Washington Agriculture

As the new Americorps Intern at Cascadia Conservation District, I have taken over teaching our environmental education programs, Wheat Week and the Water on Wheels, in the schools throughout Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan Counties. I really enjoy being able to get out and teach these lessons, not only because they are educating students about crucial environmental concepts, but also because they are teaching the students about farming. Farming is something we have become further removed from as the number of small family farms have decreased across the country.

                However there is hope! In Washington, 89% of our farms are small farms. This is much higher than the national average where only 49% of farms are considered small farms. This impressive figure helps to bridge the gap between the production of food, fuels, and fibers and the consumer. Being aware of what goes into the production and the hard work, dedication, and care put in by farmers is extremely important. This is one of the many concepts I try to teach and convey to my students. It is not just going to the grocery store. I try to get them to think on a larger scale.

     Between crops and livestock, Washington agricultural products were valued around $10.7 billion for 2015. That figure represents only the products that are grown and raised here in Washington, it does not include the food processing industry that is also crucial, contributing more than $20 billion to the economy. Apples are a huge part of the agriculture industry here. Washington produces 70% of the apples in the USA. Here in Wenatchee, the apple capital of the world, we have rich volcanic soils combined with irrigation fueled by the Columbia River basin, providing quality growing conditions for ample yields.

                Farmers are not just growing the food that will end up on our tables, they are growing the fuel we use and the fibers we need. Farmers are crucial to our society and we are lucky to have as many amazing farmers as we do in our state. We depend on the agricultural industry not only to provide us with the food, fibers, and fuel for our day to day lives but we also rely on them for environmental stewardship, as they are caring for and managing many acres of land.

                Taking good care of the land is critical to farmers. They depend on healthy productive lands to grow their crops and keep their operations sustainable into the future. By implementing environmentally sound practices more commonly referred to as “Best Management Practices” or BMPs, farmers are protecting our soil, water, and even the air we breathe. 

If you are a famer and are interested in making improvements to your land by implementing some more Best Management Practices, check out our landowner assistance page on our website,  http://cascadiacd.org/landowner-assistance_239.html and see if any of the cost share programs might be for you and your land. Contact Sandy Letzing at (509) 436-1601 or sandyl@cascadiacd.org if you have any questions regarding the landowner assistance programs.

If you are missing the amazing farmers markets that we have here in Washington, check out http://wafarmersmarkets.org/washingtonfarmersmarketdirectory/ for more information on where to find farmers markets during the year and look forward to the spring to come.

Thank you for reading, please leave any comments, questions, or concerns below!

-Justine 

Did you Know? The modern domestic apple originated from what is now Kazakhstan in the Tien Shan Mountains. The only apple native to North America is the crab apple. Works Cited https://agr.wa.gov/aginwa/ http://www.appleorchardtours.com/hist14.htm http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/07/22/history-of-apples/ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/kazakhstan/7978486/Kazakhstan-the-home-of-the-apple.html https://bestapples.com/washington-orchards/crop-facts/

Are LEDs a Bright Idea?

As we settle into winter, the temperatures begin to drop, the sun starts setting earlier and our days get shorter and shorter. With the decrease in sunlight, we begin to rely more and more on our lightbulbs to make up for the shortened days and lack of natural light. LED bulbs are a great way to keep energy costs down and increase the efficiency of your home or business, making it more environmentally friendly. The Dept. of Energy (DOE) has conducted research into solid state lighting or SSL, which includes Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and Organic Light Emitting Diodes or (OLEDs). According to the research done by the Dept. of Energy, “switching to SSL could reduce national lighting energy by 75% in 2035”.

LEDs or Light Emitting Diodes are the most efficient light bulb available on the market today. Using a semiconductor to convert electricity into light, they are able to use 95% of the energy they use to create light, wasting only 5%. This process decreases energy draw by around 80% when compared to incandescent light bulbs. Very little heat is lost from LEDs in comparison to incandescent bulbs, which can lose 90% of their energy as heat. The LED bulbs can actually benefit from cooler temperatures as well; the DOE found that they were 5% more efficient at -5 degrees Celsius than 25 degrees Celsius.  Not only are LEDs better in terms of efficiency, but they last much longer than other light bulbs.Depending on the LED bulb, a good quality one will last 25,000 hours or more.

If you have concerns regarding the variety, size, color or light quality, not to worry!! LEDs are one of the most compact lighting options available on the market, they are extremely durable, come in a number of colors and are very adaptable lighting options. The market is expanding as more and more people are making the switch to LEDs.

