Twin Ponds Park — Attraction in Shoreline

Disclosure: I'm on the committee.

This is a small community garden of 38 private plots and a robust food bank garden program. It's unique in that it has wide pathways and is the first community garden built and supported by the City of Shoreline: est. Apr 2012.

At this writing many satellite photos show it as a busted up asphalt plot. For many years it was a defunct basketball court.

A number of community organizations partner with us: Aegis of Shoreline, the nationally award-winning Parkwood Neighborhood Assoc., Diggin' Shoreline, Turning Point of Seattle.... We also received g-e-n-e-r-o-u-s support from North City Lumber.

The Food Bank Program consists of four gardens: "Honey" (8 beds), "Mason" (3 beds), "Spelling" (6 beds) and an herb garden; about 1,400 sq ft, not including pathways. The program accepts donations from private plots and from the community. [brag mode] We donated 800 (2012), 1,425 (2013) and 2,050 lbs (2014, so far). This year's numbers are roughly 70 lbs community, 310 lbs private plots and 1,670 lbs food bank gardens!

We are NOT perfect, but we are learning. Even if you don't have a plot, that doesn't stop other people from dropping by on harvest Sundays & Mondays or adopting a food bank garden bed or just strolling through.

Don't...

Wildlife watchers dream location. Healthy stream, ponds, hiking trails. Park staff clean every morning thoroughly & throughout the day. Avoid the piles where leaf blower combines debris. Am a dogwalker who has visited this park weekly for 15 years. I feel safe walking alone here. Aegis, Community Garden, soccer field, tennis courts, arboretum, playground and public bathrooms. List of animals seen: otter, heron, crane, several diving birds like loons, mallard, wood duck, grebe. Muskrat, pack rat. Turtles, frogs, fish, kingfisher bird, dragon flies. Black, huckle, & salmon berries. Shaded, single file footbridge at second pond with many trees for kids to climb. My teen even enjoys the little hike...

This park had a lot of amenities and good parking. There is some restoration work happening soon on the trails and I think they are looking for volunteers. There was two guys each using different sides of the soccer field. Dog owners walking their pets, and kids on the playground. I saw a ton of turtles as I was walking around the ponds and even saw 3-4 in the water on the little overlook dock. Birds were chirping, turtles sunbathing, and people out enjoying the sun! The trails will hopefully get the help they need to make this park even better and then I would give...