• Arbor Lake Park, 12380 2nd Ave South, volunteers will be working 9 am-Noon to spread mulch chips around the native planting added late last year along the North side of the lake.  No restroom facilities!
• Shorewood Park, 28th Ave SW & SW 119th Street , volunteers will be working 10am-Noon to remove those English ivy shoots and continue pushing the big stands out of the park.  Also, we have had lots of branches fall – great mulch except those that are covering our new native plantings, so we can artistically replace those, and add a few  baby native conifer trees.  No restroom facilities!

Coming up in March:

• Salmon Creek Ravine on Saturday, March 10th,  volunteers will be working 10 am- 2 pm (unless we finish earlier)  planting 150 new bare root plants and mulching around the newly added plants.

For more information, contact Lisa Aumann at the City of Burien: (206) 988-3700 or lisaa@burienwa.gov.

Burien Parks sent out the following Tweet Friday morning, Jan. 20, which included the photo above of a downed tree blocking the road to Seahurst Park:

Seahurst Park in #Burien is closed to the public today due to road conditions and downed trees.

“If Eagle Landing Park could speak, what kind of visitor would she like?” reads a post on the new website. “How can I be a contributing member of her ecosystem? The premise of this Biography is that I can serve the park by being her memory, but as I walked through the park today I thought of other ways I could benefit her on a daily basis. In addition to being a brain for the park, I can also be a white blood cell. As I move through her, I can identify and remove that which does not belong. Today I collected cans, bottles, trash, and ivy.”

Branson said he became interested in native plant stewardship around 2001, then took a Stewardship Training from the Washington Native Plant Society in 2004. He then made Eagle Landing Park his pet project. Volunteers have been trying to restore the forest to health since the park opened in 2005.

“Because of what I’ve learned from the Washington Native Plant Society, I think of Eagle Landing Park as an ecosystem, a living entity, not just a place,” he added.

Branson also said:

“I started EagleLandingPark.org in 2006 in order to help people appreciate the natural beauty of the park. 365 Stones: A Biography of Eagle Landing Park, is an extension of that effort. Like a biography of a person, this daily blog will help people get to know what is beautiful, fascinating, and useful about this local park. It will also offer practical ways that local residents can help improve the health of the forest while enjoying exercise and recreation. At the end of the year, the 365 entries will be compiled into a book to be published electronically, and possibly printed, and then anyone can read it to learn more about how one little neighborhood park struggled to become healthy under the pressures of daily use and abuse.

Will Eagle Landing Park be healthier at the end of one year? I don’t know yet, but either way, we will have a better understanding of the ecosystem of the park. The more I learn about nature, the more I enjoy a simple walk through the woods. Every day is something new. I hope to be a benefit to the park while doing something I enjoy. Hopefully readers of the blog will learn to look at the park differently, and see the hidden forest that had escaped their notice.

Also, it’s an excuse to go for a walk with my dogs.”

One reason Branson may be so attached to this park is because his family once owned the land, and sold it to the City of Burien, according to its website:

In the early 1900s, the land known as Eagle Landing Park belonged to the Branson family. The Branson property was part of a 200-acre parcel owned by the Seahurst Land Company, which supplied water to local residents from springs on the property. The original Branson estate was a 9-acre wooded waterfront residential lot. In 1915, a relative of the owner built a residence in the northern portion of the property, which was upgraded and expanded in the 1930s. A county road through the property was platted but never built, and has been vacated since 1935. The property was logged about 90 years ago, when much of the timber in Burien, Seahurst, and Gregory Heights was felled to supply wood for America’s Liberty Ships in World War I.

The steeply sloped property sits atop two geologic units – glacial lake clay and silt below, and glacial outwash sand and gravel above – both deposited during glaciation of Puget Sound in the last Ice Age. Springs trickle from the hillside at an elevation of about 50 feet. The area has a long history of slope instability, according to oral history and the topographic features of the site.

Continue on to learn about how the City acquired this land.

Be sure to check out Jim’s new blog here!

Burien’s annual ‘Empty Bowls’ fundraiser event for local food banks will be held on Friday, Jan. 27th at the Community Center, and volunteers are needed to help out.

Volunteers are needed to help wash bowls beforehand, as well as set up and serve at the event itself.

Here are the details courtesy Gina Kallman, Cultural Arts Supervisor for the City of Burien:

Hello!

I am starting to fill slots for volunteers for Empty Bowls 2012! The event will be Friday, January 27th, 11-2 and 4-8pm. Please let me know if you can help!

