“…we humans have disrupted natural habitats in so many ways and in so many places that the future of our nation’s biodiversity is dim unless we start to share the places in which we live –our cities and, to an even greater extent, our suburbs — with the plants and animals that evolved there”
― Douglas Tallamy, Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard
On an early spring morning, this former traffic circle is tranquil yet alive with bird song. Wildflowers like Pacific Iris, Harsh Paintbrush and Prairie Flax are in bloom. Black-headed Grosbeak, a neotropical migrant bird sings like a drunken robin. An Anna’s Hummingbird perches high on a limb to proclaim that the entire circle is his territory. Several people stroll the circle to peruse books in the Little Library. A mother parks her stroller to savor the peace, beauty and safety of the circle with her child. Some come for conversations, some come to read, write, sketch, paint or just chill out. This small but lushly-landscaped oasis attracts them all.
This Saturday, June 8, 2024 from 4-5 PM, Friends of Ravenna-Cowen (FORC) is hosting a celebration at the Circle Park to thank volunteers and donors, place a commemorative plaque in the park, and visit neighbors.
FORC led the successful effort in 2018 to establish a National Historic District in the neighborhood and now advocates 
for the cultural, historical and natural assets of the Ravenna and Cowen neighborhoods. The 5,500 square-foot site that comprises Circle Park contains 1,000 plants representing 65 different species. Installed by 30+ volunteers, it resembles a mini-arboretum of native plants, shrubs, wildflowers and trees with a few non-native European Birch, Hawthorns and a Japanese Maple grandfathered in.
To say this circle was not always well-stewarded, would be an understatement. In 2010, it had been taken over by invasive English Ivy and by drug abusers who often discarded their syringes and other drug paraphernalia in the thick Ivy. Few people visited then.
Since the restoration began in 2010, neighbors George Macomber and Susan Samuelson have maintained it regularly and beautifully . A Little Library was installed. Thanks to Larry and Lani Johnson and FORC, two new park benches and two stools were also installed. Over the past 14 years, Circle Park has become a popular place for neighbors and visitors to sit, read, relax, and enjoy the native plantings.
You could argue that Circle Park has become one of the best maintained public spaces in Seattle.
Circle Park reminds us that we can all positively impact the public landscapes around us. In so doing, we improve the quality of environment, of life, and our relations with neighbors. Cheers to Circle Park, our neighborhood “circle of life.” May it inspire others to ‘go native’ in their neighborhoods.
“If all of us committed to one footprint of land…the world would be a better place.” – Sara Dykman, Bicycling with Butterflies