Another benefit of these beautiful bulbs is that, unlike compact florescent lights, LEDs do not contain any   mercury and do not need to be disposed of as hazardous waste. Though florescent lights are more efficient than the standard incandescent bulbs, they contain small amounts of mercury, less than 5 milligrams generally. However, even this tiny amount of mercury can poison thousands of gallons of water or pose a threat to people that come into contact with it. Despite the energy savings that the   florescent bulbs presented, their disposal and the mercury they contained created another issue. The bulbs must be recycled at a facility that is qualified to handle florescent bulbs, which are limited. These bulbs should not be thrown out in the trash due to the mercury they contain. Mercury does not decompose or dissipate, it remains in the environment.

Generally, the upfront cost of LED bulbs is a little higher the florescent or incandescent; however, you will be saving money as they last far longer and are much more energy efficient. Consider LED bulbs a good investment for the winter, and one that will continue to benefit you for years to come. 

-Justine

Works Cited

https://energy.gov/energysaver/led-lighting

https://www.12vmonster.com/blogs/product-questions/the-10-benefits-of-switching-to-led-light-bulbs

Community Supported Agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture.

The idea is simple. Get community members to pay farmers the cost upfront for receiving a weekly box full of the harvest’s bounty.

Of course, there is a shared risk factor involved in anything to do with farming. If a crop gets damaged or fails to produce anything, the consumer and the farmer are both negatively impacted.

The original CSA format, promoted by Robyn Van En, called for community members to participate in the labor on the farms using the share model approach. Now, with more and more members joining from cities and urban centers, there has been a shift to what is known as a subscription based model.

On the plus side, community members receive a substantial amount of locally produced, farm fresh products that allow them to eat healthy and cost-effectively. For the farmer, they receive money upfront, which helps with their cash flow through the growing season. Also, they help build a community bond with their neighbors by sharing what they do.

Benefits include local variety, introduction of new vegetables, economic viability for the farmer, opportunity for a living wage for farmers, local distribution of food (>100 mile radius) decreases transportation and carbon costs, community celebrations like harvest festivals, and donations of excess produce to food banks.

The subscription CSA model can involve a single farm, but it is becoming increasingly common to have multiple farms participate. This way, if a crop does not do well on one farm, the box can be supplemented with produce from a different farm.One of the biggest challenges that CSA farmers face is in getting land security for farms that are closest to urban centers.

On the consumer side, cost can be the biggest determining factor. Asking individuals or families on tight budgets to submit a lump payment, before the season begins, is not a feasible option. Some CSA’s are tackling this problem by offering a sliding scale option that can even accept SNAP benefits through certain USDA grants (Solomon). These are known as Agriculture Supported Communities (ASC). (Celebrate CSA). The weekly payment format is more accessible for low-budget families or for individuals on fixed income.

Everyone wants to eat healthy, locally grown produce. The issue is the cost and availability of such products. If you want to support your local farmers, while also being sustainably healthy, look below for some different choices. Spend time investigating the best fit for you and your family. There are lots of options!

In the Wenatchee valley, here are some options for joining a CSA:

https://csa.farmigo.com/join/rhubarbmarket/2017

http://www.radixfarm.com/csa-membership.html

http://www.ohyeahfarms.com/csa/

If you’re in the Seattle area, check out http://www.seattletilth.org/about/stcsa

Or visit http://www.pugetsoundfresh.org/find-csa to find a CSA near you.

Farmer’s markets are a great choice as well, and may take less time and money to participate in. 

Below are some links to farmer’s markets coming in to season soon:

http://wenatcheefarmersmarket.com/         

http://leavenworthfarmersmarket.org/market-calendar/

Cascadia Conservation District will be hosting a Backyard Gardening workshop on Saturday, April 15th. Come on over to the Community Education Garden to learn more about composting, gardening, and even backyard chickens!!!

~ Ava

Works Cited

"Community Supported Agriculture.” Complied by AFSIC Staff, Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, National Agriculture Library, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Reviewed Feb. 2017. https://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/community-supported-agriculture

Local Harvest. “Community Supported Agriculture.” http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

McFadden, Steven. “The History of Community Supported Agriculture, Part II.” February, 2004. Rodale Institute Dig Deeper Blog.  http://rodaleinstitute.org/the-history-of-community-supported-agriculture-part-ii/

Rodale Institute. “Celebrate CSA Day with Rodale Institute.” Dig Deeper Blog. 22 Feb. 2017.  https://rodaleinstitute.org/celebrate-csa-day-with-rodale-institute/

Solomon, Nicole. “CSA aims for affordability.” Mother Nature Network. 26 Aug. 2009. http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/csa-aims-for-affordability

Why Are Native Plants Important?

Native plants are an integral part of a healthy landscape. There are a number of reasons why that is, including but not limited to that they are naturally low maintenance because they often require less water than traditional sod. They do not require large amounts of fertilizer or pesticides that plants from other places may need. If the plants are native to your area, they have even coevolved with the wildlife as well. That means that many native bird species also rely on native plants as a food source.

