Benton SWCD

305 SW C Ave., Suite 1

Corvallis, OR 97333

Phone: 541-753-7208

Fax: 541-753-1871

E-mail: hkeirstead@bentonswcd.org Website: www.bentonswcd.org

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Event Date/ Time/ Location Fee Who to Contact

BSWCD Native Plant Sale Place Orders by Jan 23 Plant Pick Up on Feb 7

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Benton SWCD 753-7208 Access order form on-line: http://www.bentonswcd.org/publications/#Newsletter

Weed Spotters Volunteer Training: gain and spread knowledge about invasive species

6 Thursday nights 7-9 pm Feb 5 –Mar 12 So. Co-op Conference Rm. & Tunison Community Rm. Corvallis

free Heath Keirstead, BSWCD

541-753-7208 hkeirstead@bentonswcd.org

Water, Wetlands & Waterfowl gain skills and methods to teach about water, wetlands and waterfowl. Lunch & materials provided.

Saturday, February 21 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM Philomath Scout Lodge 660 Clemens Mill Rd Philomath

free Maggie Livesay 766-6750

or www.cof.orst.edu/onrep/

Flying WILD: teach middle-school students about birds, their migration & habitats. Lunch & materials provided.

Saturday March 7 8:30 AM to 4 PM

Cheldelin Middle School

$10 Maggie Livesay 766-6750 ask about the 4-H Wildlife Stewards Hybrid option

Upcoming Events in Benton County

Web CornerWeb CornerWeb CornerWeb Corner

Top 10 Native Plants for the Pacific Northwest: www.nwf.org/backyard/pacificnorthwest.cfm

Local Ecotype Gardening Guidelines: www.for-wild.org/land/ecotype.html

Journey to Forever School Gardens: http://journeytoforever.org/edu_garden.html

Canadian Wildlife Gardening website: www.wildaboutgardening.org

4-H Wildlife Stewards:Recommended! www.4hwildlifestewards.org/creating%20your%20wildlife%20garden/index.htm

Native Landscaping: basic info about native plants and links for educators. www.for-wild.org/landscap.html

OSU Extension Publications. Search for “Wildlife Garden.” 26 publications focused on gardening to attract a variety of organisms. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/details.php

Plants to attract and sustain hummingbirds year-round: www.rainyside.com/natives/HummingbirdPlants.html

Wikigardens website for plant research www.wikigardens.com

OSU Organic Growers Club: http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/organic_grower/index.html

Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom: http://aitc.oregonstate.edu/index.htm

Corvallis Environmental Center’s Farm & Garden Programs

SSSS ticky smiles were a sure sign of success when farmer Mike Hessel of Red Hat Melons visited the Lincoln School cafeteria with watermelons and cantaloupes in September. But when the elementary students eagerly asked for seconds and thirds of Stahlbush Island Farms’ broccoli "trees" in December, it was clear these kids are fans of local flavor.

The Corvallis Environmental Center (CEC) is cooking up new programming to increase student knowledge about growing and eating healthy, local foods. Their tasting tables, which feature a different farm each month, give students a chance to

taste the difference of fresh-picked fruits, veggies and nuts grown in the Willamette Valley. CEC staff are piloting the tasting table program at Lincoln as part of their Farm to School program. Interested teachers can contact the CEC for help organizing a tasting table at their school. The program typically costs $75 for 400 samples and the farmer’s time. Fact sheets and lesson plans for each 2009 Pick of the Month are available for download at the CEC website:(http://www.corvallisenvironmentalcenter.org/YGP/farmtoschool.html).

The CEC’s Farm to School program is part of a national effort to link local farmers with school cafeterias, improving the nutritional quality of school lunches while expanding the market for small farms. Corvallis School District Food and Nutrition Services staff are working with CEC staff to explore options for buying more school food from local farmers.

Classroom tie-ins are an essential component of the Farm to School program. In the coming months, teachers and CEC staff will pilot local food and sustainable agriculture lesson plans in K-3rd Health, Social Studies and Science curriculum kits. Incorporating simple, hands-on lessons about gardening, cooking, and eating fresh produce into the existing kits will enable students to make the connections between lessons learned in the cafeteria, school garden, and the classroom.

