Welcome our new sponsor, Taylor Gardens

Say hello to the Ravenna Blog’s newest sponsor — Taylor Gardens, a local small garden consulting and maintenance business based in North Seattle.

Gardening projects that Taylor Gardens can assist with include garden coaching, garden maintenance, bed renovation, hosting a garden party workshop, seed propagation help, suggestions for improving your yard if you’re planning to sell your home, and many others services.

A full list of services and rates can be found here.

Here’s more about owner Jeanie Taylor, from the Taylor Gardens ‘About’ page:

The Taylor in Taylor Gardens is Jeanie Taylor. She was a professional propagator for six years, has 15 years of horticultural experience, and was a senior gardener for the City of Seattle. She holds a B.S. in Botany and an M.S. in Conservation Biology from the University of Washington, where she wrote a thesis on the reproductive biology of the endangered plant Hackelia venusta (showy stickseed).

Jeanie enjoys working with individuals and small groups to save biodiversity one garden at a time. She does garden maintenance and renovation and helps home gardeners with projects, pruning, and garden questions. She conducts classes and demonstrations by request, most recently for the Washington Native Plant Society and the City of Seattle. Her video tutorial on propagating plants using live stakes can be viewed online.

You may also know Jeanie’s work from her garden column for Wallyhood, a neighborhood news site in Wallingford.

For more information on Taylor Gardens, click on the ad to the right, or visit TaylorGardensNW.com.

 

Spring egg hunt is ON for Saturday at the RECC

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 7, grab a basket and head on over to the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center (6535 Ravenna Ave NE) at 10 AM SHARP for the annual spring egg hunt. Twelve and unders only, please*.

A little birdie told us that there might be passes to Tot Gym and/or the Play Room in a few of those eggs — a treat that the parents of the younger egg hunters would certainly enjoy.

The weather looks to be at least mostly cooperating (forecast of partly cloudy), but it would be hard to beat last year’s bright blue skies and warm temps.

Here’s the movie we made of last year’s hunt:

*Any self-respecting teenager would still be in bed at 10 AM on a Saturday anyway, AMIRITE?

Eckstein Middle School is looking for tutors

Eckstein Middle School (3003 NE 75th St) is looking for some tutor volunteers to help students during school hours.

Eckstein Middle School is seeking volunteer tutors to work with students who need a little extra one-on-one support. You don’t need to be a “math whiz” or have special teaching skills to help a struggling student be more successful this year. As little as one hour a week of your time can make a real difference! Tutors are needed Monday through Friday between 7:50 am and 2:20 pm in all subjects.

Here are a few examples of current tutoring needs:

  • Work with a 7th grade student who has missed a lot of school and needs some help to get caught up on math skills (M or F, 7:50 – 8:45)
  • Work with an 8th grade student who needs one-on-one support in Language Arts
  • Help ELL (English Language Learning) students with reading and writing skills (W, Th or F, 8:50 – 9:25)
  • Provide classroom support in a 7th grade science class (W or F, 9:50 – 10:45)
  • Help an 8th grade student in beginning Japanese class (Any day, 9:50 – 10:45)
  • Support a 7th grade student with 7th grade math work (T or Th, 11:10 – 12:40)
  • Work with 7th grade students who are struggling with basic math skills (Any day, 1:25 – 2:20)

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Eckstein Volunteer Coordinator LauraLeigh Young at llyoung@seattleschools.org or 206-252-5012.

March Story Time Schedule for the Northeast Branch

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The Seattle Public Library’s Northeast Branch (6801 35th Ave NE) Children’s Services Librarian, Erica Delavan, sent out the March Story Time schedule this week:

Toddler Story Time (Geared for ages 1-3)
Thursdays, March 1, 8, 22, 29 at 10:15 & 11:15 a.m.

Preschool Story Time (Geared for ages 3-5)
Tuesdays, March 6, 20, 27 at 10:30 a.m.

Pajamas & Puppets (All Ages)
Wednesday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m.

Time to apply for city-wide summer Seattle Parks & Recreation jobs

Click to see the whole 2012 Summer Recreation Employment brochure (571 KB PDF)

It may still be winter, according to the calendar, but Seattle Parks and Recreation is already looking for summer employees.

The 2012 Summer Recreation Employment brochure is out, and chock full of seasonal jobs, including:

  • Special Needs Youth Counselor
  • Boat Ramp Ranger
  • Lifeguard
  • Wading Pool Attendant
  • Day Camp Director, Counselor, and Jr. Counselor
  • and more!

Volunteer opportunities are also available (go to the Seattle Parks Volunteers homepage for more information).

All current Seattle Parks and Recreation employment opportunities are listed on the main City of Seattle employment homepage.

Neighborhood planning coffee talks begin this week, local biz first topic

In the coming months, as a part of the community-led planning process for the 35th Avenue NE business district, the Wedgwood Community Council is hosting a series of coffee chats related to neighborhood planning.

Eight talks are planned. The first of which, “Creating the Conditions to Support Neighborhood Businesses,” is this Thursday, February 23, from 7-8:30 PM, at the Wedgwood Presbyterian Church (8008 35th Ave NE). Speakers include Theresa Barerras from the Office of Economic Development, Beth Dufek from Impact Capital, and Wendy Schwartz, the owner of the late Fresh Boutique.

