Ask Ravenna Blog: What’s in a bioswale?

Inspired by a reoccurring column that our neighborblog, Roosiehood, writes, I am introducing the “Ask Ravenna Blog” post.

The premise of these posts is this: You, dear neighbor, send me a question, and I’ll do my best to find the answer.

Today’s question comes from southern Ravenna resident, Pamela, via twitter. She lives quite close to the Seattle Department of Transportation’s construction zone at the Scramble (NE 55th St/Ravenna/22nd Ave NE) and was wondering…

…what’s going to go in in the “bioswales” and who’s going to maintain it.

I emailed Construction Communications Officer, Bob Derry, who forwarded Pamela’s query to Jessica Murphy, the manager of the 15th Avenue NE Reconstruction Project (which the Scramble project is a part of). Here’s what she had to say:

The bioretention facilities will be maintained by Seattle Public Utilities as they are a stormwater infrastructure. The plants being used are as follows:

Kelsey Dogwood (cornus stolonifera)
Wetland Sedge (carex obnupta)
Baltic Rush (Juncus balticus)
Daylilies (hemerocallis)
Catmint (nepeta mussilinii)
Geraniums (geranium macrorrhizum)
Sword ferns

There are also going to be some new trees – Hogan cedars, black maples and tupelos all maintained by SDOT Urban Forestry.

There you are, Pamela (and anyone else who was wondering about bioswale contents and maintenance).

Have a question? Ask Ravenna Blog! Email me at rebecca@ravennablog.com.

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Ask Ravenna Blog BONUS: The SDOT’s Urban Forestry program’s website has a lot of great information for residents, including street tree planting procedures, a tree pruning guide, traffic circle volunteer information, and much more.

Also, if you have any comments, concerns or accolades for the Scramble construction crew, Construction Communications Officer, Bob Derry, can pass them along for you. You can find his contact information near the bottom of the 15th Avenue NE Reconstruction Project website.

Ravenna in the waste reduction lead for $50,000 from CleanScapes

Many people in the neighborhood sent me a link today to the following article in the Seattle Times:

Out of all of CleanScapes’ waste pick-up areas in the city, Ravenna has done more since September 2010 to reduce the amount of waste — garbage, recycling and yard waste — than any other area in the city. And if we can keep it up until the end of the contest (September 2011), our area will win $50,000 to spend on the community project of our choice.

But the Ravenna neighborhood alone cannot take all the credit for this high ranking in the contest. From the above Seattle Times article:

The leader so far, said CleanScapes’ Candy Castellanos, is an area bounded by Interstate 5, Northeast 65th Street, 40th Avenue Northeast and Ravenna Avenue Northeast, also known as the Tuesday North district.

Turns out, by my calculations, that pick-up area covers some Ravenna, a little Roosevelt, and a chunk of Bryant, with a side of Wedgwood. Here’s another map, of just the Tuesday Morning North district:

CleanScapes' Tuesday Morning North waste pick-up area (map links to full city pick-up day pdf at Seattle Public Utilities)

Way to go, TEAM Tuesday Morning North!

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So, what’s the game plan? How does Tuesday Morning North keep that number one spot, and collect a large novelty check* come September 2011?

From CleanScapes’ Seattle Neighborhood Waste Reduction Rewards page:

Winning is easy: stop waste before it happens. Compost at home. Use a worm bin. Grasscycle. Use refillable water bottles and coffee mugs. Replace paper towels and napkins with cloth kitchen towels and washable napkins. Bring your own bag. Use Tupperware. Reuse. Repair. Buy in bulk. Buy local. Buy second-hand. Share. Trade. Swap. Rent. Donate or sell unwanted items. Print double-sided. Stop junk mail and phonebooks… you get the idea!

Now, I’d ask you to print out those waste reducing tips and keep a copy in every room of your house…but would you mind just writing down on some old scrap paper instead? We’d all appreciate it.

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*I have no idea if there will be an actual novelty check, but I sure hope so.