The CEC also plans to continue their experiential garden education program in 2009 at the Starker Arts Garden for Education (SAGE) (formerly the Youth Garden Project). SAGE garden summer camps for elementary and middle school students offer students opportunities to explore nature in the garden with a focus on themes including pollinators, garden art, and cooking from the garden. Teachers without school gardens are encouraged to visit the SAGE garden for spring and fall growing season field trips.

For more information about the CEC’s programs, contact Jen Brown or Leslie Van Allen at (541) 753-9211.

This newsletter is brought to you by Benton SWCD’s Making Ripples Program

Making Ripples ~ Community Building for Water Quality

Jen Myers serves broccoli at a Lincoln K-8 tasting table

By Jen Myers Focus on GardensFocus on GardensFocus on GardensFocus on Gardens

♦ Creating & maintaining

school gardens is the theme

of this issue.

Benton Soil and Water Conservation District

Making Ripples NewsletterMaking Ripples NewsletterMaking Ripples NewsletterMaking Ripples Newsletter

JANUARY, 2009JANUARY, 2009JANUARY, 2009JANUARY, 2009 VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2

Inside this issue:Inside this issue:Inside this issue:Inside this issue:

Gardening for Wildlife 2

School Garden Grants 2

Grow a Pizza 3

Tips from Teachers 3

Gardening Resources 3

Youth Garden Project 4

Web Corner 4

Upcoming Events 4

Community Building for Water Quality

RRRR ESTORE Oregon Schoolyards is a new collaborative program of the Institute for Applied Ecology funded by the Gray Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation. RESTORE offers professional

development for teachers and technical support to schools to develop native ecosystems in their schoolyards. This year, sixteen teachers from Mountain View Elementary, Muddy Creek Charter School, and Kings Valley Charter School are working with their students to create outdoor classrooms in their schoolyard. RESTORE began with an intense but fun two-day teacher workshop at Beazell Memorial Forest. Teachers received instruction in hands-on ecosystems studies, held strategic planning sessions to guide their long-term restoration and education goals, and received assistance with grant writing. The three pilot schools have been holding regular meetings to plan and integrate outdoor ecological education with their

HHHH ave you tried establishing a school garden only to have the effort fizzle? One way to increase the success and longevity of your school garden is by developing a garden team.

A strong team will have 4–6 members , and is most successful when members include the principal, teachers, parents, custodial or cafeteria staff, and students. 4-H Wildlife Stewards recommend creating a team that shares a unifying purpose, actively involves all its members in goal setting, shares leadership among members, clearly states the time commitment, gets support from key individuals, uses established procedures for measuring progress and has clearly defined roles for members. Key roles for garden team members include: facilitator, garden coordinator, planting day leader, resource leader, parent-teacher liaison, and fundraiser. The facilitator will enlist support of key staff, but might not be actively involved in gardening. The garden coordinator, who ideally has gardening experience, will coordinate meetings and plan the garden. The planting day leader coordinates classroom seed starting and all the logistics of a big planting day event. A parent or librarian could make an excellent resource leader by collecting school gardening resources and acting as the group’s PR person. The parent teacher liaison will communicate with the PTO/PTA and recruit parent volunteers. Finally, the fundraiser will take the lead on securing grants to support the garden. (from www.schoolgardenwizard.org/) Use one of these recommended sources to help you jump start your garden team: 1) 4-H Wildlife Stewards, 2) RESTORE Oregon Schoolyards, 3) School Garden Wizard on the web. When more people are invested, the garden might seem to grow by itself!

