Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Pocket Parks in Happy Valley

Happy Valley is commonly mistaken to be the home of simply two parks, 5-acre Happy Valley Park and 30-acre Connelly Creek Nature Area. Happy Valley resident Hue Beattie said he believes the neighborhood has four parks total. The other two are pocket parks, or mini-parks, that not very many people know about because there are no signs and they are rather small. These parks are used by the immediate neighbors for a variety of things, but aren’t actually considered parks to Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department.


One park is located on Lenora Court between Knox and Mill Avenues. This park is about .1 acre in size, a little bit smaller than a college basketball court. Beattie said the area is nicely landscaped because the neighbors share the responsibility of maintaining it. This space of land has been used for picnics, weddings or meetings over the years and is commonly used as a play area by the neighborhood residents.

The second pocket park of Happy Valley is located on the corner of 21st Street and Larrabee Avenue. This park has a pond that is about 40 feet in diameter for runoff water coming from parking lots nearby. Beattie said residents of Stanford Apartments use this area as a permaculture landscape, or edible landscape. The area provides food such as nuts and berries for the people and wildlife around it. The Happy Valley Neighborhood Association, http://www.happyvalleyna.com/, tried to propose a plan for this area to become a community garden, but the Parks and Recreation Department decided it was too small.

-More information on Happy Valley Park and Connelly Creek Area: http://www.cob.org/services/neighborhoods/profiles/happy-valley.aspx

No comments:

Post a Comment

Labyrinth Centerpiece

Labyrinth Centerpiece
Chuck Nafziger holds the unfinished centerpiece he hand-crafted for Fairhaven Park's permanent labyrinth.

Labyrinth design by Chuck Nafziger

Labyrinth design by Chuck Nafziger