Jardinería con un Propósito / Gardening with a Purpose

Latino community members in Monroe learn how to build a rain barrel to collect rainfall on their properties for use in watering gardening beds.

In our efforts to reach a more diverse audience, we were excited to connect with Yvonne Marisol Gallardo-Van Ornam from the Monroe Chamber of Commerce. Through a grant with the WSU Latino Engagement Program through Snohomish County Extension, we held a gardening with a purpose class spoken in Spanish by our Community Engagement Manager, Kate Riley, and Montan, a native speaker from Ecuador, who runs In Harmony Sustainable Landscapes.

Landscaping before the construction of the rain gardens.

Our Veterans Conservation Corps constructed the two rain gardens in front of the historic Mason Building that now houses the Monroe Chamber of Commerce, which is located just off Main Street in downtown Monroe.

Latino attendees of the workshop, members of the largest minority community in Monroe, learned how to build rain barrels, and were able to take one home. They also helped to plant the two rain gardens.