If you've read all this stuff you can jump right to the upcoming events section.

Please be sure to check this page for updated information before the meeting in case we've had to make any changes. Room reservations are only available on a first come, first served basis. Starting in March of 2010 rooms can only be reserved a maximum of 30 days in advance instead of 3 months like it used to be, so there may be times we have to meet somewhere else. A reminder email is usually sent out the week before each Gathering and includes a proposed agenda and confirmation of the meeting location. If you're not already getting it you can sign up for that email on our Newsletters page.

SuBu is on Facebook and there s a B-Patch Blog.

Feel free to invite friends, family, neighbors and business people who have an interest in helping create Sustainable Burien. You can pass out this PDF flyer.

If you have questions, please ask and we'll do our best to respond.

Sunday, May 8, 2011 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Sustainable Burien gathering, Burien Public Library. 4th Ave SW and SW 152nd St, room reservation confirmed.

Rainwater Harvesting for Garden and Home

RAIN GARDENS: Students from Michael Stein-Ross� 6th grade class at St. Francis will do a short presentation about their experiences planning and installing a rain garden on the grounds at St. Francis.

CISTERNS: Clay Fife of Confluence Design+Build will educate us about cisterns and rainwater harvesting for those ready to move up from a 50 gallon rain barrel to gathering thousands of gallons of free rain water using your roof for catchment. He will cover the basics of how a cistern system works, about the benefits to both your wallet and the environment, and discuss uses from irrigation to in-home plumbing.

What sustainable practices should the City of Burien be promoting for the next 10 years?
The City of Burien is soliciting ideas for Burien�s future growth, and currently has a small section in the Comprehensive Plan on sustainability.� Sustainable Burien is looking to expand this and looking for your input.� If you would like your ideas considered for this draft, please send your ideas to <Contact Us>.� �From all of our ideas, we will draft a proposal that we will send to the City for their consideration.� We will need to have your input for this draft by May 15.

There may be an additional speaker, who will talk about his "Zero Impact" Senior Project at New Start High School.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 6 to 8 PM
Bike Class: Ancient Secrets of Bicycle Maintenance: Fix a flat, Burien Community Center.

$40. Presented by Burien Parks and the Cascade Bicycle Club. Download the Parks Department PDF brochure for details.

Saturday, May 14, 2011
Spring Into Bed, garden construction project. All over King County.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 14th, 2011. Seattle�s city-wide garden build day and celebration, Spring into Bed!, is building momentum for a second year. This year Spring into Bed! will be building and celebrating our thriving local food system throughout all of King County. We will organize over 500 volunteers at over 30 sites, tally over a square mile (27,878,400 ft.) of activated food growing space, and raise over $30,000 to build free and subsidized gardens for low income families. You are an essential element of this celebration! Read more about it at Urbanfarmhub.org.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011 6 PM to 8 PM
Two Frugal Chicks Tips and Tricks

Two Frugal chicks want to share with you tips and tricks for saving money for your family and donating to your local food banks.

For the latest updates on amazing savings, recipes and strategies for frugal living, find us at twofrugalchicks.blogspot.com or visit us on Facebook as twofrugalchicks.

Want to learn more? Be sure to sign up for our class at Burien Community Center.

June 15-18, 2011 6 to 9 PM
Bike Class: Riding with confidence, Burien Community Center.

$80. Presented by Burien Parks and the Cascade Bicycle Club. Download the Parks Department PDF brochure for details.

Movie Nights are temporarily suspended due to some scheduling issues. We'll post a notice when they resume.

We've been helping set up the Burien Community Garden and with the exception of a few small items, it's finished and the gardeners have taken over. This section will be updated anytime there's new information. Last updated July 31, 2010.

