by Lynnwood Times Staff
In response to rising food costs and an increase in demand for food at local food banks, Snohomish Conservation District is partnering with Verdant Health Commission to pilot Harvest at Home, a free program to increase access to food gardening for residents of South Snohomish County.
by Lena Beck
It’s a rare sunny day in January, and about a dozen people gather on a farm in Snohomish County, Washington. The farmer, Brett Aiello of Reconnecting Roots Farm, wants to suppress the weeds around some newly planted fruit trees without disturbing the soil, and he’s enlisted some help.
The people in the field work together to sheet mulch the patch of land — some lay sections of clean cardboard, others cart wheelbarrows of bark chips across the field, carefully layering the chips onto the old boxes… Boehnlein says they’ve worked extensively with the Snohomish Conservation District. In one instance, the Snohomish Conservation District received a grant to explore agroforestry as a solution to farming wet ground.
The Forest Service announced it will award more than $1.9 million to Bonneville Environmental Foundation to help connect underserved and small acreage landowners to emerging climate markets.
This funded project will expand the foundation’s Carbon Credit Regional Operator Program, which provides local forest restoration partners with tools and training to reach small-acreage forest landowners and support their access to voluntary carbon markets.
Bonneville Environmental Foundation and collaborators will recruit new implementation partners, perform focused outreach to landowners, and develop landowner payment structures.
Key partners include Snohomish Conservation District, Spokane Conservation District, Trout Unlimited, Whatcom Conservation District, Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council, Mid-Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group, City Forest Credits, and Upstream Tech.
As wildfire risks in Western Washington increase, Snohomish County officials are developing a county-wide protection plan.
The county is surveying residents to provide information about the area’s preparedness that will be used to develop the plan. The survey went live in early August and will be available until mid-November. Fire districts, as well as cities, community organizations, the Snohomish Conservation District, the forest service and the state Department of Natural Resources are participating in the planning effort.
The $73.6 million climate resiliency grant builds on more than 20 years of planning work by Ecology and a coalition of public agencies, Tribes, academic institutions and non-profit organizations. Together, they have investigated the steps needed to protect Washington’s coastal communities from climate-related hazards.
Read MoreMore trees, please! A recently launched program in Everett aims to add 3,000 trees around parts of the city, and they’re free to anyone who wants one. People and property owners in seven neighborhood areas can request a free tree from the Snohomish Conservation District.
Live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss and surrounded by azaleas make for a charming spring walk in Charleston, South Carolina. Shutterstock
On Saturday, the Edmonds Stewards— with assistance from other local environment-focused groups— hosted a native plant giveaway at Edmonds’ Willow Creek Hatchery.
Read MoreThe Camano Wildlife Habitat Project partnered with the Snohomish Conservation District to educate islanders about living amidst Camano's bluffs...
Read MoreThe City of Lynnwood is receiving $1,308,198 of the Urban and Community Forest Grant for its South Lynnwood Urban Forestry & Stewardship Program. Overall, municipalities in Washington state were awarded a total of $36,365,854 in funding from the grant for 2023. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service awarded more than $1 billion in competitive grants this fall to plant and maintain trees, combat extreme heat and climate change and improve access to nature.
Read MoreBeavers provide critical benefits for wetland ecosystems but can also alter the landscape in ways that are unpredictable for property owners and conservationists alike. New techniques are helping humans and beavers share the landscape with the goal of benefiting both parties.
Read MoreMany who attended Saturday's sixth annual Orca Recovery Day at Lighthouse Park came to learn more about the magnificent southern resident orcas seen in the Puget Sound.
Read MoreThousands of trees are coming to urban areas in western Snohomish County.
“We’re doing 100% underrepresented communities,” said Linda Lyshall, the executive director of the Snohomish Conservation District. “We really wanted to address that tree equity concern, where you have urban areas where there’s just no greenery.”
Read MoreAfter being postponed in July, music was heard once more at Brier Park on Wednesday as two bands played for the community. Yes, Brier’s Music in the Park was back… The Snohomish Conservation District held educational demonstrations on how to build a rain garden. Over 200 people attended the gathering.
Read MoreHow do pollutants flow from cities into lakes and oceans? What’s the best way to dispose of pet waste? These were among the lessons provided to children and parents attending the second annual Youth Science event at the Jerry Smith Town Center Plaza in Mountlake Terrace Saturday.
Read MoreFamilies gathered Saturday at the Willow Creek Salmon and Watershed Education Center to enjoy nature-themed exhibits, games and crafts at the City of Edmonds-sponsored annual Watershed Fun Fair.
Read More“It has been a joy to work with Dan on some of his sustainability efforts,” says Eric Schuh, Senior Resource Planner at Snohomish Conservation District. “You can tell he’s passionate about improving the land he’s working on, while also improving the surrounding habitat and involving the community in his efforts.”
Read MoreParticipants in a local Orca Recovery Day event gathered for a nature walk through Ballinger Park in Mountlake Terrace Oct. 16. Attendees learned about local native and invasive plants, how to create bird habitat, and why that kind of conservation work benefits Puget Sound and can also help the area’s Southern Resident orca populations.
Read More“Farming has been taking resources from the land in a sense,” Brausieck (SCD Resource Planner) said.
But agroforestry allows farmers to harvest food in a way that’s protecting natural resources and regenerating the land.
“It’s creating a way for farming to be part of the solution,” she said.
Photo credit: Kevin Clark, Everett Herald
Read MoreJackie Emmerton, right, and granddaughter Sayler Pattison dig a hole to plant a tree at the Earth Day event from the city of Marysville on April 27. - Photo credit: Christopher Andersson
Read MoreSnohomish Conservation District | 528 91st Ave NE, Lake Stevens, WA 98258 | 425-335-5634
