A Growing Project
Gardeners in the Puget Sound lowlands have begun to see the fruits of their early season labors as Seattle enters its beloved days of bluebird skies and balmy nights. While many of the things in our lives have changed during 2020, the ability to tend to a plot of soil, plant seeds, and grow food has thankfully stayed the same. This continued ability to grow fruits and vegetables has led to the blossoming of a new partnership between DNDA’s Delridge Wetland Park Teaching Garden and the new Delridge Grocery Co-op.
In early 2020, three 5’ x 5’ raised garden beds were installed at the wetland by DNDA Environmental Education Coordinator Bri Castilleja, who went to work creating programming around gardening education for students at nearby school Louisa Boren STEM K-8. When it became clear in-person activities were no longer going to be a viable option this year, we started bringing produce to a partnership event between DNDA’s Housing program and NW Share Food Truck.
At the event, a serendipitous meeting occurred with Brent Curtis, a Delridge neighbor and the interim director of Delridge Grocery Co-op. This fortuitous moment left Brent with an entire head of Napa cabbage and both organizations with an opportunity to get Delridge-grown produce into local kitchens.
After coordinating with DGC Operations Manager Lara Anderson, all produce grown at Delridge Wetland Park Teaching Garden began being donated to the co-op to be included into their weekly DGC Essentials Box. In exchange for this produce, families living within DNDA-owned housing have the opportunity to sign up and receive at least 10 pounds of locally and almost entirely organically grown produce, for free.
Since the inception of this program, DNDA residents have received more than 200 pounds of fresh produce and the teaching garden has donated an assortment of lettuce, kale, chard, snow peas, Walla Walla sweet onions, radishes, beets, strawberries, potatoes, and cucumbers. DNDA’s environmental education program is working in tandem with its housing program to bring further access and education to residents at DNDA properties throughout Delridge with assigned garden plots and a resident-run gardening workshop to begin in September.
A crystal hung by a neighbor on a garden bed
The Delridge Wetland Park Teaching Garden is located within Delridge Wetland Park at 28th Ave SW and SW Findlay Street – one block east of Delridge Way. Formerly a Seattle City Light property, this park was acquired by DNDA in 2017 and is in the process of being restored. To learn more about the ways this space is being transformed into a hub of outdoor education and community, visit dnda.org/wetlands.
This teaching garden and related programming is funded in part by King Conservation District, the Bullitt Foundation, PCC Community Markets, and Waste Management.