Volunteer Planting along Church Creek
/Alex and Carson, members of our Habitat Team, hosted a volunteer event with students from Stanwood High School's Natural Resources class on December 10 at a property along Church Creek.
Volunteers Needed for 31st Annual Sale
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Volunteer to help bundle and sort plants in preparation of our 31st annual Native Plant Sale! For every 4 hour shift worked, volunteers will receive speciality native plants, not for sale, and exclusively available to volunteers!
Read MoreWoods Creek Crew Sighting
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Location: Woods Creek Watershed
Week's Activity: Livestaking Willows, Dogwoods, and Cottonwoods.
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Wrapping Up in Triangle Cove
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Pie, apple cider, and music marked the final public meeting, and celebration, of the Triangle Cove Pollution Identification and Correction (PIC) program.
Read MoreSnohomish Conservation District Receives Two Regional Awards
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Snohomish Conservation District was recently awarded the ‘2015 Northwest Area District of the Year’ by the Washington State Conservation Commission.
Read MoreFall is a Great Time to Lime
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From pasture to potatoes, and pumpkins to hay, lime is more often than not a key component in creating the ideal soil for our current agricultural activities. Without the addition of lime, native soils are usually too acidic for many of the crops we want to grow.
Read MoreBeth & Scott Morrison, Lawns to Lettuce
/Congratulations to Beth and Scott Morrison, our grand prize winners in the Lawns to Lettuce Un-Contest! Beth and Scott won a cedar raised bed for their city lot in Granite Falls, which they fondly refer to as "Almost-A-Farm". When they first moved in, their 1/4-acre was just lawn, rhododendrons, and boxwoods. Now they have an apple tree, artichokes, sunchokes, pumpkins, beans, kale, herbs, tomatoes and much more. But that's not all. When they found out their neighbor had a 1/4-acre they weren't using, Beth and Scott turned it into a community garden (with their neighbor's permission, of course). Beth and Scott and their three young children now garden the lot in addition to their own and provide food to help feed four families throughout the summer! On top of all of that, they've even influenced one of their neighbors to start a garden in her yard. Way to go from Lawns to Lettuce, Beth and Scott!
What is your proudest DIY garden project? In one year, we have turned 1/4 acre into a veggie garden, with yard space for the kids, have chickens and enough to share with the neighbors.
Favorite element? My neighbor has 1/4 acre they were not using, they offered it to us as a community garden. We now garden that, feeding 4 families weekly throughout the summer. Another neighbor now is starting a garden in her yard.
What do your friends or neighbors say? It is neat to hear people talk as they walk by about pumpkins, squash, cabbages and roses all living together. Last summer, one girl did her senior picture in front of my gate with Red runner beans on it.
What was the biggest challenge? (And what did you learn from it?) Farming in the city is harder than I thought. We have always been on acreage. Learning to deal with rodents in compost, not being able to bring a tractor in to dump compost has been a lesson in creativity. We added 10 yards of compost to both our garden at home and the garden next door
What is your favorite water-saving tip or trick? Drip lines, deep watering every 3 days or so. When the kids play in water tubs (we don't have a wading pool) I scoop out that water for plants rather than dump it out.
Why do you love gardening? It is in my blood. My grandfather was known to take cuttings from everything to root them. My father has corn 7' tall this year. I find it a huge accomplishment to take seeds, plant them, water and be able to feed our family on a $3.00 seed packet. My kale is a product of seeds I bought 5 years ago. I save seeds each year so that I do not have to buy it. I would say the first pack of seeds was a good investment.
Final thoughts or bonus ideas? Get the whole family involved! My kids help plant, I have mystery squash and beans everywhere since I give them the big seeds to plant while I work. My three-year-old packs around patty pan squash pretending they are babies. They do kill some plants with kindness, but all three of our kids eat things like kale, squash, beans, carrots and more.
Helping our Neighbors: Okanogan Fire Needs
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If you want to help those affected by the Okanogan Complex fire, firefighters and/or locals, here is information on what is needed and who to contact, from Craig Nelson of the Okanogan Conservation District. Please share this so that we can help our neighbors to the east as much as possible!
Read MoreTeachers and Students Tackle Stormwater Pollution
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An outstanding group of twenty student and teacher leaders gathered to learn about one of the most pressing environmental concerns in Western WA: Stormwater Pollution. This amazing group worked across curriculum teams to develop Project Based Learning Units that will empower students to research local stormwater issues and then take action to improve it.
Read MoreThanks for entering!
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We were blown away by the number of submissions and the sheer enthusiasm for our first Lawns to Lettuce Un-Contest! Thanks so much to Garden Nursery - Arlington Co-op Supply In and to all our participants.
Read More"Your Groundwater and Camano Island Aquifers" a very timely event!
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The heat and drought made July 29th's "Your Groundwater and Camano Island Aquifers" a very timely event! Over 160 Camano Islanders attended the workshop that featured a detailed presentation by Island County Hydrogeologist Doug Kelly about Island County's aquifers, seawater intrusion, and the abundance of data maintained on the islands' water wells.
Read MoreLawns to Lettuce... and Cinnamon Rolls
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A sunny and warm day on Camano Island greeted participants of the inaugural Lawns to Lettuce workshop.
Read MoreWCC Recruiting for Upcoming Crew Year
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WCC Crew Openings
Description: The Snohomish Conservation District crew is based at the county's native plant nursery in Lake Stevens. The crew works on a wide variety of projects including riparian habitat restoration, volunteer supervision, construction projects (fish passage/large wood), fencing projects, outreach workshops/fairs, one or more rain garden/LID project, one NGPA project, one or more agricultural and forestry BMP construction and NRCS practice specification training. Members will complete one-on-one shadowing days with Farm Planners, Engineers, Water Quality, LID and Habitat Restoration Specialists to gain skills and experience in site assessment and design, engineering surveys, landowner education, construction supervision, GIS.
Projected Start Date: October 5
Lawns to Lettuce Un-Contest
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To kick off the program, we want to hear from you-- and you can earn prizes for sharing!
Read MoreHorse Farm Takes a Lighter Approach
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Kelly and Dan Munro, owners of Grateful Pine Farm, purchased a 17-acre commercial horse property in Snohomish. Learn more about her approach to managing land for horses, and her new commercial horse boarding/training facility.
Read MoreGoodbye Lawn, Hello Lettuce!
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The Snohomish Conservation District is proud to announce the launch of our new Lawns to Lettuce Program! The goals of this latest effort are to encourage landowners to convert a portion of their lawn to growing edibles, and to highlight landowners who’ve already done so.
Read MoreEarly Application cut-off date for EQIP statewide initiatives
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USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service announced today the application deadline for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program in Washington State would come earlier than previous years to account for a stronger focus on conservation planning.
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