By Akos Kokai (Native plant demonstration garden) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Non-native plants, otherwise known as invasive species, can wreak havoc on a delicate ecosystem.

Below is a list of a few reasons why invasive plants are worse than native plants for your landscape.

http://solveoregon.org/why-we-care/invasive-plants

Air, Noise, Water Pollution

In terms of water conservation and the precious value that water is in an ever growing world, using water wisely is of paramount importance. Unfortunately, watering lawns can contribute to waste of a natural resource, “30 percent of water consumed on the East Coast goes to watering lawns; 60 percent on the West Coast. (Redesigning the American Lawn)” (National Wildlife Federation). Invasive species also require an increased amount of pesticide use that can pollute waterways. 

Harm to Biodiversity

Native plants also provide critical habitat to a variety of pollinators. Certain insects have coevolved to only eat certain plants, and if invasive species have taken over then there is less and less food for those insects to eat. That in turn causes there to be less food for the birds that feast on insects. Check out an excerpt of a film about the important impacts that native plants can have on a landscape:

Consumption of Natural Resources

Invasive plants often outcompete native plants because they usually lack their natural enemies in a foreign environment. As a result, invasive plants can strangle a hillside or choke a waterway easily. Alternatively, native plants natural abundance is due in part to the fact that they are native to your climate, and thus have adaptations for the amount of water and the soil moisture in your particular area (Backyard Conservation...).  

 Impacts to Public Health and Safety

Invasive species do require an increased amount of maintenance. Increased chemical use can lead to harmful effects in wildlife and humans (Benefits of Naturescaping). Extra fertilizer may also be required to maintain a green lawn. If you use native plants, and decide to compost in a natural garden, your soil will not need as many chemicals to provide good nutrients to your plants!

Cost and Labor Intensive

The cost of upkeep for a traditional lawn is about $700 per acre per year, as opposed to the care of a wildflower meadow at $30 per acre per year (About Native Plants). The equipment used in the upkeep of a typical suburban lawn includes lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and the occasional chain saw. These pieces of equipment emit as much hydrocarbon in one hour as a typical auto driven 50 miles. (National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Lab, Ann Arbor.) Every year, a typical lawn requires 40 hours of maintenance, which is the equivalent of a one-week vacation (Benefits of Naturescaping). The noise pollution from a lawnmower alone can be enough to make anyone upset on an early Sunday morning.

Boring Landscapes

Avoid monoculture! Aesthetic concerns aside, native plants offer a wide variety of shapes, colors, and textures for your yard.

Why spend all of that time maintaining an unnatural landscape? Instead, give native plants a try. You won’t be disappointed!

Below is a preview of an excellent documentary film focused on the dangers of invasive species in Oregon. Washington state deals with a lot of the same resource problems as Oregon, and it is an informative piece on various issues in the Pacific Northwest. 

Convinced that native plants are the way to go? Don't know where to start? Come learn more at Cascadia's FREE Native Planting 101 Workshop!!!

RSVP today for our native plant workshop, Saturday, February 11^th from 12:00-4:30 pm at the Wenatchee PUD auditorium!

Our plant sale ends by March 1^st, so place your order today to ensure you get what you want. 

To order native plants, download a form HERE!

Cheers!

~ Ava

Works Cited

"About Native Plants." http://www.nwf.org/Garden-For-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants.aspx. National Wildlife Federation. Accessed 1/13/17. 

"Backyard Conservation Tip Sheet." https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/home/?cid=nrcs143_023590

“Benefits of Naturescaping.” http://www.plantnative.org/how_benefits.htm

Green, Danielle. “Greenacres: Landscaping with Native Plants.” US EPA. https://archive.epa.gov/greenacres/web/html/index.html Last updated on 2/21/2016.

Idaho Native Plant Society. Landscaping with Plants of the Intermountain Region. https://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/id/publications.Par.71153.File.dat/Landscaping-small.pdf

“Let’s stop these silent invaders.” http://solveoregon.org/why-we-care/invasive-plants. Accessed 1/13/17. 

“Why Native Plants Matter” Audubon society http://www.audubon.org/content/why-native-plants-       matter. Bird Friendly Communities Blog. Accessed 1/13/17.

Let it snow!