RESTORE Oregon Schoolyards

students. Each school now has a "Nature Observations" board where students record sightings of turkey vultures and blooming plants to wetland haikus as they get to know the schoolyard they will restore in the coming months and years. RESTORE benefits from collaborations that enhance this program. Our partners at 4-H Wildlife Stewards train community volunteers; Benton SWCD and ONREP support workshops and make grants available to local educators; the US Fish & Wildlife Service provides restoration support and supplies; and Earth Partnership for Schools is the parent program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum. Given ample funding, IAE and its partners hope to hold another summer workshop in summer 2010. For more information or to get involved, contact Jen Cramer at jen@appliedeco.org.

Grow a Garden that Lasts: Start with a Garden Team

Teachers at

the RESTORE

workshop

(see article

below)

learned field

techniques

for using

their outdoor

classrooms.

by Jen Cramer

Befriend Butterflies

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AAAA ttracting hummingbirds to your school garden is a fun and easy pursuit. These unique birds play an important role in our environment, acting as

both pollinators and insect control. If your garden meets their basic needs for food, water, and shelter, your ‘Hummingbird Habitat Garden’ is bound to be a success!

Of the five hummingbird species found in Oregon, the Rufous and Anna’s hummingbirds are most common to the Willamette Valley. They prefer red, orange, and pink tubular-shaped blossoms, but are not motivated by fragrance. These birds are attracted to a variety of plant species native to our ecoregion, including: Pacific crab apple, red-flowering currant, columbine, clarkia, orange honeysuckle, and penstemon. For lists of native plants that hummingbirds like, visit www.boskydellnatives.com/hummingbirds.htm and www.rainyside.com/natives/HummingbirdPlants.html

While 90 percent of the hummingbird diet consists of nectar, they eat little insects too; so it’s important not to use chemicals in a hummingbird garden. Artificial hummingbird feeders are also available; however, the soundness of a practice which may make birds dependant on a non-natural food source is debated.

Providing perches (dead tree limbs or 1/4” dowels) above the garden plants is important to consider when laying out your hummingbird garden. A birdbath with rough footing (no deeper than 1.5”) can make your yard more attractive to the birds as well. Hummingbirds use the same tiny nest year after year, often hidden on the tops of horizontal tree limbs. They live up to five years in the wild, so you and your students will enjoy the habitat garden time and again.

This article is predominantly based on the OSU Extension publication, “The Wildlife Garden: Attract Hummingbirds to Your Garden,” which can be accessed through the catalog at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/index.php. For more information about hummingbirds, visit www.birdwatching-bliss.com/hummingbirds.html.

Attract Hummingbirds

School Garden Grants

BBBB enton SWCD Native Plant Sale enton SWCD Native Plant Sale enton SWCD Native Plant Sale enton SWCD Native Plant Sale provides a discount to educators. Call the office for the educator discount form (753-7208) or request it via e-mail (hkeirstead@bentonswcd.org). But hurry! The last day to submit your order is Friday, January

23, 2009.

2009 Bayer Advanced “Grow Together with Roses” School Garden 2009 Bayer Advanced “Grow Together with Roses” School Garden 2009 Bayer Advanced “Grow Together with Roses” School Garden 2009 Bayer Advanced “Grow Together with Roses” School Garden AwardAwardAwardAward: Deadline: January 23 In partnership with Bayer Advanced and All America Roses Selections, NGA will select 25 gardens to receive roses and educational materials.

2009 Mantis Awards: 2009 Mantis Awards: 2009 Mantis Awards: 2009 Mantis Awards: Deadline: March 1, 2009 NGA will select 25 gardens to receive a Mantis Tiller/Cultivator. They accept applications from all nonprofits. http://www.kidsgardening.com/grants/mantis-criteria.asp

The Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education FundThe Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education FundThe Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education FundThe Lorrie Otto Seeds for Education Fund: Deadline: November 15 Small grants to schools & other organizations committed to creating natural landscapes using native plants. http://www.for-wild.org/sfecvr.html.