I am looking for people to fill these slots:

Bowl washing at Moshier Art Center:

• Monday, January 16, 10-noon
• Wednesday, January 25, 6-8pm

Set up at Burien Community Center:

• Thursday, Jan 26, 3-6pm

Friday, Jan 27—Main Event! Please let me know if you would like to help for lunch or dinner…we have the following shifts:

• 10:30-12:30
• 12:30-2:30
• 3:30-6:00
• 6:00-8:30pm

Thank you and Happy New Year!!

Gina Kallman
Cultural Arts Supervisor
City of Burien
Tel: (206) 391-6605
ginak@burienwa.gov
www.BurienParks.net

To volunteer, email Gina at ginak@burienwa.gov or call (206) 391-6605.

To see our previous coverage of past Empty Bowls, including great photos, click here.

It’s time to break out your walking shoes again and meet up with your B-Town neighbors for another stroll – Burien’s monthly ‘Walk-n-Talk’ will take place this Sunday, Dec.4, meeting at 2 p.m. at Town Square, then walking over to Mathison Park with a guided tour by Eric Mathison.

Brief history of the Park:
This five-acre park was dedicated on September 15, 2006. Most of the land was donated by Ted Mathison in 1999. On April 16, 2003, two sisters, Eleanor Carver Nelson and Dorothy C. Carver, donated a key parcel allowing the park to connect between South 146th and 148th Street. They gifted their property to the Burien Parks Department in memory of their grandfather, Herman Nickolas Peters, who homesteaded in Sunnydale in 1889.

Peters was born in Germany on February 21st, 1868 and came to Minneapolis when he was 14. He arrived in Seattle in 1889, just after the great fire. After buying a small paint store in Seattle, he purchased 10 acres in Sunnydale. He later bought another five acres. He lived on his homestead property until his death in 1949.

Peters operated a large chicken ranch and orchard between 5th Ave. South and 8th Ave. South, and South 148th and South 150th. He built several houses on 6th Ave. South, most of which were paved over by State Highway 518.

Patrons of the Park: The Mathison Family
In the summer of 2006, the Mathison siblings – Don, Phil, Eric, Stephen, and Susan – cut the ribbon to open Burien’s newest neighborhood park and playground. They grew up on the property, raised by their parents Ted and Bernadine Mathison.

Eric Mathison, Editor of the Highline Times, noted the irony in Burien Plaza Starbucks adopting the park: his mom and dad didn’t drink coffee. His late father had written that “it is highly recommended that the property remain heavily wooded (my wife Bernadine loved trees).” With “great pleasure and trepidation” he turned over to the city of Burien what had been the family home since 1944.

The Mathisons bought the five acres “in the country” from the Sunnydale Goat Dairy for $1,600 in August, 1942. Ted Mathison laid 10 or 12 cinder blocks a day, after work, in building their house. The children had many adventures on the property – climbing trees, building forts, and picking fruit from their gardens. “Just because we lived on five acres on the top of a hill, I don’t want you to think we were rich snobs,” Eric said. “My dad was a Boeing middle manager. My mom took care of five kids and volunteered in the community. My parents were into voluntary simplicity before voluntary simplicity was cool.

“I want Burien officials and park patrons to know how important the place is to my family and me. The benefits we received as kids (wooded trails with views of Mt. Rainier, the airport, and Puget Sound) we want to pass on to succeeding generations of children and adults.”

Additional history of the Park is available here.

Here are the details:

WHAT/WHO: This is a FREE Walk-n-Talk open to walkers and talkers of all abilities, including families and dogs.

WHERE: Meet on the grassy knoll at Burien Town Square, at 5th Place SW and SW 152nd Street. Here’s a map of this week’s route:

WALK TO: Mathison Park: 533 S 146th St., Burien WA (The total, round-trip distance is about 2.1 miles.)

WHEN: Sunday December 4; meet at 2:00 p.m., start walking at 2:15 p.m.

INFO: Intentions for Burien’s Walk-n-Talk:

• Encourage active living to support physical and mental health.” (Part of Burien’s new “Vision”.)
• Initiate conversation between friends and neighbors, new and old.
• Nurture the idea of our Town Square as the “living room” of Burien, our center and gathering place.
• Create our own little “volksmarch“, in the European tradition.
• Support our local cafés and restaurants on Sunday afternoons.

For a review of the first neighborly walk, click here: http://www.kunstdame.com/we-walked-we-talked/

For more information, email: design@RedRedCircle.com

These signs are being posted throughout Burien Parks, proclaiming them as 'Tobacco Free' zones.