Continuing in the tradition of the last few years of AmeriCorps blogs- I’m here to talk about snow! While the aforementioned element of fire has strongly affected my life, of equal importance is the element of water, specifically in the form of snow. As long as I can remember I’ve always had a deep connection to snow. Winters growing up in the Entiat Valley were always full of sledding, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing. After my family’s home burnt down in 1994, we lived in a yurt while re-building on our property. That was the winter of 1996-97, I was three years old and it snowed upwards of 5 feet. We couldn’t be happier as our yurt turned into an igloo and the landscape found relief in the added moisture. When I was six years old, my mom woke me up to show me that it had snowed overnight and I began to cry because I found it so beautiful. And at 14, I fell in love with the sport of alpine skiing at Mission Ridge and have been incredibly hooked on the sport since. I can’t quite put my finger on it; what snow brings that is so magical. Perhaps it is the peacefulness- the muffling of loud sounds, the necessity of moving slower through our day’s errands. Perhaps it is the nostalgia of feeling like a child again- the ageless feeling we get when playing in the snow. For me it is the coldness of the air that brings a sense of clarity and the endorphins I get from skiing, hiking, and playing in the snow. And obviously, it is the holidays that bring us all together- the break from work and school, the importance of reflection and gratitude we feel during this time of year.

The percentage of area in drought status is still higher right
now that it was one year ago.

Besides the joyous wonders of a white holiday season- the effects of a snowy (or dry) winter last long into the summer. Last winter we saw an incredible lack of snow and the ecological and economic effects of that hit hard over the summer. The effects of the biggest wildfire ever in our state’s history led to lack of tourism and loss of important infrastructure. The lack of water led to a weakness in our defense against those fires, it was hard hitting on orchardists and farmers, habitat for important species suffered, the list goes on and on.  Although we are still currently in a drought- the Department of Ecology recently stated that the Drought Emergency Declaration will be ending at the end of the year due to snow levels being at or above 100% of normal for this time of year. For the emergency declaration to be made water supply levels must be below 75%. The month of December has been so good to our area with snow falling up high and a mixture of rain and snow falling down low. I am eager to see where this El Nino season takes us and am hoping that the trend of snow continues. And if it does, I am eager to see the effects of that come summertime.  

Our region is currently at 126% of normal
snow water equivalent.

As a person whose happiness strongly depends on the ability to ski in the winter months I will say that I’ve learned to do it while you can. Mission Ridge is at ~70 inches of snowfall for the month, close to their ~100 inch December snowfall record. Who knows what the rest of the season will bring us- hopefully more of the same, but possibly not. Until it changes, that’s where you’ll find me (and a few others from the Cascadia office)!

As always thanks for stopping by, on behalf of the Cascadia staff, we wish you a very joyous holiday season! Let me know in the comments what your favorite part of a snowy holiday season is!

-McKenzie

Sources:
ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/wa_swepctnormal_update.pdf
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/drought/index.html
http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?WA

Engaging in Environmental Education!

One of my main responsibilities as the AmeriCorps intern for Cascadia is to provide environmental education in the district’s local schools. Depending on a teacher’s schedule and planned curriculum, I get to spend anywhere from 1-5 hours with a group of students aged 5-12. In that time I have the opportunity to shape our valley’s young people’s understanding of ecosystems and help them understand the ways in which humans can influence those ecosystem functions. This is a responsibility I do not take lightly, especially in a time where funding for education is getting tighter and the need for a society with an understanding of our planet’s functions and needs is becoming direr. And fortunately, through Cascadia’s partnerships with other organizations and conservation districts, I have access to fun, free science curriculum that incorporates hands-on learning opportunities in every lesson.

Water on Wheels Lessons

The main curriculum that I teach is called Wheat Week. This is a five day program created by the Franklin Conservation District (FCD). Wheat Week uses the wheat plant as a tool to educate 4  ^th and 5^th graders about systems, water, soil, pollution, and energy. During this week, students get to build their own terrariums and grow a wheat plant, experience the water cycle as a water droplet, investigate the different types of soil, create a watershed model, and thresh a wheat plant. Another program I teach, also created by FCD, is called Water on Wheels. This program consists of eight different lessons, which can be taught as a series or individually depending on a teacher’s needs. These lessons educate students, in varying levels of depth depending on their grade level, about soils, the water cycle, animal habitats, and watersheds. Each lesson involves a different science experiment, game, craft, or environment model. All of the FCD’s curriculums meet a number of science and social studies Washington State learning standards. They also incorporate GLAD strategies. GLAD – which stands for Guided Language Acquisition Design- is a program that originated in California and is in its first phase in the Wenatchee School District. It strives to “promote an educational setting that produces effective, literate citizens of a global society.”

I also have opportunities to work with local schools at events like Salmon Fest where we host the Rolling Rivers exhibit, at the Wildfires & Us Field experience put on through the Wenatchee Valley Museum, and at Kids in the Creek where we work with our partner agencies to get kids outside in the Entiat River doing science. Additionally, I coordinate Native Planting 101 (planned for March 5^th, 2016!) a workshop open to the public, where anyone of any age can come and learn about effective landscaping and plant care in the Wenatchee area.  

