Tips, tricks, and a quick peek into the everyday life of the conservation district.
Update: Apologies, our rain barrel supply for our May 20 one-day sale has sold out.
Thanks so much for your interest, we're so surprised by the number of pre-orders coming in! So we're a happy-sad mix of emotions to announce that the rain barrel supply for our May 20 one-day sale has sold out. Thanks again for your support and enthusiasm for our rain barrel program!
Read MoreWould you like to provide feedback on our 2017 work plan? Now's the chance, our 2017 work plan is open for comments and review from now until Monday, May 16 at noon.
Read MoreBut, is tearing up the lawn and planting vegetables the only way to reduce your environmental impact and provide for your family? Maybe you don’t even have a lawn to tear up. Many condo and apartment dwellers are taking classes on growing food in small spaces, in pots, on vertical supports or in neighborhood pea patches. Pea patches, or ‘recession gardens’, are so popular that in Long Beach, California, the waiting list for garden space has quadrupled for a 312-plot community garden.
Read More2015 was another exciting and productive year here at the Snohomish Conservation District. We have enjoyed our opportunity to engage with such a diverse and committed set of landowners and partners. The accomplishments for 2015 are based upon and driven by the willingness of private landowners and managers to actively manage the natural resources they control. Additionally, the accomplishments for 2015 are significantly impacted via project collaborations with partners. We sincerely thank everyone that has made a positive contribution and impact on natural resource management this past year.
Read MoreIt can’t be any fun to sit at your kitchen table and watch the soil on the hillside above your backyard slowly slide down and envelope your house and garage. Not only is it not fun, it can be stressful knowing the foundation of your house and garage are surely rotting from wet soil and the constant pressure of soil creeping downslope.
Read MoreVolunteer 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 MoreThe 31st Annual Native Plant Sale is now open.
Read MoreCongratulations 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.
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 MoreAn 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 MoreWe 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 MoreA sunny and warm day on Camano Island greeted participants of the inaugural Lawns to Lettuce workshop.
Read MoreTo kick off the program, we want to hear from you-- and you can earn prizes for sharing!
Read MoreThe 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 MoreThe City of Edmonds is working with the Conservation District and WSU Extension to start a Rain Garden Program to promote the use of rain gardens around the City. As a way to jump start the program, we're organizing a rain garden cluster installation in a neighborhood in Edmonds.
Read MoreThe Snohomish Conservation District recently launched their new ‘Lawns to Lettuce’ program and will be kicking it off with a workshop at The Open Gate Farm on Camano Island on July 18.
Read MoreKatherine Staberow | Sound Home
Katherine has been a huge driver of restoration and stormwater work on her own property and her neighborhood NGPA. She has led projects with enthusiasm, working cooperatively with this group of over 30 properties. Her initiative has been a huge driver in implementing these conservation efforts, as she has brought great enthusiasm and easy communication. In December, Katherine coordinated a volunteer planting event to kick off restoration activities, with over 20 neighbors coming together to plant over 400 plants!
Q: What motivates you to be a good steward of the land?
A: My parents instilled in me at a young age that it is our responsibility to care for the land that God gave us. I grew up in Cle Elum, where our family regularly enjoyed being outdoors – gardening, camping, hiking, biking and boating – and where my parents taught me how to responsibly care for our own 26 acres of land as well as the wilderness we so much enjoyed. When I moved to Western Washington, I quickly recognized the challenges of urban sprawl. When we purchased our home and became a part of suburbia, my husband and I wholeheartedly agreed that we need to be a part of the solution within urban sprawl, rather than contribute to the problem. We further recognize that being a good steward of our land, both here at home and when we are out enjoying the wilderness, is something we want to teach our son as well. We want him, and many generations to come, to be able to enjoy the beauty of our land and recognize it is our responsibility to see that becomes reality. Together, these have strongly motivated me to be a good steward of our land.
Q: What actions have you taken as a steward that you're most proud of and/or that you feel have made the biggest difference?
A: I am proud of the way my family has made being a steward simply a normal way of life for us. I hope our lifestyle demonstrates to and encourages others that it isn’t complicated or difficult to be a good steward of our land; it simply requires intentional decisions that quickly become a normal, wonderful way to enjoy life. The projects at our home and in our neighborhood on which we have partnered with the Snohomish Conservation District are fantastic examples of this that will make an incredible difference literally right here in our backyard.
We hoped you enjoyed our 30th annual Plant 'Sale-abration' as much as we did.
About 40,660 native trees, shrubs and groundcover plants went home with eager folks, and our classes were a popular new addition.
Snohomish Conservation District | 528 91st Ave NE, Lake Stevens, WA 98258 | 425-335-5634
