Monday, May 23, 2011
6:30 to 8:30 pm
Olympia City Hall City Council Chambers

The program will begin with a Neighborhood Conversation on planning and a review of the Imagine Olympia neighborhood meetings held in January and March.

Then Jim Diers, the former director of Seattle’s Office of Neighborhoods, will share his thoughts and vision with our community. Jim is a champion of participatory democracy who finds creative and resourceful ways to get more people involved with their communities and the decisions that affect their daily lives. In Jim’s fourteen years of service with the city of Seattle, his department’s mission was to decentralize and coordinate city services, strengthen communities and their organizations, and work in partnership with these organizations to preserve and enhance the neighborhoods. Jim’s influence and legacy is still evident throughout Seattle and in today’s work at Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods. Jim is also the author of Neighbor Power: Building Community the Seattle Way.

This event is sponsored by the City of Olympia and the Coalition of Neighborhood Associations. Questions about the event? Contact the president of the Coalition of Neighborhood Associations, Julie Hankins at ol*****@**no.com

The City of Olympia will be celebrating Arbor Day at Lions Park on Saturday, May 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This year’s celebration will include traditional highlights from years past, and new additions for 2011:

• An official reading of the Arbor Day Proclamation by Mayor Pro Tem Stephen Buxbaum;
• A representative of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources will recognize Olympia as a Tree City USA for the 18th year;
• This year’s Jay Butts Friends of Trees Award will be presented to Councilmember Stephen Langer for his contributions to the success for the first Annual Legion Way Tree Planting and Veteran’s Day Celebration;
• Free tree seedlings available to take home;
• The planting of a brand new shade tree at Lions Park; and
• Fun and interesting tree care information for the whole family!

New for 2011—the Puget Sound Regional Tree Climbing Competition!

The City of Olympia Parks Department and the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture are co-hosting the Puget Sound Regional Tree Climbing Competition at Lions Park on May 21. Come early or stay late at Lions Park on Arbor Day and watch word-class professional tree climbers compete for prizes, prestige, and slot in the international competition in Portland next year. Five different unique and exciting climbing events will be staged around the park. This event is family-friendly and free for spectators.

For questions, please contact:
Kevin McFarland, Urban Forester
(360) 753-8301 – km******@***********wa.us

Please note: Parking is limited, so please walk, bike, bus or carpool to this event.