My week of in-class training with the FCD is done and I am currently filling my schedule in with lessons. If you are interested in volunteering at an event, know a teacher who might interested in lessons, or have a question, comment, or nugget of advice- all are welcome in my inbox (americorps@cascadiacd.org)!

Thanks for stopping by!

-McKenzie

Resources:

https://sites.google.com/a/conservewa.net/wheat-week/home/wheat-week-standards

http://begladtraining.com/

Drought in the PNW

Last week I borrowed a standup paddleboard and with a friend enjoyed a lazy float down several miles of the Wenatchee River near Leavenworth. With the temperature in the high 80s and nearly no wind the setting was perfect: no crowds, abundant wildlife and the peaceful sound of water on its journey down, perpetually heading toward the ocean. There was, however, something amiss about this dog day afternoon adventure- the water itself. Typically mountain streams like the Icicle and the Wenatchee are cold enough to keep most of us from jumping in and splashing around for minutes or even hours at a time like one might at the community pool. But on this afternoon the water was so warm we, like many others, swam unhampered by numbed body parts and goose bumps. While it may feel great to us, this warm water spells trouble for fish and wildlife and points to a serious problem: drought.

Surely it’s no surprise to anyone that the entire west coast is experiencing severe drought, but for many of us we’re not sure what exactly that means. How should that influence our daily routine? What are ways we exacerbate or alleviate the effects? How will drought affect me? Fortunately there are plenty of resources answering these questions and more. For starters check out our drought page on our website. For more detailed reports and information see the following sites:

•     National Drought Mitigation Center - http://drought.unl.edu/ranchplan/Overview.aspx
• Washington State Department of Agriculture - http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/natresources/Drought.aspx
• Washington State Department of Ecology - http://www.ecy.wa.gov/drought
• Washington State University - http://drought.wsu.edu/

Kids in the Creek!

On May 5, 6 and 7 approximately 300 high school students found themselves on the scenic grounds of the Entiat Fish Hatchery for the annual Kids in the Creek event (KITC). KITC is a hands on outdoor education program in which high school biology students study  stream ecology on the Entiat River. Thousands of North Central Washington students have experienced this unique learning opportunity since its inception in 1992.

Each day at KITC students are split into six teams which rotate between six learning stations throughout the day. Each station is led by resource professionals (Cascade Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group, Chelan County Natural Resources Department, United States Forest Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Team Naturaleza, Wenatchee School District, Trout Unlimited, Ponderosa Community, AmeriCorps and the Public Utility District) and focuses on key components of stream ecology.

Invertebrate Investigators- At this station the students dawn baggy, clown-sized waders and take to the stream with nets to collect macro invertebrates. Using microscopes, students compare their samples with identification charts to determine which species they’ve found and get an indication of stream health.

Riparian RX- Students at this station take a walk through the Entiat River’s riparian zone learning about adaptation, the function of riparian zones, stream bank restoration and flora and fauna interrelationships. Students are exposed to field techniques and tools used to determine ground cover, canopy cover and overall riparian health.

Habitat Sense – At habitat sense students examine physical aspects of the river and discuss what good fish habitat looks like. These attributes include riffles, glides, pools, substrate and embeddedness.

Fish Health- As the station title suggests, the focus here is fish health and the environmental factors that affect fish. Students also learn about fish anatomy and environmental stressors.

Stream Flow- At this station students use mathematical equations they’ve learned in the classroom to calculate the stream flow of a side channel of the Entiat River. After calculating the flow, the students discuss what varying flows mean for the ecosystem, especially at extreme high and low flows.

Water Quality- Here, students learn to measure the pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and temperature of a river. They then use these measurements to discuss and quantify stream health.

Upon completing each station, at the end of the day, each team is charged with coming up with a management plan for a swath of riverside property. These plans are then presented to peers and several resource professionals who critique each plan.

This year’s KITC was a huge success. Everything went just as planned and everyone involved learned something they could take with them. A few of the participating Wenatchee High School students were asked what they learned at KITC. This is how one replied: “it is important to us to have healthy streams…we really affect our watershed.”

Cascadia would like to thank Entiat Fish Hatchery for providing a beautiful venue, Alcoa and South Douglas Conservation District for their funding, and the Entiat Volunteer Service group for all their hard work and support. We would also like to thank all the resource professionals who came out to share their knowledge with the next generation of land managers!

Below are more Wenatchee High School students’ replies when asked what they learned at KITC.

* How important riparians are; why it is important to us to have healthy streams; how we really affect our watershed.

* Learned it's hard to catch a fish; fish are good at hiding; construction sites are way too dirty.

*That fish need healthy/non-polluted water to live; all streams have different habitat for different bugs; that biologists have very hands on jobs.

* It's very important to keep our environment clean for the Wenatchee watershed.

* That learning can be fun; you don't always learn in classrooms; hands on is good.