2009 Hooked on Hydroponics Awards:2009 Hooked on Hydroponics Awards:2009 Hooked on Hydroponics Awards:2009 Hooked on Hydroponics Awards: Applications will be available February 1, 2009. Receive hydroponics equipment, curricula and reference books

2009 Healthy Sprouts Awards: 2009 Healthy Sprouts Awards: 2009 Healthy Sprouts Awards: 2009 Healthy Sprouts Awards: 2009 applications available after: February 1. http://www.kidsgardening.com/healthysprouts.asp Each of 20 successful applicants will receive:gift certificates towards the purchase of gardening materials from our sponsoring company, Gardener's Supply Company; NGA's Eat a Rainbow Kit, chock full of engaging taste education and nutrition lessons; 25 packets of seeds; a literature package from NGA.

Virginia 4Virginia 4Virginia 4Virginia 4----H Funding Resources web page: H Funding Resources web page: H Funding Resources web page: H Funding Resources web page: an extensive list of school garden grants. http://www.ext.vt.edu/resources/4h/4hyouthhort/funding.html

2009 Project Orange Thumb: Deadline: 2009 Project Orange Thumb: Deadline: 2009 Project Orange Thumb: Deadline: 2009 Project Orange Thumb: Deadline: February 17, 2009. 20 grant recipients will receive up to $1500 in Fiskars garden tools and up to $800 in gardening related materials. http://projectorangethumb.com/pot/

Lowe’s Outdoor Classroom Grant Lowe’s Outdoor Classroom Grant Lowe’s Outdoor Classroom Grant Lowe’s Outdoor Classroom Grant ProgramProgramProgramProgram: will award grants up to $2000 to at least 100 schools nationwide. In some cases, grants for up to $20,000 may be awarded to schools/districts with major projects to build or enhance an outdoor classroom. http://www.toolboxforeducation.com/

Wild Ones Seeds for Education Grant Wild Ones Seeds for Education Grant Wild Ones Seeds for Education Grant Wild Ones Seeds for Education Grant ProgramProgramProgramProgram: Submit completed and signed proposal postmarked by the 15th of November each year. $100 to $500 grants for the purchase of native plants and seeds. http://www.for-wild.org/sfecvr.html

Captain Planet GrantsCaptain Planet GrantsCaptain Planet GrantsCaptain Planet Grants: Deadlines for submitting grant applications are Mar. 31, June 30, Sept. 30, and Dec. 31 (plan to apply 6 months ahead). Proposals must focus on hands-on involvement of youth ages 6-18 and promote understanding of environmental issues. http://www.captainplanetfoundation.org/

K. Coleman teaches Aaron Gaffney & his classmates in the Philomath Elementary

School Garden

By Kathleen Hill

BBBB ecause of their metamorphic life cycle and important role as pollinators, butterflies make great subjects for study. Design a garden that encourages butterflies to stay year round by

following these steps: 1) Plant a windbreakwindbreakwindbreakwindbreak including cottonwood and dogwood trees, oceanspray and rhododendron.

2) Plant nectar plants nectar plants nectar plants nectar plants for adults. Nearsighted butterflies are attracted to fragrance and bright colors. Rhododendron and willow are two good nectar sources.

3) Plant host plants host plants host plants host plants for caterpillars. Many butterfly species are very host specific. Monarchs will only use milkweed and the endangered Fender’s Blue butterfly will only use Kincaid’s lupine.

4) Create butterfly puddlespuddlespuddlespuddles where butterflies can access the water and minerals they require. Bury a bucket in the ground and fill it with wet sand. Provide sticks as perches.

5) Provide butterflies with basking sites basking sites basking sites basking sites where they can warm up in the sun. Flat rocks and large open spaces are ideal

basking sites. 6) Finally, butterflies need roosting sitesroosting sitesroosting sitesroosting sites. Butterflies rest from early afternoon until the next morning. Include a variety of sheltered spots when you design your butterfly garden.

Find out more in the OSU Extension publication, “Create a Butterfly Garden,” accessible at http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/index.php. Visit www.bentonswcd.org/

projects/treesale/ to find Beth Young’s Butterfly Garden Design.

Adapted from OSU Extension’s publication “Create a Butterfly Garden”

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Let us know what we can do to help you grow a garden at your Benton County school. Contact Heath Keirstead (hkeirstead@bentonswcd.org),

Teresa Matteson (tmatteson@bentonswcd.org) or call us at 541-753-7208.

