Tips, tricks, and a quick peek into the everyday life of the conservation district.
You can count on Pacific Northwest winters being cold, wet, dark, and windy. During many winters you can add snowy and icy to that description. For horse owners this usually means struggles such as slogging through mud to do chores with less time to ride or exercise horses. As it is with most everything, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Read MoreThis year’s crew contributed to over 20 acres of riparian planting and invasive maintenance, as well as constructed several rain gardens throughout Snohomish County. Read on to hear about their experiences at the District with WCC in their own words.
Read MoreWe celebrated I Love Lake" Day with the City of Lake Stevens at Lundeen Park this past weekend!
Read MoreIf you've walked the Leque Island Trail recently, you might have noticed something a little different. You see, Leque Island has a problem—an abundance of abandoned dog poop. Hikers and their poop-filled pups were leaving calling cards (read: dog poop) along the trail.
Read MoreIt was a beautiful, sunny July morning when ten Snohomish County high school students bounded down the well-traveled trails of Marysville’s Jennings Park and into the Allen Creek floodplain. These students are participants of Snohomish Conservation District’s brand new Youth Engaged in Sustainable Systems (YESS) program, a five-week curriculum exploring careers in natural resources while building job skills and earning summer school credit.
Read MoreSilvopasture is the practice of deliberately integrating trees and grazing livestock on the same land. This typically involves either taking a stand of trees (such as a forest or an orchard) and integrating livestock, or establishing trees on land where livestock are already grazing.
Read MoreWhen Mark Batcheler was growing up in the Midwest, he swore he’d never have a career in farming.
“Everyone I knew had cows or worked on a farm,” Mark said. “As an adolescent, I thought, I’m never going to do that.”
Read MoreIn April, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries awarded $24 million in grants to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and local partners to fund transformational restoration in Whidbey Basin.
Read MoreTrack paddocks are an excellent way to keep your horses moving and interested when they aren’t on pasture. Track paddocks can also help protect water quality by avoiding overgrazing and compaction of your pastures that may become vulnerable to mud and runoff during the wet season.
Read MoreJoin us for science demonstrations, hands-on activities, and games about the many wonderful ways we can protect our streams, lakes, and salmon! Light snacks will be provided so you can refuel between activities.
People of all ages are invited to attend, but the event will be most exciting to families with children in kindergarten through 5th grade. Bathrooms will be available! Park near the playground and tennis courts.
Read MoreJoin us for science demonstrations, hands-on activities, and games about the many wonderful ways we can protect our streams, lakes, and salmon!
Read MoreSince our creation following the Dust Bowl, conservation districts have relied on partnerships with farmers to pioneer new ways of protecting our natural resources—and agroforestry is no exception. For the last several years, Snohomish Conservation District has led the region in agroforestry, working with farmers to integrate perennial trees and shrubs into their agricultural systems. Utilizing land in this way can help diversify income, sequester carbon, and improve productivity, water quality, and wildlife habitat.
Read MoreAs our Lawns to Lettuce team knows, some spaces–like a sunny lawn–are brimming with potential for an edible landscape. Other areas, however, need a bit of creativity to envision the possibilities. Luckily, our team has the imagination and technical skill needed to transform any space into a multi-purpose, edible wonderland.
Read MoreSarah and Jeremy Vecchi worked with Snohomish Conservation District to implement a manure management system that protects water quality and transforms their horse manure into a valuable asset: compost!
Read MoreThe Sustainable Lands Strategy (SLS) coalition initially convened in 2010 to unite individuals and community organizations dedicated to improving the coexistence of farming and fishing in Snohomish County’s floodplain areas. Snohomish Conservation District has been involved in this collaboration since the start.
Read MoreIf you explored nature as a child, you might remember those enormous metal pipes filled with ankle-deep, frigid water that cross beneath roadways. These pipes, called culverts, are still common along streams and creeks throughout Washington.
Read MoreIt was an overcast Thursday in mid-March when 14 teams from nine high schools in Snohomish, King, and Skagit counties descended upon the Brightwater Environmental Education and Community Center to compete in the Northwest Regional Envirothon competition.
Read MoreIf you were a salmon traveling upstream, your chance of making it to your spawning bed hinges on many factors including the temperature and abundance of water. As a result, continuous streamside tree canopy and resident beavers are critical players in a salmon’s success. Trees shade and cool the water temperature, while beavers’ infrastructure supports consistent streamflow and helps create cool, deep pools.
Read MoreOne of the many benefits of agroforestry—the integration of perennial trees and shrubs into agricultural systems—is its potential to mitigate climate change and increase resilience. Here are a few examples of how…
Read MoreIt can be easy to take water for granted in the Northwest, until you see it through the eyes of a farmer like Jake Stewart.
“I wouldn't call us climate refugees,” said Jake. “But we were certainly climate migrants leaving the droughts.”
Jake and his wife, Aja, were farming near Austin, Texas when their well began to run dry.
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Snohomish Conservation District | 528 91st Ave NE, Lake Stevens, WA 98258 | 425-335-5634
