Did you know that the parks levy that was overwhelmingly passed by Seattle voters this month includes $2 million for four community gardens, to be located in West Seattle, Ballard, South Seattle and Queen Anne?
You can read more about the levy in this Queen Anne News article by Myke Folger. Below is an excerpt that includes my 2 cents:
The city has also earmarked $2 million to fund the acquisition and development of community gardens, with the first four locations likely to be Queen Anne, Ballard, Rainier Valley and West Seattle. Nothing’s in stone yet, but Julie Whitehorn, co-chair of the Queen Anne Farmers Market Association and the Good Neighbor Garden Project is thrilled.
“I find it astonishing,” Whitehorn said. “There are more than 1,000 people on the P-Patch waiting list and we think the parks levy is going to help that. Our city population is ballooning and density is increasing and that means fewer yards and gardening spaces. For environmental, health and economic reasons, it’s good.”
We don’t know yet how the city is planning to develop the community gardens, but I will advocate for a creative outreach program to educate city residents on the many options for local food growing. We can be proud of what we have accomplished here with GNGP using elbow grease and limited private donations!
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