On the 36th national Great American Smoke-Out (Thursday, Nov. 17), the City of Burien joined five local communities as having tobacco- or smoke-free parks.

“The city of Burien today declared its parks, beaches, playgrounds and playfields to be tobacco- and smoke-free, joining Auburn, Covington, Seattle, Snoqualmie and the Vashon Parks District, which have similar policies,” reads a press release.

“We’re proud to be joining other cities in King County in declaring our parks smoke-free,” said Burien Mayor Joan McGilton. “This benefits the entire community and is in line with the City’s vision of promoting a healthy environment for people of all ages.”

“When folks come to a public park, they expect to breathe fresh air – not someone else’s cigarettes,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine, who said he will work with the County Council to develop a no-smoking policy for King County parks.

Here’s a Video courtesy our friends at Burien Parks:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s the rest of the press release:

Tobacco-free parks reduce exposure to second-hand smoke for children and families, and reduce pollution from cigarette butts, the main source of litter in public places.

Tobacco-free parks are part of a broad movement to create healthy and smoke-free areas, especially for kids and the most vulnerable. In recent months many hospitals, housing providers, and mental health and chemical dependency centers have also gone smoke-free.

“People want and deserve healthy, smoke-free places. Today we continue to deliver this for our region,” said King County Councilmember and King County Board of Health chair Joe McDermott, whose council district includes Burien and who today helped unveil Burien’s first tobacco-free signage in a ceremony at Lake Burien School Memorial Park.

In a recent survey of King County residents, 70 percent said they support smoke-free public places, including parks.

In King County alone, tobacco causes almost 2,000 premature deaths and costs over $340 million in medical expenses each year. In addition to the health effects, cigarette butts can account for up to 70 percent of litter items in public places. Cigarette butts can take up to 15 years to decompose, leaching chemicals into the soil and posing harm to small children and pets if ingested.

“The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that there is no safe level of exposure to second hand smoke, and tobacco use is still the leading cause of death and illness in King County,” said Carrie Nyssen, Regional Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific. “Even brief exposure to second-hand smoke can cause an asthma attack in a child, or increase risk of blot clots in healthy adults.”

Nationally, almost 600 jurisdictions have enacted laws that prohibit tobacco use in parks and on beaches, including New York and Los Angeles. In Washington state, about 30 cities in 15 counties have smoke-free parks policies, including Tacoma Metro Parks in Pierce County and Marysville and Lake Stevens in Snohomish County.

Tobacco policies are enforced mostly by residents themselves, much like with dog leash and alcohol policies. This is how similar laws have worked in other places, including Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. People can also contact the parks departments.

A universal tobacco-free parks sign has been created for jurisdictions to post in their parks. Each jurisdiction that has adopted or plans to adopt a tobacco- or smoke-free policy will have the opportunity to post this sign as part of the regional partnership for tobacco-free parks.

Other cities within King County are also considering tobacco-free policies. These activities by local cities and King County are supported by Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW), a federally-funded grant to address obesity and tobacco use, two of the leading causes of death in King County.

More officials and directors comment on the benefits of tobacco and smoke-free parks:

• City of Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis: “The City of Auburn is committed to creating a healthy community. The Tobacco-Free Park Policy is intended to assist recreational organizations and parents in their efforts to recreate in a tobacco-free environment. It is important that we recognize the effects of first and second-hand smoke and discourage tobacco usage at places where youth are gathered and healthy lifestyle activities are available.”
• City of Covington Mayor Margaret Harto: “Covington established its tobacco free park ordinance in 2002 because we knew that choosing to be tobacco free in our parks meant choosing to provide a better quality of life for our citizens. We are proud to join King County’s initiative to bring light to the harmful effects of second-hand smoke in our public places.”?
• City of Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson: “We believe parks should remain spaces that are focused on health. Having places where kids can go and exercise and enjoy the fresh air is what parks are all about.”
• City of SeaTac Mayor Terry Anderson: “The City of SeaTac is concerned about tobacco use and the health of our citizens. SeaTac City Council is currently working with our citizens both young and old to see if they would like to have tobacco-free parks.”
• Vashon Park District Director Jan Milligan: “The community of Vashon Island is very committed to health and wellness, so tobacco-free parks and other public areas are just part of the big picture of a healthy community.”

For more information on CPPW, please visit www.kingcounty.gov/health/cppw and the new campaign, Let’s Do This, that encourages residents to get involved in improving the health of their communities.

