they'll help keep everyone abreast of our actions, both current and future.

And, as always, be sure to send us your e-mail address if you're interested in receiving up-to-the minute updates on our efforts!