Wet Feet Farming Highlight
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Wet Feet Farming is the application of agroforestry practices to wet, marginal farmland in order to increase production.
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Planting Change (& Pawpaws!) at Rooted Northwest
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The seed of Rooted Northwest started small, with just two families. They envisioned teaming up to buy just enough land where they could raise their kids on a farm and teach permaculture. However, when they found a 240-acre former dairy for sale in Arlington, their plans began to change.
Read MoreNeighborhood Rain Gardens are Something to Talk (and Walk) About
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Last month, Penny Crispin and Haly Rylko of our Community Conservation Team hosted a walking tour of four rain gardens in the Fobes Hill neighborhood. Sixteen homeowners came out on a sunny evening to visit the rain gardens we recently installed on three residential properties.
Read MorePreparing Horse Properties for Winter
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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 MoreThank you, AmeriCorps members!
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This 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 MoreA Sign for the Times
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If 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 MoreYouth Explore the Science Behind Native Plants and Water Quality
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It 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 MoreAgroforestry Practice Highlight: Silvopasture
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Silvopasture 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 MoreThe Science & Beauty of Silvopasture
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When 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 MoreNOAA funds Transformational Restoration for Chinook Recovery
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In 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 Paddock Highlight with Sarah and Jeremy Vecchi
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Track 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 MoreSave the Date: Lake Tye Science Day
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Join 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 MoreSave the Date: Youth Science at the Plaza
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Join us for science demonstrations, hands-on activities, and games about the many wonderful ways we can protect our streams, lakes, and salmon!
Read MoreAgroforestry Innovations Benefit Farmers and Habitats
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Since 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 MoreIncreasing Food Security, One Garden Bed at a Time
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As 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 MoreThe Value of Manure
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Sarah 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 Coexistence of Farms, Fish, and Flooding
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The 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 MoreCreating Safe Passage for Salmon
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If 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 MoreSnohomish County Represents at Envirothon
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It 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 MoreBuffers & Beavers Help Salmon at Pilchuck Tree Farm
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If 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.
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