Save 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!
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Agroforestry 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.
Read MoreAgroforestry Benefit Highlight: Climate Change
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One 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 MoreShiitake, Sheep, and Seaberry at Sweetwater Farm
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It 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.
Read More38th Annual Plant Sale Was One for the Books
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As we wrap up our 38th Annual Plant Sale, we are grateful for the many hundreds of folks who ordered plants and donated their time to make this event a success!
Read MoreStreamside Restoration at Polestar Farm
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In addition to its three riparian buffers, Polestar Farm is home to upwards of 20 beaver dams, creating a wetland nested within the forest. The slowed water caused by a beaver dam helps keep horse waste and other pollutants from entering the stream quickly, and also recharges groundwater.
Read MoreCleaner Water for a Healthier Community
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Although most of us refuse to use umbrellas, the fact remains that our annual rainfall averages about 35 inches in the western part of the county and increases sharply as you approach the Cascade Mountains. Managing the stormwater runoff resulting from all of this rain remains a crucial part of Snohomish Conservation District’s work to reduce pollution in our streams, rivers, and Puget Sound.
Read More2023 Youth Art Contest Winners & People's Choice
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Thank you to everyone who submitted a masterpiece to this year’s Youth Art Contest! We were amazed to see such a wide range of species and mediums represented.
Read MoreFall Renovation of Pacific Northwest Horse Pastures
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Healthy pastures are an important key to a healthy ecosystem.
Read MoreManure management, Insect Control, and Bog Plants on Horse Properties
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Who would have thought that carnivorous bog plants, such as sundews and pitcher plants, would have a place on a horse property?
Read MoreRestoring North Creek to Improve Water Quality
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On the two private properties, over 10,000 trees and shrubs were planted across 11 acres to provide shade and filter pollutants before entering the creek.
Read MorePractice Highlight: Food Forests
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Food forests are designed to mimic a forest ecosystem and are mainly made up of edible and medicinal perennial species, with some annual crops mixed in.
Read MorePersimmons and Patience
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If you visit Niky Schultz’s food forest, you might get the sense she’s planting her own little Garden of Eden, an edible landscape where bees nap in her “Pollinator Paradise” and salamanders swim like little dragons in her pond. It’s hard to believe that she’s spent most of her adult life living in apartments with only enough space for a container garden.
Read MoreUrban Street Trees at Henry M. Jackson Park
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This event kicked off the planting of several trees in the Delta Neighborhood of Everett and highlighted the ways that urban trees can reduce stormwater volume and filter water, while also providing wildlife habitat, shade, and improved air quality, human health, and livability.
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