About the Project

Our assumption is that something can only be amazing if it’s sustainable. People often ask, “Who is going to do the maintenance?” The answer is, first, we are making improvements that rely heavily on native plants, weedblocker, heavy mulching, and other low-maintenance strategies. But there's no such thing as maintenance-free landscaping. So we pull weeds, add mulch and fertilizer as needed, and otherwise take care of things. If you see something that needs attention, please let us know!

The first thing is that we are planting pretty much only drought-tolerant plants. So things are either native or are otherwise suited to a Northwest climate. With our dry summers, there’s really no other alternative. But even native plants and trees need watering for the first summer or two. That’s where the community part of this project is really vital. We have several kind and generous neighbors along the median who let us use their hoses, and their water. We also have the resources to bring water in by truck, if necessary.

For most of the work on the median, the process is simple. We sit down with our neighbors and decide what we’d like to plant. And then get our hands dirty: remove the invasive weeds and nasties, and plant the nice new stuff. For plants, shrubs, flowers, grasses, that’s really the whole process. If you want to be part of those discussions, we'd love to have you join us! There is a bit of fine print. We can’t plant anything taller than 30 inches near intersections. And just like anywhere in the city, we call 811 to have the power, water, gas, and other utilities marked before we dig beneath the topsoil. For bigger things, there are additional regulations. For trees, and anything structural, there is a permit process. That process is not quick, and it serves its intended purpose of ensuring that major changes to city property are carefully considered. So the big rock near Waters and Pilgrim has a special permit. And the nine cherry trees planted further south required a permit as well.

It’s a community project, so most of the resources come from the immediate neighborhood. Through hundreds of hours planting, weed, and watering, the lovely landscaping you see has come alive and thrived through many northwest seasons. In addition, Rainier Beach residents, near and far, have also donated several thousands of dollars in cash, and about as much in plants, mulch, and other project materials. This community backing has enabled us to earn several grants from the Neighborhood Matching Fund run by the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.

Yes, the project started in 2021, under the auspices of a new neighborhood group, the Waters Median Project. We work in partnership with the Rainier Beach Community Club, which has been active in the neighborhood for more than a 100 years (!) Because we are a relatively new and small group, we don’t have a bank account, file taxes, and other things necessary to have a tax-exempt 501c(3) status. In an arrangement that is relatively common for small non-profits, we rely on the Community Club as our Fiscal Sponsor. So they handle the banking, liability insurance, and the formal contractual relationship with the City of Seattle. We love working with the RBCC, but the project itself is our responsibility, good, bad, and otherwise.

We would love to have you join us, in whatever way works best for you. We have meetings about once a month to plan the next bit of work, and to connect with each other. For people with kids, jobs, and other obligations, a monthly meeting is not going to work. Some people prefer to pull weeds. Others enjoy watering. We also have members who just donate money, because that’s what works for them. If none of that sounds right, we’d still like to hear from you. Contact us at watersmedian@gmail.com.