A day of shrubs, trees, weeds, and bees: the "Native Planting 101" workshop

Last weekend, Cascadia hosted the "Native Planting 101" workshop.  The day was a whirlwind for me; one minute we were setting up tables and trying to make the projector remote work (a simple case of "did you plug in the right cable to the computer?") and the next thing I knew we were thanking participants for attending and packing up. Four hours full of great information just flew by!

The presentations were wonderful!  Ted Alway and Connie Mehmel provided a lot of great information about some of the many native plants that are excellent inclusions in restoration and/or yardscaping projects.  Amy Hendershot introduced many of us to some surprising facts about native bees- I had no idea that native bees are such tough little guys! On cold drizzly mornings, when non-native honeybees are tucked away in their hives, native bees are out there pollinating our orchards, gardens and native plants!  And Julie Sanderson, in an impressive hour-and-a-half on all things weeds, provided participants with valuable tools for controlling some pretty tough noxious and nuisance weeds.  For example, learning the life strategies of a targeted weed can help you choose a successful method of control.



Julie Sanderson speaks on the mechanical, biological,
 chemical, and cultural methods of weed control.



Participants came with a wide array of excellent questions for the experts (like what to do when the soil on your property is practically 100% clay), and shared stories of their own native planting and weed management experiences.  I wish we'd had just a little more time for participants to begin mapping out their planting projects, but I hope they feel confident that, with the information provided at the workshop and sent home with them in their workshop folders, they can successfully generate their project plans.

A big thank you to all who participated in this event!



Attentive listeners at the "Native Planting 101" workshop.



A note to workshop participants, or any who would like to delve into the wonderful world of native plants and natural ecosystems:  a list of further resources (those that didn't make it into the participant folders) are now available on Cascadia's website!

Due to the popularity of our workshop this year, we are pleased to be offering a second "Native Planting 101" workshop this spring!  Stay tuned for more information (on our website and this blog), coming very soon!  

Thank you for reading! 

Your Friend in Conservation,

Julia