* How much the scientists care; how interesting macroinvertebrates are; how fun it was.

* It was fun to learn more stuff about the land; I thought it was going to be boring but it was fun; that fish and trees need to be helped and saved from being turned into stores and homes.

Today's snowpack in North Central Washington is 31% of its 29 year average (ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/wa_swepctnormal_update.pdf).

Wenatchee River Appreciation

Heading into what is sure to be a warmer than usual spring and summer and with such a measly snowpack in the mountains, Cascadia Conservation District and a group of well-intentioned community members headed to the banks of Brender Creek for our annual Wenatchee River Appreciation event. This year’s event was all about repairing the disturbed riparian area along the Wenatchee River tributary.

The banks of Brender Creek, adjacent to the former Cashmere mill site, has been one of Cascadia’s project sites over the winter and into the spring. It’s a site that has seen extensive cleanup efforts over the last few years, with the Port of Chelan fronting the bill for removal of debris and pollution accumulated over years of mill activity, with the intention to sell the land. 

With funding from the Department of Ecology, Cascadia and partnering agencies Chelan County Port District and Cascade Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group provided about 250 plants (ponderosa, Oregon grape, mock orange and golden currant), planting equipment and refreshments for volunteers. Clad in dusty work clothes and worn leather gloves, nearly 30 community members came out to help plant throughout a couple hundred yards of the Brender Creek riparian.

With so many eager hands getting plants in the ground, the event lasted about two and a half hours, culminating in a raffle in which two Wenatchee High School students won photographs by local artist and Cascadia Project Manager Michael Cushman. Cascadia would like to thank Cascade Quality Water and Crunch Pack for providing refreshments.

Today’s snowpack is 31% of the 34 year average (ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/wa_swepctnormal_update.pdf).

Earth Day Essay Contest Winner: Rylee Hersh

Happy Earth Day! We are happy to announce this year’s Earth Day Essay Contest winner, Rylee Hersh from Sterling Intermediate School. Rylee’s essay answered the question “How can a middle school student be an effective steward of the environment?”

As the winner of the contest, Rylee received a hand painted field journal from local artist Heater A. Wallis Murphy and a day of white water rafting on the Wenatchee River with Orion Expeditions. We are also posting her essay on our website for the public’s edification. Here is Rylee’s essay:

     The enviornment gets worse and worse every year. Trash piles up, the air gets dirtier and dirtier, and plastic that can be recycled is thrown away. Middle school students can make positive changes to help manage the environment. They can manage their trash, do many activities to stop air pollution, and recycle. 

     Students can manage their trash to improve the environment. As Los Angeles Times states, when kids in a Los Angeles school district eat lunch, they take way more than they can eat. This is because of the rule where they enforce kids to take at least on vegetable. Kids don't like vegetables as much, so they throw it away. 18 million dollars worth of food is thrown away in Los Angeles schools. Kids have also made trash art, as Legacy International says. Trash piles up, students can do something about it!

     Students help by doing activities to prevent air pollution. The website EPA Victoria states that the largest cause of air pollution is cars. Cars burn fossil fuels. Car exhaust makes up most of the air pollution in the world. Legacy International describes how many kids have already taken action and decided to ride their bikes to school. Riding a bike to school won't give off the exhaust that cars do, so people can ride bikes to stop pollution in the sky. Middle school students can do many activities to stop air pollution. 

     Students improve the environment by recycling. The website Stage Of Life says that a plastic bottle can sit in a landfill for 500 years before even starting to compost. In other words, Stage Of Life recommends that kids and adults should not drink from plastic water bottles. Instead, use a refillable water bottle to help the environment. The same thing is happening with plastic grocery bags, plastic doesn't start to compost for hundreds of years while in a garbage dump, so use a reusable grocery bag too. Students can make a big difference by recycling. 

     It takes one small act to recycle a bottle rather than throwing it away. It takes a little bit of work to ride a bike instead of hopping in a car. It takes little effort to take food a kid will eat. Small acts lead to a big difference. Middle school students can change the environment positively. They can recycle, do activities to slow air pollution, and manage their trash. 

-Rylee Hersh

Well said and congratulations, Rylee!

Today’s snowpack is 42% of the 34 year average (ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/wa_swepctnormal_update.pdf).

Earth Day Essay Contest

What better way to usher in springtime than with an Earth Day essay contest? That’s exactly what we’re doing here at Cascadia. If you’re in grades 6-8 within Chelan or Douglas County, we think you should tell us about being a young environmental steward.

Sadly, we haven’t been able to put on the Earth Day essay contest since 2012. But this year we have sweet prizes from generous local businesses, an early spring for inspiration and a thought provoking prompt: How can a middle school student be an effective steward of the environment?