• We prepared the one raised and 3 ground level beds.
• Spread and compacted a lot of gravel.
• Built a grape arbor in the NW corner and planted grapes and other plants around it.
• Built compost bins near the house.
• Built a privacy screen along the west fence.
• Prepared and planted the landscaping areas around the fence line.
• Laid down a lot of cardboard and spread wood chips.
• Landscaped the NE corner of the lot, leaving room for a sign.

Overall we moved about 40 yards of compost, gravel, top soil and wood chips and hauled in almost 300 cinder blocks to build the raised beds. A lot of material moved from one part of the site to another, sometimes more than once. For instance we scraped off a lot of sod and piled it up in two areas. Some of it was replaced with compost and tilled in, other areas had gravel laid down. After we built the raised bed most of the old sod was moved again to fill the lower part of the beds, topped off with compost and soil.

Support for this project, in the form of donations, time and materials comes from members of Sustainable Burien, the Burien Parks Department, Burien Bark, Cedar Grove Composting, CalPortland, Roger's Spray and Tree Service, and Big Fish Concrete. Burien Bark has donated the delivery of 15 yards of Cedar Grove Compost, and delivery of a load of gravel from CalPortland. Cedar Grove donated 5 yards of compost and sold us the rest at a big discount. CalPortland gave us a discounted price for gravel. The Parks Department has done a lot of the planning and will be doing the administration for the garden. Members of Sustainable Burien helped with the planning, and have been providing tools and equipment, and doing the physical work of preparing the garden. Roger's Spray and Tree Service delivered a load of good quality maple and alder wood chips and later a large load of mixed cedar and pine wood chips. Ben from Big Fish Concrete helped level and compact the gravel pathways, and donated the use of his mechanical compactor.

The notes from some of our past gatherings are available as PDF files.

• October 26, 2008
• November 23, 2008
• January 11, 2009
• February 8, 2009
• March 8, 2009
• May 10, 2009
• July 12, 2009
• March 14, 2010

Sunday, July 11, 2010 Sustainable Burien gathering.

Saving Urban Forests and the Health of Puget Sound-Personal Steps and Brainstorming a Broader Strategy. Our speaker was Steve Richmond of Garden Cycles

Steve provided some background on invasive plant issues as it relates to ecosystem health, outlined best practices�for invasive removal, and brainstormed strategies to address this regional problem.��There were hand outs on Restoration Tips with resources for do-it-yourself native plant restoration.

Steve also talked about the advantages of gardening with native plants, and listed some resources that are available. To quote from his website:

Native plants are adapted to our dry summers and wet winters here in the Pacific Northwest. They are 10-15 times more effective at attracting wildlife than introduced species, particularly for the beneficial birds, bees, and butterflies we can expect in our city environment. A well-designed native landscape can be more than beautiful; it can help insulate your home from harsh weather, reduce noise, filter the air, and reduce watering and maintenance.

Remember that almost all invasive plants spreading through our forests started in someone's yard. You can help limit the source of future invasive plants.

December 12, 2008 and January 10, 2009
Moonlight Beach Walk at Seahurst Park.

In spite of temperatures hovering right around freezing, occasional heavy rain and a wind storm, nearly 50 people showed up for the December 12th Beach Walk. Kids, parents and interested citizens spent about an hour and a half exploring the beach with flashlights, finding the creatures that are normally hidden. They learned about beach etiquette, marine life and much more. People for Puget Sound set up an awning at the top of the ramp so there would be a reasonably dry place to sign in and get oriented. And where coffee and hot chocolate were available to help warm people up.

The weather was better for the January 10, 2009 beachwalk. Over 60 people participated and had a great time. There are photos from these and the two previous beachwalks on the Environmental Science Center web site.

People For Puget Sound and various partners are also sponsoring several others, including on Vashon Island, on Bainbridge Island, in Olympia and Anacortes. See their Events page for details.

This event was sponsored by the Environmental Science Center, People for Puget Sound, the City of Burien and the Seattle Aquarium. Photo courtesy of the Environmental Science Center and Erica Nomura