October Happenings!

Welcome to the Magnuson Children's Garden! We have one more event coming up this year, and we hope to see you there:

Family Gardening Event
Come spend an hour or two helping "put the garden to bed" for the winter on the city-wide Make a Difference Day! A wonderful group of volunteers from Seattle Works will be doing fall cleanup and mulching in the Children's Garden, and you are welcome to help. No previous gardening experience necessary! All adults who participate are invited to bring children with them for free nature activities, such as exploring the worm bin, going on sensory walks, and creating nature art. Tools and gloves are provided for all adults and children, along with refreshments. Teens receive service learning credit for their volunteering. To top it off, King County Master Gardeners and other horticultural experts will be on hand to answer questions about your own garden free of charge!



Thanks to all of you who attended our first annual "Nature Explorers Jamboree and Harvest Celebration" on Saturday October 2nd,
especially all the wonderful volunteers who made this event possible! The Magnuson Community Center and the Magnuson Community Garden did a fabulous job co-sponsoring this extravaganza for over 600 children and adults. To see photos of all the fun, visit www.jrnatureexplorers.blogspot.com !



Blues for Food Fest - Harvest Parade!
Here are a couple of photos from our Harvest Parade during this year's Blues for Food Fest, on Sept 4th. The parade has been a special event for the children and families who attend this annual music concert & fundraiser. We picked 14 baskets of green and purple beans, squash, tomatoes, strawberries, kohlrabi, chives, and oregano to donate to local food banks!


Garden Description
This vibrant, interactive, children’s garden is open FREE to the public year-round, during all hours that Magnuson Park is open. The garden was designed by a team of professionals, using the ideas that were dreamed up by children from the community, and is filled with plants and other features that delight all the senses:
• A sea of grasses that rustle in the wind.
• Hundreds of plants that feed butterflies and other beneficial insects, hummingbirds and songbirds.
• The Tea Garden and Pizza Garden.
• Child-size picnic tables, plus tree stump stools and benches to sit and dream.

• A spiral path up a hill to the Lookout, the highest point in the whole community garden.
• The Fort Zone, complete with everything you'll need to build a unique "house" of your own.
• The Salmon Survival Path, which winds from our "ocean" up to the Lookout.
• A Grey Whale Garden, complete with mosaic tail and eyes, and a tall grass spout!



We welcome all volunteer groups who would like to help sustain the Children's Garden. As the Seattle Works volunteers (photo left) will testify, our "Gardening Day" events are tons of fun too!

For more information on our events and volunteer opportunities, contact the Magnuson Children's Garden Committee at magnusonchildrensgarden@gmail.com

Links:
For info about the Jr. Nature Explorers program, which is sponsored by the Magnuson Community Center, visit http://jrnatureexplorers.blogspot.com

You can also find additional information about the Magnuson Children’s Garden and Community Garden at http://www.seattle.gov/magnusongarden/default.htm



Directions to the Garden:
The Children's Garden is part of the 3.5 acre Magnuson Community Garden, located inside Warren G. Magnuson Park
7400 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
The Children's Garden is easy to find! It is located right behind building #406, also known as "The Brig". If you are traveling to the garden by foot or by car, follow these directions:

Enter Magnuson Park at the 74th St entrance. Go approx. 4 blocks until you reach the second 4-way stop sign. The entrance to the Community Garden is via the sidewalk on the north side of this intersection. The Children's Garden is just a few steps down the sidewalk- look on your left for an entry arbor with colorful flags and a Weeping Blue Atlas Cedar Tree draped over its top, and the giant Grey Whale Garden !

If you're driving, turn right at that second 4-way stop, and park in the Jr. League Playground parking lot. (if you reach the dog park you've gone too far) Use the crosswalk to go back across 74th St. and into the Children's Garden!


Magnuson Park is a proud participant in the annual National Environmental Education Week, which was held this year on April 11th-17th. The Magnuson Community Center, Children's Garden, and Bird-Friendly Landscape hosted several educational events that week for school-age children!

For more info on National Environmental Education Week, visit http://www.eeweek.org