Christa Dumpys, Mayor Greg Nickels, Julie Whitehorn at Good Neighbor Garden, October 11, 2008
Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of showing off the Good Neighbor Garden to Mayor Greg Nickels on his walking tour of Queen Anne. He seemed pretty interested in our efforts to promote urban food gardening and asked some unexpected questions (”hey, is this Trex?”). He mentioned that his neighbor in West Seattle has “ripped her strip” and is growing some fine-looking produce in it. When I gave him a tote bag, he admired it and said he’s getting quite a collection. (Aren’t we all!)
The tour included an entourage and two photographers (I am still kicking myself for not wearing makeup and better clothes). Once my nerves calmed, I had a great time, especially with Sharon Nickels chatting about parenting and schools and food. Her mother used to make home-made rootbeer, and now I’m eager to try it.
The coordinator of the tour was Christa Dumpys, the QA/Magnolia rep from the Department of Neighborhoods. Four years ago, when Christa was coordinator of the QA Community Center, she championed my friend Heather Brownell’s and my proposal for a new, environmentally-focused preschool at the center. Heather and I named it Fresh Air because we (1) think kids need a lot of it, and (2) we are fans of NPR’s Terry Gross. Our children attended the school for two years, and GNG volunteer Sarah Holt’s son is now a student there. Needless to say, I was thrilled to talk about Fresh Air’s help with the Good Neighbor Garden this year, and to champion Christa and the many other city employees who are assisting with neighbor-driven efforts to improve our communities.
The tour ended at Eat Local (a GNG sponsor) where I overhead owner Greg Connor tell Sharon Nickels that he plans to plant his strip with edibles. Wow! I think a rosemary / lavender hedge would do pretty well there on that western edge, don’t you?
Let’s get growing!
Julie
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