2013 Beneficiaries

As a non-profit organization we donate the net proceeds from the Tour to educational and horticultural projects or to community gardens. This year's beneficiaries will be:

Plant Amnesty Trees and Views Symposium

The annual Urban Forest Symposiums are a combined effort by PlantAmnesty and the UW Botanic Garden and were initially made possible in 2009 by a grant from the WSGT. We have hosted four successful events thus far, each with its own focus such as Trees and Infrastructure, and Trees and Volunteers. We successfully reach audiences of 150 folks from diverse backgrounds, and we work hard to keep it affordable for the largest possible outreach. West Seattle residents, as well as neighboring communities up and down the waterfront, constantly struggle with the trees and views problem, as do arborists and city officials. The 2013 symposium will give people a common knowledge base upon which to make tough decisions.

Nature Consortium

Nature Consortium is a Seattle-based grassroots environmental arts organization whose mission is to connect people, arts and nature. Our vision is to create opportunities for people to connect to themselves, to each other, their community and the natural world. Our Organic Gardening Classes are part of our Youth Art Program, a year-round program which provides free environmental arts classes and field trips to youth ages 5-19, living in low-income neighborhoods and public housing communities throughout Seattle and King County.

Nature Consortium’s gardening classes began five years ago at Yesler Community Center, and currently take place at Yesler, Pathfinder K – 8, and Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.  Funding from WSGT would go towards our Pathfinder and Youngstown gardens. Led by teaching artist and gardening extraordinaire Amy Pille, the Organic Gardening class is one of the most popular classes on record with Nature Consortium. Many of our students have never gardened before, and are completely enthralled with digging in the dirt, earthworm discoveries, and watching their plantings grow and become edible.

In all of our gardening classes, basic Gardening techniques are taught weekly as students engage in all aspects of tending to their gardens. Lessons on soil ecology, plant biology, nutrient cycles, compost, garden art, and food nutrition produce a successful and tasty product. Emphasis is placed on teamwork and sustainability as connections with the natural world are made in a fun and rewarding way.

With the help of the West Seattle Garden Tour, we will be able to expand these popular garden classes even more. Our students will learn all they can about gardens and carry this forward into future gardens, introducing a generation to lifelong gardening skills and passion.

The Soos Creek Botanical Garden Foundation

In the Northwest, what once was over 150,000 acres of prairie has been reduced by 90%, and is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the United States, according to Prairie Landowner Guide for Western Washington. The Soos Creek Botanical Garden property includes an approximately two and one half acre area that is particularly suited to dry meadows. The soil type is quite different from other soils in the immediate area. The soil is ‘prairie loam’ type, free of rocks, and was probably a dry meadow before the advent of farming in the area. On this particular site we want to introduce prairie plants and flowers that are native to the Pacific Northwest as well as natives from other areas with similar conditions. We wish to make this prairie meadow as colorful as possible from early spring through fall, to be one of the real visual highlights of the Garden.

Our goal is to add 1000 native plants that do not already exist in the Garden. In addition to some shrubs and trees, we would like to focus on herbaceous flowering plants, such as miniature violets, tiger lilies, lupines, trilliums, and others which can be planted in drifts and groups. In addition we would, wherever possible, overseed with the same plant to enhance survival success. Another goal is to have a succession of bloom and interest throughout the season.

Allied Arts Foundation Luna Girls on Alki Project

Allied Arts Foundation (AAF) is a public nonprofit tax-exempt 501(c)3 organization which provides umbrella sponsorship to artists for singular or ongoing artistic projects.

Luna Girls on Alki is a public sculpture to be installed at the popular Alki Beach Park in West Seattle. The sculpture is composed of three charming young ladies, in 1920's beach attire, posing elegantly on life-rings, welcoming visitors to the waterfront park promenade.
The figures are created from heavy steel, cut to look like lines drawn in the air. All but the lines are cut away leaving empty space throughout the figures to see through and enjoy the view beyond. This sculpture is designed as a celebration of joy. It draws from the history of the site 100 year ago & projects a happy greeting 100 years into the future.

Arts West

ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery is a non-profit arts organization located in West Seattle with programs in theater, visual art and education. Our Gallery, which exhibits and sells the work of local artists, is open and free to the public 5 days a week. Our Playhouse presents 5 main stage professional musicals/plays annually, employing local and regional theater talent at a Washington State standard hourly wage. Our Theater Education Program presents 3 musicals/performances annually, one for each segment of our nationally recognized education program. In 2012, ArtsWest was named one of ten National Theatre Company Grantees by the American Theatre Wing (founders of the Tony Awards). This award is given to only 10 emerging regional theaters annually. Next year we celebrate our 15th Anniversary as a cultural and economic driver for the Alaska Junction, and the communities of West Seattle.

Seattle Tilth's Rainier Beach Learning Garden

Seattle Tilth inspires and educates people to safeguard our natural resources while building an equitable and sustainable local food system.

Rainier Beach Learning Garden is a Seattle Tilth learning garden based at South Shore School in Rainier Valley. This region of Seattle is considered one of the most diverse communities in Washington state — and one of the most critically in need. 75% of children in Rainier Valley are on free or reduced lunch, and 50% of parents report concern about where their food is coming from.

At Seattle Tilth, we want all people, but especially children, to know where their food comes from, to understand how to grow healthy food, and to prepare it in easy, nutritious ways. Through the Rainier Beach Learning Garden, Seattle Tilth educators teach more than 500 students a year about composting; worms, beneficial insects and microbes; soil building and environmental stewardship. They understand the basis of healthy soil, planting seeds and seedlings, cultivation and how to harvest their own food.

Seattle Tilth staff manages the Rainier Beach Learning Garden, teach educational lessons and cooking classes, help teachers, day care providers and summer programs integrate gardening into their programming, and work with school leadership. Seattle Tilth educator Maren Neldam is an experienced garden educator with a background in farming at Oxbow Organic Farm, and experiential education with Seattle Tilth, a regional non-profit that promotes organic gardening. For the past three years, she has taught garden education to children at the South Shore Garden and other Seattle Tilth sites. She is an expert in teaching children about building healthy soil, planting and harvesting organic food.