Information from Stu Hennessey with Sustainable West Seattle:

Sustainable West Seattle is changing the way they conduct their community forums. For over 5 years SWS has had monthly meetings (3rd Mondays of the month) to bring interested West Seattleites together over a variety of topics. Much has been learned and shared as well as many community alliances have been formed. Now, a new concept is being unveiled to extend the conversations as well as put action into their forums. Three month themes with a variety of workshops in between each forum will give SWS a chance to bring about lasting legacy to their forums.

Each theme also will culminate in a permanent offering to the community.

A very timely first effort will be the theme of Successful Gardening with Nature. Starting with the first forum on soil building, experts from SWS will share their secrets to the foundation of successful gardening. The forum will take place March 18th 6pm at the West Seattle Community Orchard located in the north end of South Seattle Community College.

The hands on style of learning will demonstrate the process of creating garden beds that sustain fertilizer and water as well as keep the weeds at bay. This is followed by Q and A and a movie “Permaculture Soils” by Geoff Lawton in the SSCC LHO classroom 2. Several workshops at the Community Orchard will follow in coming days. The West Seattle Tool Library will also be hosting a Fixers Collective March 21st 6-9pm offering a chance for local gardeners to sharpen their tools and repair wheel barrows. With parts tools and experts at the ready the WS Tool Library would request a donation of $5 for members and $10 for the public.

The April forum will be on garden planning. This will include the selection of crops, what different plants require, sister planting for beneficial reasons and pest control and will answer the question, what does a tomato need that a cucumber doesn’t want? The final forum in the series will be a one day garden creation to benefit a yet to be determined community group, school or church. You can nominate a spot in need of a garden by logging onto www.sustainablewestseattle.org and leaving a comment on their website or at the end of this article.