Stepping Out

Thoreau said “It is a great art to saunter,” and the recent completion of a major pathway installation at the Evergreen Arboretum is a testament to the Everett Parks Department’s mission to bring together gardens and art to the city, the county – and the world at large.   

 

Recycled, porous glass pathways now wind their way through the gardens, allowing people of all mobility needs to enjoy the world-famous gardens.

 

The project required major fundraising efforts by the Evergreen Arboretum volunteers, through membership dues, Gardens of Merit tours and garage sales.  

 

A grant from the Tulalip Tribes moved the group to the finish line, which was a bit daunting for a volunteer group.  

 

A porous pavement product from Preston Geosystems of Appleton Wisconsin was selected for its use of 100 percent post-consumer waste products, its ability to eliminate storm-water challenges and the strength to take light to heavy pedestrian traffic.  

 

In addition to safety, it had to meet the Evergreen Arboretum Foundation board’s aesthetic requirements.    

 

When the project began in 2008, would the board have dreamed that pathways made from 90 beverage bottles per square foot could be a thing of beauty in its own right?  

 

“Never,” said EAF board President Hap Wertheimer.  

 

“Snohomish and Skagit counties are indebted to the product research  of the Everett Parks Department,” he added, “as well as the collaborative efforts of so many to produce a world-class system of pathways for all abilities while sustaining our precious Puget Sound environment.”