Probable topics of the remaining seven talks are:

  • Density and its benefits
  • Making a neighborhood walkable and the importance of proximity
  • Design at a human scale. A primer on architectural design concepts and “design guidelines with teeth”
  • Place-making and successful streetscape features
  • Financial realities of development.  Incentivizing successful development
  • The trade offs of land use planning (e.g, up-zoning increases property taxes, increased traffic/parking, etc.
  • Incorporating affordable housing and economic diversity into land use planning

We’ll include the dates and locations of these future talks here, once they are scheduled.

Although these talks are being put on by the Wedgwood Community Council, anyone in Northeast Seattle is welcome to attend.

Family Walking Group starts at Magnuson Park this Thursday

Nursing students at the University of Washington are working with the American Heart Association this quarter, and bringing a Family Walking Group to Northeast Seattle.

The kickoff walk takes place this Thursday, February 23, at 2 PM (coinciding with Seattle Public School’s mid-winter break). Meeting place is Picnic Shelter #3 at Magnuson Park (7400 Sand Point Way NE; north side of soccer fields).

Sign up your family at the Magnuson Park Meetup page. You can find the day’s walking route map there as well.

Thank you to Jessica Fosse for sharing the event information with us.

February Story Time schedule for the Northeast Branch

Children’s Services Librarian Erica Delavan will be in schools (talking about the Global Reading Challenge) and on vacation for part of the month of February, so the Story Time dates are few:

Toddler Story Time (Geared for ages 1-3)
Thursdays, February 2, 9 at 10:15 & 11:15 a.m.

Preschool Story Time (Geared for ages 3-5)
Tuesdays, February 7, 28 at 10:30 a.m.

Pajamas & Puppets (All Ages)
Wednesday, February 15 at 7:00 p.m.

The Northeast Branch of the Seattle Public Library is located at 6801 35th Avenue NE, the same block as Wedgwood Top Pot Doughnuts (apropos of nothing).

UW professor’s propeller, bound for park, winds up stolen instead (UPDATE)

UPDATE (Friday, February 3): The propeller has been found! Via Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Parkways blog:

Seattle Parks has possession of the propeller that was stolen earlier this week from the University District. After discovering the stolen propeller at the Northwest Corporate Park in Kent, a security guard contacted the Kent Police Department.

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Seattle Parks and Recreation is asking for the public’s help in finding a stolen object bound for installation at a north end park.

The missing object in question: A 70-inch diameter 1,260-pound stainless steel propeller.

Details from Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Dewey Potter (via email):

The University District Community Council and Philip Thiel, naval architect and Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington, were preparing to donate a 70” diameter, stainless steel propeller to Parks as an installation in a north end park.

Unfortunately, thieves drove up an alley in the University District this morning and, managing to overcome the obstacles of both a retaining wall and a fence, lifted the 1,260 lb. propeller onto a truck and drive away with it. There were no witnesses. Neighbors heard a commotion and called the police, but the thieves were long gone.

Professor Thiel and the missing propeller (pre-theft) / Photo courtesy Seattle Parks and Recreation

The propeller is/was to be used in North Passage Point Park in the Northgate area.

The public is asked to keep an eye out for the missing propeller. If spotted, please call the Seattle Police Department’s non-emergency number (206-684-5011) and contact Seattle Parks and Recreation (206-684-7241).

Rough Rider senior players to be honored at tonight’s Roosevelt High basketball games (UPDATE)

UPDATE (Wednesday): The Roosevelt News has a wrap-up and slideshow of last night’s Girls varsity game. A piece on the Boys varsity game will join it later today, at that same link.

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At tonight’s Roosevelt High School varsity boys and girls basketball games, graduating senior players will be honored.

Before the evening’s games, senior members of each team will stand with family, be thanked for their time with their respective teams, and what college they will be attending (if known) will be announced.

The Boys’ varsity team has seven seniors: Corey Scott, Jake DiJulio, AJ Edwards, Adrian Noteboom, Turner Huletz, Joe Knight and Brian Merry. The Girls varsity team has five: Katherine Woodworth, Sydney Melkerson, Sydney Morrill, Tanner Adams, and Meg Monsen.

Girls take the court tonight at 5:45 PM, Boys at 7:30 PM, at Roosevelt High School (1410 NE 66th St). Both games are against Woodinville. Cost is $6 for adults, $4 for ages 6 through high school (with an activity card), and free for ages 5 and under, and home students with an activity card.

The Roosevelt High School newspaper, The Roosevelt News, was kind enough to share with us shots of the senior boys in action:

A.J. Edwards / Photo courtesy The Roosevelt News

Turner Huletz / Photo courtesy The Roosevelt News

Jake Dijulio / Photo courtesy The Roosevelt News

Joe Knight / Photo courtesy The Roosevelt News

Adrian Noteboom / Photo courtesy The Roosevelt News

Brian Merry / Photo courtesy The Roosevelt News

Special thanks to RHS students Brian Merry (Varsity Basketball senior) and Mitchell Smith (Roosevelt News Sports Editor) for their help with this post.