AAAA pizza pie shaped garden bursting with delicious flavors is a great way to get kids excited about gardening! You’ll need to involve your Garden Team in

summer garden maintenance to ensure success.

Ingredients You’ll need the following seedlings: 3 plum tomatoes, 3 cherry tomatoes, 1 zucchini, 3 bell peppers, 3 small eggplants, 1 rosemary, 3 oreganos, 3 basils, 3 onions, 3 garlic, 6 calendulas and 6 marigolds (the flowers are cheese colored and can be used as toppings). You’ll also need a 10’x10’ plot of ground that receives at least 6 hours of sunlight and aged manure or compost for enriching the soil (contact BSWCD for soil testing kits). Preparing the Garden Delineate your plot and work a 2” layer of manure into the soil, then rake the plot flat. Tap a stake into the soil at the center of your plot and tie a 3’ string to it. Stretch the string and holding the end, walk in a circle. Outline the circle with a hoe. Use rocks or bricks to form a thick “crust” and use flour to mark spots at 32” intervals around the crust. Make a line of flour from each of these points to the center stake –now you have seven “slices” in your pizza. Mark the slices with smaller rocks and remove the stake—now you’re ready to plant!

Grow Your Own Pizza

“Just start.”- —Katie McNutt, butterfly garden at Hoover Elementary

“Have your magic wand ready to control the weather.” —Anna Moser, 6th grade teacher, Alsea School

“think [of] a school garden [as] being more than raising veggies - how teachers use it in science, tie it to science kits, textures, (art), five senses, insects, life cycles, attracting butterflies…”

—Patti Ball, Middle School Teacher, Lincoln K-8 “Going beyond the obvious -- the vegetables -- is what makes the garden an effective classroom at lots of ages and ability levels.”

—Xan Augerot, parent volunteer, Lincoln K-8

Gardening Wizardry for Kids book by L. Patricia Kite. An exploration of gardening from a variety of angles. Includes snippets of history, crafts projects & science experiments. Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots beautifully illustrated book by S. Lovejoy. 12 ideas for theme gardens along with plans and planting recipes. Bottle Biology Learn how to explore biological systems using soda bottles & other recyclable materials with easy to use book and on-line guide. www.bottlebiology.org/ Healthy Foods from Healthy Soils (by Patten & Lyons)– A hands-on guidebook to participating in the ecological cycle of food production, compost formation, and recycling back to the soil. (Grades K–6) Lasagna Gardening – (by P. Lanza) This book describes how to build a layered no-till garden using mulches and organic matter. Filled with inspiration and instructions. Dirty Decomposers – A thorough and engaging inquiry into the conditions that favor or discourage decomposition. For grades 5 – 8. http://nsdl.org/resource/2200/20070917004052615T Compost Fun for Kids – Curricular website full of composting facts, a quiz, and puzzles. www.mansfieldct.org/Schools/MMS/post/fun.htm Mulch Experiment – A on-line lesson plan for testing how various mulches affect plant growth. For grades 3 – 5. www.education-world.com/a_tsl/archives/00-2/lesson0008.shtml

Gardening

Resources

Come rain or shine, Cal Stueve of Philomath Elementary enjoys

digging in the garden.

Aaron Gaffney & his classmates

Gardening Tips from Teachers

By Taylor Bortz

Planting

On a sunny day at high noon stand at the center of the plot—your shadow will point north, which is where your tall plants should go (tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, eggplants). Start at the center of the pizza and work your way out to plant each slice. Plant the larger vegetables in each of the five slices on the northern side of the pizza pie. Plant the herbs, onions and garlic in one of the remaining slices and scatter the flowers throughout the pie. Leave the last slice unplanted to serve as a path. Mulch around the plants with straw or shredded bark and water your pie as needed. When your produce is mature get together to harvest and throw a pizza party! For more fun garden projects see Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together With Children by Sharon Lovejoy, the book from which this garden idea was taken.