For added inspiration, here’s the winning essay from 2012. It was written by 7^th grader Mariela Morales from Orchard Middle School. She was answering the question “What have you learned from Nature and why is what you've learned important?”

What’s damaging nature? Humans. If we say Earth is our mother, then nature is our sister. Nature teaches us how to survive in her. And we dig holes and drill out stuff from her insides, then burn them causing poisons to fill the atmosphere. That pollutes the air preventing the sun from shining on the fields properly. In nature I learned that you can be free whenever you like. But more importantly I have learned that our lifestyle causes a lot of damage.

We have killed off vast amounts of Earth’s ecology, turning what used to be delicate ecosystems into deserts. So, a question we all should be asking is: how can we help? Walk or bike instead of driving a car- a good walk is a conversation between the walker and the environment. A simple walk through nature can provide hope and inspiration. Plant trees- they absorb carbon dioxide. It sounds cliché but we must act now before it’s too late.

Nature is not only enchanting but healing too. Her pleasures may be plain, but are kindly and she’s native to us. She’s our friend and will provide. Nature is consistent, she’ll grow even when cut. Those who’ve harmed nature have had their day with her beauty; now let our children have theirs with her beauty that remains. If we consider how much we really belong to nature, we shouldn’t care so much for building cities. Nature helps us when we are sick and instead, we are making nature sick. Knowing that nature is part of our only home means knowing we have to take care of her.

Inspired? Often insight is gained through our more simple and innocent citizens- our children. In that vein, American Rivers created a most apt video illustrating a child’s love of rivers.

Entry Form

If you or someone you know would like to submit an essay, here are the particulars:

• The essays should be 500 words or less, size 12 Times New Roman font, and double-spaced.

• Typed essays are preferred, but hand written essays will be accepted provided they are legible.

• Word count should be included in the bottom, right corner of the essay.

• Essays must be turned in with completed entry form (pictured to the right)

• Sorry, electronic submissions will not be accepted.          

• Essays are due Monday April 13, 2015. Essays postmarked April 14th or later will be disqualified.

• Winners will be announced on our website on April 22.

• Send or deliver essays to 14 N Mission St., Wenatchee, WA 98801

If you or someone you know still lacks the inspiration to put ink to paper and drop some stewardship knowledge, consider our awards for the top three entries: A day rafting the Wenatchee River with Orion River Expeditions and a hand painted field journal created by local artist Heather A. Wallis.

Today’s snowpack as a percent of average is a derisory 53% (USDA/NRCS National Water and Climate Center, http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov).

What Cascadia Does, Part II

Two weeks ago we took a look at how Cascadia Conservation District is an asset to the community through its Landowner Owner Assistance Program. Continuing with that theme, we’re going to take a quick look at the Family Forest Fish Passage Program, which is run by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources- one of Cascadia’s partnering organizations. Cascadia’s roll in this program is to help Chelan County landowners determine eligibility, file the application and finally oversee implementation once funding is made available by the DNR.

Culverts like these block fish passage,
especially for juvenile fish.

A good portion of Washington’s forested land, 3.2 million acres (http://www.dnr.wa.gov), is privately owned by small forest landowners. These 3.2 million acres are an important habitat component in a state with federally protected anadromous fish populations. This is where the Family Forest Fish Passage Program comes in.

Working with qualified landowners, the purpose of the Family Forest Fish Passage Program is to replace culverts and other barriers with new structures that allow fish easy passage and reduce habitat degradation while improving access for land owners. Common culprits, culverts can degrade and dissect fish habitat in several ways. A culvert can deter fish passage if there is a drop, similar to a water fall, from the output of the culvert. Similarly, a culvert can become a barrier if it is undersized, creating high water velocity and pressure so great it prevents fish, especially juveniles, from advancing upstream.

Unlike our Landowner Assistance Program, there are several conditions for eligibility. You must be a private small forest landowner and harvest less than 2 million board feet of timber annually from your property. The barrier must be associated with a road and on forested land capable of supporting a merchantable stand of timber. Finally, the barrier must be in a fish-bearing stream, typically wider than 2 feet with a gradient less than 20%.

If you’d like to learn more about this program, visit the Washington State Department of Natural Resources website, call our office at (509) 436-1601 or come to our office at 15 N Mission St. Wenatchee, WA.

Today’s snowpack in North Central Washington is down to 55% of the 34 year average (http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov).

What Cascadia Does

“Oh yeah, the conservation district… That must be, uh, some interesting work?” Verbatim, my loquacious uncle’s reply when I told him what I’ve been up to and where I’m working. Like most, my uncle had no idea what a conservation district is. Surprisingly, I’ve had a hard time getting people to understand just what a conservation district does. There is no easy elevator speech for conservation districts. So I’d like to use the next few blog posts to highlight some of our programs.

