WMSWCD Gardens     

This Spring West Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District (WMSWCD) has been hard at work in the garden. WMSWCD is committed to cultivating the next generation of land stewards using school and native plant gardens as classrooms. Teaching children organic gardening methods and educating them about native plants and their importance to the environment not only connects children to nature, it also highlights the need for diverse ecosystems, gives them a direct connection to their food source and agricultural heritage, shows them the negative impacts of chemical pesticides and fertilizers on entire watersheds, and encourages them to create pollinator and wildlife habitats in their own backyards.

To meet this goal, WMSWCD staff is in the process of writing vegetable garden lessons to be used by the kindergarten and third grade classes at Chapman Elementary School. Recently, an AmeriCorps volunteer has joined this effort and will partner on the third grade work. The plan is to provide a comprehensive set of lessons for the K, 3^rd, and 5th grades by the 2010-11 school year. Additionally, in an effort to further integrate the garden in the classroom as well as increase the amount of time the Chapman students access the vegetable garden, WMSWCD has volunteered to work with students and has organized Multnomah County Master Gardener volunteers to work with multiple classes every other week. WMSWCD will expand its school garden program throughout West Multnomah County in the next fiscal year.

WMSWCD is also in the process of installing native plant demonstration gardens: one along the hillside of Chapman Elementary School where community members gather to watch the swifts, and one at the District office at Montgomery Park. WMSWCD has removed a large patch of highly invasive Giant Knotweed near Chapman school and has replanted it with natives. The District plans to work with the school and other partners to have educational signs installed at the garden.

Chapman Hillside Knotweed Infestation (Before)	Chapman Hillside Native Garden Installation (After)

On Earth Day, WMSWCD and a number of volunteers installed a native plant demonstration garden at Montgomery Park. The garden features: Serviceberry, a flowering shrub with edible berries that provides food for wildlife; Red flowering currant, a native hummingbird attractor with brilliant carmine flowers; and Common camas, a beautiful perennial groundcover with blue to purple, spiked flowers. This garden is open to the public and will be used as a teaching tool for a variety of workshops. The District encourages the neighboring community and school students to take a tour of both gardens to learn about native plants and their role in the ecosystem. For more information, please contact Erica Stokes, Executive Assistant at erica@wmswcd.org.

Montgomery Park Invasive Weed Removal (Before)	Montgomery Park Earth Day Native Plant Garden Installation (After)