A FOND FAREWELL

This is my fourth spring working as the manager of the Danny Woo Community Garden, and unfortunately, it will be my last. With this change comes good fortune, too, as I will be leaving my position to attend a graduate program in Landscape Design and Environmental Planning in western Massachusetts.

We have begun our search for a new Garden Manager, who we hope to hire by mid-June so they can have a couple weeks of training prior to my departure at the end of that month. Resumes are already flowing in, though the position has been announced for less than a week. This is an encouraging sign, not just that we will have a good applicant pool, but also that people are excited about the prospect of working at the Danny Woo Community Garden and contributing to this community.

In my four and a half years here, I have been fortunate to develop great relationships with our community of gardeners. Their gestures of gratitude, be they greens from their garden, home made sushi, or pastries, were a

bridge that helped us build friendships over these four years, despite the lack of of a common tongue. I will miss them all dearly.

I’ve seen many changes in the garden during my tenure. None of these would have been possible without the hard work of the hundreds of volunteers who have given their time, labor, and enthusiasm to these projects. I need to give special thanks to the Spring 2003 Howard S. Wright Design/Build Studio for their dedication to building our new terraced perennial gardens at the gardens eastern street front. Also, to the 2004 Americorps*NCCC Red One Team, without whom the garden would not be graced with two new concrete block retaining walls.

My thanks does not stop here, and if you will pardon me, I must also thank the Bank of America for their dedication to their annual spring work party; The Service Board for their energy and enthusiasm; the United Way for their outreach and coordination of some spectacular events; the W.I.L.D. program for their help in bridging the language barriers while bridging the generation gap; Youth Volunteer Corps, V.O.I.C.E., and City Year for connecting high school students with community service; CAP and community volunteers for making the Annual Spring Clean Up possible; and so many others for their efforts in making the garden a safe and inviting community asset.

The garden is also supported by donors who, together, raise thousands of dollars each year for improvements and maintenance throughout the garden. I’d like to thank all of the Friends of the Danny Woo Community Garden, who are too numerous to list here for their ongoing support. We are also grateful for the generous support of the South Downtown Foundation, Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods, Safeco Insurance, the Norman Archibald Foundation, King County’s Department of Natural Resources, Washington Insurance Council, and the Seattle Housing Authority for their financial support of garden projects and programs over the years.