Top to bottom: Rainy, windy park dedication event, wildlife tree (snag) on trail, park sign that actually says “birding!”
Jackson Park, a 200-acre golf course in northeast Seattle just got a band of green. This park, one of the largest-remaining green spaces in Seattle, was previously dedicated to just one activity: golf. Now it has value added for walkers, hikers, runners, birders, nature appreciators and more. An attractive new 2.2-mile perimeter trail makes all of these activities possible.
It took six years for this to happen, which in Seattle is lightning-fast. In 2007, the Seattle Parks Foundation rolled out its Bands of Green plan, authored by Tom Byers of Cedar River Associates, to encourage the city to connect its parks with more trails and boulevards. Loop trails are compelling as demonstrated by the popularity of Seattle’s Green Lake, Seward and Discovery Park trails.
When I was the Parks Foundation’s Neighborhood Parks Director, I presented the updated Bands of Green plan at community centers, including at the North Seattle Community Center. At each meeting, I highlighted Bands of Green projects in the geographic area where I was speaking. When I spoke to the North Seattle group, one person took my suggestion and ran with it. Her name is Renee Staton.
Renee called me in the office the next day and said she wanted to pursue a Jackson Park loop trail. Since then, Renee and other neighbors formed the Friends of Jackson Park Trail and successfully urged the City to move forward on this project. Now, six years later, it has been built, thanks to the tireless efforts of community members in collaboration with Seattle Parks Department and Seattle Parks Foundation.
The resulting 2.2-mile trail winds through woodlands and wetlands with frequent views of the rolling terrain, ponds and coniferous trees of the golf course. At times the trail feels remote from the city, surrounded by large Douglas Fir and Hemlock trees. At other times it crosses streams and wetlands. When I walked the trail twice this week, I encountered joggers and walkers who now have a place to seek exercise and natural beauty in their neighborhood. Although the trail is over two miles long, it does not matter whether or not people walk the entire loop. Even walking a portion of it can bring joy, exercise, peace and beauty to their lives.
A dedication event was held recently despite driving winds and rain. Some 25 hearty souls attended, including Eric Friedli, acting deputy director of Seattle Parks Department, Thatcher Bailey, executive director of the Seattle Parks Foundation, Garrett Farrell, Seattle Parks’ project manager, Celeste Cooning, the artist who created a beautiful sculpture “Bounty” that fits in organically with the park, and community activists, like Renee Staton and Ellen Hale whose diligent efforts helped facilitate these improvements.
A 2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer editorial “City of Green” said “Connecting Seattle parks with more trails and boulevards would bring the city greater beauty, more usable open space and fulfillment of longstanding visions.” One of these trails is now on the ground for people to use and enjoy. May there be many more in Seattle and elsewhere.