Today, November 17, is also the 36th Great American Smoke-Out nationwide, and people are encouraged to use the date to make a plan to quit smoking.

Public Health – Seattle & King County wants our Readers to know that they are awarding mini-grants worth $750 for community groups who participate in parks clean-up events between now and the end of the year. 

Groups who choose to participate will hold a cigarette butt clean-up event at one of several identified parks (download a PDF list here). Each event pays $750. Groups do their own organization, including purchasing gloves etc. but instructions are provided.

Organizations are considered eligible and may apply if:

• They have a federal tax ID number.
• They have not already received $4,250 in funding from any King County Department.
• They don’t already receive funding from tobacco or alcohol companies.

Eligible organizations may apply for more than one event and may suggest parks for future events.

This mini-grant opportunity is part of a larger regional effort to support parks who want to implement tobacco or smoke-free policies. Tobacco/smoke-free policies in public places are widely supported by the public. They help protect park users from exposure to second-hand smoke, save on maintenance costs for the parks, and provide healthy spaces for people to live and play.

More information on this grant opportunity is online here.

If you have any questions, please send an email by clicking here.

REMINDER: The Environmental Science Center at Seahurst Park will be holding its Grand Opening this Sunday, Oct. 23rd from Noon – 4 p.m.

Adults and children of all ages are invited to experience this fabulous new facility at Seahurst Beach!

There will be hot cider, snacks and a fun roster of activities, including:

• Tour the rain-garden and learn about the building’s green features
• Check out the microscope displays and scientific drawing lab
• Explore the beach and forest at Seahurst with a naturalist
• Win prizes at the game stations!

Seahurst Park is located at 2400 SW 140th Street in Burien; the Environmental Science Center is located on the beach north of the turning circle at Seahurst Park.

For more information about the Environmental Science Center visit www.EnvScienceCenter.org.

Award Recipients (l to r): Janet Peterson, Secretary/Receptionist and Rachel Gilbert, Recreation Specialist Burien Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Department.

Two staff members from the City of Burien Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services (PaRCS) Department were recently honored with awards – Rachel Gilbert won an ‘Outstanding Professional Award’ and Janet Peterson won a ‘Customer Service Award.’

Members of the Washington Recreation & Parks Association (WRPA) announced the winners at a conference held in Seattle Oct. 19. Two of the three statewide awards went to these two Burien staff members. Several colleagues from Burien PaRCS were on hand to show their support for their co-workers, as the award announcement and presentation came as a complete surprise to the recipients.

“I am so happy for these two individuals,” said Michael LaFreniere, Parks Director. “They’re very deserving of this award and great examples of the kind of public service they and other members of the team here try to provide every day. They are truly great to work with; we and the public are very fortunate to have them at Burien Parks.”

Rachel Gilbert received the 2011 Outstanding Professional Award. The nomination, submitted by colleagues Debbie Zemke and Casey Stanley, highlights Rachel’s professional passion and commitment towards providing the best service possible.

As the Award Committee noted, Rachel:

“… goes ‘above and beyond’ often dealing with high-need customers and staff while continually responding in a calm and logical manner. She has established high standards, clear expectations, and accountability and is committed to providing training and feedback for her staff to be successful.”

Rachel has been an active member of the Facility Services Section of WRPA for five years. She served on last year’s planning team, was a presenter for the Customer Service session, and is co-chair of this year’s WRPA Facility Services Workshop.

Janet Peterson was selected by the Awards Committee to receive the 2011 Customer Service Award. The nomination, submitted by Vivian Casteneda, highlighted Janet’s interest in and passion for health and wellness with customers at the Burien Community Center.

The Committee said Janet was deserving of the Award because of the way she helps customers:

“…feel special and how she genuinely helps match them with the perfect class, and how she wants to hear how they liked the class. Janet’s enthusiasm ‘sells’ Burien Parks & Recreation programs and special events in an exemplary way.”

Janet recently implemented a new marketing program called ‘This Works For Me!’ that allows customers to share their successes with one another.

The city’s website also adds:

Additionally four (4) potential annexation park sites, currently outside the City boundaries, are included in this request.

Groundskeeping and maintenance for all of the sites and programs shall be in accordance with the Scope of Services specified in Section C of the Request for Proposals (RFP).

Here’s where to download the RFP-related documents (in PDF format):

• Request for Proposals Package (10mb download)
• RFP Reference Checklists (1mb download)

Proposals are due by October 28, 2011. See RFP for process time schedule and other related deadlines.