When a seal or sea lion makes its way to one of our beaches, Seal Sitters is one of the first to be called. With pupping season in full swing, rookeries and pups have already started visiting Seattle beaches.

“Sparky,” a seal pup in 2010 that was rehabilitated. Photo courtesy Marilyn, a volunteer with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

Seal Sitters relies on volunteers to keep watch on the pups throughout the season. If you’d like to become a Seal Sitter, the organization is hosting a new volunteer training session this Saturday, August 27 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Discovery Park Visitor Center. Seal Sitters’ Robin Lindsey says that September and October are the busiest time for the organization, so new volunteers are always needed.

For more details read the full story at our sister site MyBallard.com.

The John Hay Chorus has been invited to perform at two Earth Day events, coming up on Saturday, April 16. However, because Earth Day is also the first day of spring break, many of the students in the chorus will be out of town and unable to perform. Therefore the chorus is looking for temporary singers, between 2nd and 5th grades, to fill in for the two events.

Anyone who loves to sing and wants to perform and represent John Hay to the community is welcome.  No fee will be charged – we just need singers!

Rehearsals for the Earth Day events will be held on Tuesday mornings, from 8:15- to 9:00 a.m. on March 22, March 29, April 5 and April 12. The two performances will take place on Saturday, April 16, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For more information on the chorus and how to get involved, contact Suzanne Grant at suzgrant@uswest.net.

Friends of Lower Kinnear Park (FOLKpark) and the Uptown Alliance are hosting a rummage sale next month to raise money for the redevelopment of Lower Kinnear Park, an effort that has been several years in the making by the FOLKpark community volunteers. (Peruse our past coverage of FOLKpark’s work to redesign and clean up Lower Kinnear Park here).

While the rummage sale won’t take place until the last weekend of February (Friday, Feb. 25 through Sunday, Feb. 27), but FOLKpark is already collecting donations to be sold at the sale. The rummage sale will be held at 512 1st Ave N in Lower Queen Anne. Community members who’d like to donate their old stuff to FOLKpark for the rummage sale should contact Jean Sundborg at 206-283-6140 and arrange a time to bring their donations to the sale site.

FOLKpark is also looking for volunteers work the days of the sale, and in the weeks coming up to the event, helping to prepare. If you’d like to volunteer, reach out to FOLKpark via its Facebook page, or by calling the number above.

Many community centers, including the Queen Anne Community Center, were hit hard by the 2011 City of Seattle budget. In the case of the Queen Anne center, the city proposed to close the gym to the community and lease it to BizKid$, a national public television series for children. The plan was actively opposed by many in the neighborhood (more here), eventually leading to BizKid$ pulling out of the deal and City Council voting in favor to keep the gym open to the community.

As a result of the difficult citywide budget cuts, Seattle Parks and Recreation has been asked by the City Council to re-think how community centers are operated. This process will include public meetings and the creation of a Community Center Advisory Team.  Seattle Parks and Recreation is looking for community members to participate on the Advisory Team.

Advisory Team meetings will occur twice a month from January to May, 2011. The team will be exploring innovative ideas for operating the City’s community centers. Team members will consider the way the centers currently operate, review what other cities are doing, consider alternative operating models, evaluate public input, and assess options for partnerships.

Ultimately, the Advisory Team will review and provide advice on the report that Parks will submit to City Council by June 1, 2010. In addition to representatives from the general community, members of the Advisory Team will include representatives from the Board of Park Commissioners, representatives of employee unions, employees, the Associated Recreation Council, and City Council and City Budget Office staff.

Seattle Parks and Recreation is currently seeking community applicants for the team. Those interested in serving on the Community Center Advisory Team are invited to apply.  Parks is especially interested in those with past involvement with a community center, and those who are able to work with others for the greater good.

In a news release on Monday, December 20, Parks and Recreation asked applicants to submit a statement (no more than 1,000 words total) addressing the following questions:

• How and where have you been involved with a community center?
• Please give an example of your most recent involvement.
• What will you bring to the table?

Applicants are asked to submit their statement via e-mail to Susan Golub:  susan.golub@seattle.gov.  The deadline is Monday, January 10 at 5 p.m.

Mayor Mike McGinn and the City Council are looking for candidates for the Citizens’ Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB) for terms beginning in January. Members would help shape city technology and city government telecommunications policies.