 Officially, from the National Association of Conservation Districts’ website,"Conservation districts are local units of government established under state law to carry out natural resource management programs at the local level. Districts work with millions of cooperating landowners and operators to help them manage and protect land and water resources on all private lands and many public lands in the United States" (http://www.nacdnet.org/). In short, it is an organization that seeks to help people take care of the land and environment around us. Cascadia’s landowner assistance program is one of several ways we do this.

A hedgerow, planted to attract pollinators and other beneficial insects.

 The landowner assistance program is for landowners in Chelan County, excluding those within Wenatchee and Chelan city limits, who are looking for technical and/or financial assistance in installing best management practices (land use practices which mitigate environmental degradation). This could mean replacing outdated irrigation, restoring buffers or riparian zones or even soil testing. Because of this area’s predominant agriculture industry, its proximity to anadromous fish habitat and its proclivity for wildfires, much of our landowner assistance is for landowners with streamside, farmland, orchard or forested property. That said, if your land does not fall in one of these categories, it does not disqualify you for such assistance.

An excellent example of landowners who not only took advantage of our landowner assistance program, but also became role models for environmental stewardship, was highlighted in a blogpost of ours from November 21, 2011.

If you’d like more information on landowner assistance you can call us at (509) 436-1601, email us at www.cascadiacd.org or just come by our office at 14 N Mission St. Landowner assistance is only a fraction of what we do here at Cascadia, so please come back next week for a look at the Family Forest Fish Passage Program.

With all of the warm weather and rain we’ve had in the last week, today’s snow pack in our area is a measly 63% of the 34 year average.  

Wild and Scrumptious

Continuing with our native plant theme, and considering several of our native plants for sale are edible, it seems appropriate to devote a blog to edible native plants. Before delving into this topic, I’d like to be clear that eating plants found in the wild holds some risk and should not be done in a casual manner. If you’re a novice identifying plants or are unsure, it’s best to get a second or third opinion from someone in the know before munching down.

There are many benefits to eating wild plants. First of all it’s free, and as someone on a tight AmeriCorps budget, I’m all for free. Also, generally speaking, plants lose nutritional value the longer they sit after being harvested. So you get more bang for your buck when you eat freshly harvested plants. Depending on values and disposition, it’s also common that people gain a deeper appreciation for the things they eat when they’re able to see their food in its natural environment and gather it themselves.

Being a novice in the subject myself, it seems the best place to start is with plants that are relatively easy to identify and have no poisonous lookalikes. It’s also recommended that one learn the few poisonous plants around in order to better avoid them. The following are just a few examples of the many tasty edible plants you can find in our area:

-Evergreen Huckleberry produces edible berries, which are commonly used to make delicious jelly and jam.

Evergreen Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum)

-Hooker’s, or tapertip onion has edible flowers and bulbs and can be consumed raw or cooked. While raw this onion is said to be overpowering, it’s purportedly sweet and delectable when cooked.

Hooker's Onion (Allium acuminatum)

-Camas also has edible bulbs which can be eaten raw or cooked. When cooked, they’re known to be sweeter than a sweet potato. The bulbs can also be ground into flour. It should be noted that Camas has a deadly lookalike aptly named "death camas". To avoid any fatal mix-ups, double, triple or even quadruple check to be sure you've got the right camas. It's easiest to distinguish one from the other while they're flowering.

Camas (Camassia)

-Wild licorice was commonly used by Native Americans. They have sweet, fleshy roots which get sweeter when cooked.

Wild Locrice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota)

If you’re like me, your mouth is watering just thinking about those scrumptious local flora and you can’t wait to get out and try your hand at finding, preparing and devouring such delicacies. And, if you’re a novice like me, you probably need to pump your breaks, hard. Not only is it the wrong time of year to be gathering many of these edible plants, but there are also some guidelines everyone should abide by when harvesting wild plants. This list of dos and don’ts is from the Washington State University Snohomish County Extension website (http://ext100.wsu.edu/snohomish/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/73aEdibleWildPlants.pdf):

• Know what you are picking
• Collect only what you can positively identify as edible
• Harvest only plants that look healthy in uncontaminated areas
• Clean and prepare wild foods like you do cultivated crops
• Eat only small quantities when first trying an edible plant
• Get property owners' permission before gathering wild foods
• Never over-harvest. Take only what you can use and use what you take.

If this blog has convinced you to take up gathering wild edible plants, there are plenty of resources online to help you get started. There are also some great field guides worth their weight in edible flora such as A Field Guide to Edible Fruits and Berries of the Pacific Northwest by Richard J. Hebda and Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West by Gregory L. Tilford.

While it’s been raining down here in Wenatchee, the higher elevations have been getting snow which has increased our snowpack in this area to 64% of the 34 year average (ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/wa_swepctnormal_update.pdf).