The City seeks five new members who reflect a broad range of diversity, professional and community experience. Here’s the information they sent us:

The 10-member board advises City officials on issues of community-wide interest relating to telecommunications and technology, including broadband, digital divide issues, open government and community technology applications, online public engagement, and cable television.

Members serve a two-year term, must reside in Seattle and serve without compensation.

Participation in the CTTAB requires attendance at monthly meetings (second Tuesday of each month) and participation in at least one sub-committee that meets monthly. Board members also attend and participate in infrequent relevant public meetings and events.

To be considered, send a letter of interest and a resume outlining your experience by September 28, 2010 to Nicole.Schultz@seattle.gov. In keeping with the City’s “Paper Cuts” program, electronic submissions are preferred, though paper applications will also be accepted.

Volunteers will be celebrating Earth Day (Thursday, April 22), by clearing out invasive plants at Lower Kinnear Park this Saturday, April 24. For those interested in participating, volunteers will be meeting at the Roy Street entrance to the park and working from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The clean-up is being spearheaded by the Scientology Environmental Task Force, which has been an active supporter of community group FOLKpark‘s efforts to redevelop and revive Lower Kinnear Park.

Volunteers got together over the weekend at Counterbalance Park, at the corner of Queen Anne Ave N and Roy St, to work to better protect the park against vandalism.

Counterbalance Park was vandalized overnight back in February, when both concrete walls of the “urban park” were covered with red lettering almost 15 feet high. Alex Braun, the manager of The Willis condos that border the north wall of the park and the Barclay Court business building to the east, was able to remove the majority of the tags the next day.

However, because the park walls were only sealed up to 11 feet, it took another three weeks and a graffiti specialist to remove the final traces.

On Saturday morning a handful of volunteers brought paint, rollers, ladders and snacks to the park, where they painted the top half of both walls with a protective seal and then another coat of matching gray paint on top of that, in the hopes of protecting the park against future acts of vandalism.

Successful Schools in Actions Debate Club is looking for volunteer judges for their upcoming tournament on Saturday, January 16 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Judges must be 15 years or older. Prior experience is not required and parents, friends and neighbor volunteers are welcome. The tournament will be held at John Hay Elementary on Queen Anne. There will be a 30 minute training on the day of the tournament.  Get information about the tournament here. Debate Club is for 4th and 5th graders who attend Blaine, Lawton, Coe, and Hay Schools. Please contact Sandy Nielsen for more information at sandynielsen@schoolsinaction.org. For information on other upcoming SSIA events, click here.

The Seattle Marine Business Coalition is having their annual Ship Canal Cleanup tomorrow, Saturday, October 3 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The group, in partnership with the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, the Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle Public Utilities and the Port of Seattle, will be cleaning up the Ship Canal from the Hiram Chittenden (Ballard) Locks to the Fremont Bridge as part of their commitment “To improve the working waterfront, to act on our commitment to a healthy marine environment, and to have fun.”

Anyone interested in volunteering is welcome to attend. Volunteers will be meeting at Fisherman’s Terminal, on the west side of Dock 9 and the West Wall adjacent to the orange cranes at 9 a.m., before climbing into a boat, kayak or tug and getting to work along the shoreline. Coffee and donuts will be provided for all volunteers, and if you register in advance, a halibut barbecue lunch courtesy of Jubilee Fisheries and the Seattle Marine Business Coalition.

If you are interested, please contact Lise Kenworthy at LiseKenworthy@comcast.net or (206) 270-8535 so that organizers can have an estimated head count. Download the sign-up sheet here.

The Girl Scouts of Western Washington will be having an informational event tomorrow, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Queen Anne Library for girls interested in joining the troupe. Girl Scout coordinator Ilana wrote,

Attention all girls everywhere…Do you want to share and explore new things with your friends? Sing and make s’mores around the campfire? Build a rocket? Go horseback riding? Ever wondered what it would be like to grow up and be a veterinarian, baker, scientist, banker, or artist – you can learn, try, and experience all these things in the Girl Scouts. If you can think it, you can do it! Its all about what YOU like!

The Girl Scouts of Western Washington, which is a 99 percent volunteer-led organization, is also looking for adult volunteers to help coordinate and lead troupes.

For more information, stop by the Queen Anne Library event tomorrow, email JoinUs@girlscoutsww.org or call 800-767-6845.