“He who plants a tree, plants a hope”
-Lucy Larcom, from her poem “Plant a Tree”
SFEG’s native plant nursery sprouted from humble beginnings way back in the 1990s, on borrowed land at the Northern State Campus with help from the Cascades Job Corps program headquartered there. Thousands of donated or cheaply acquired trees and shrubs were heeled in to await planting at restoration sites. Our current Stewardship Coordinator, Bengt Miller, was our Washington Conservation Corps member at the time, and helped start our nursery with a donation from San Juan Conservation District. In spring 2000, a potted nursery was started there, with plants salvaged from nearby properties, rescued from the rejects pile at area plant sales, or gotten by some other cost-effective means. A dozen years of trial and error happened there with the help of so many volunteers, under the watchful guidance of late SFEG Board Member Jim Thomas.
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In late 2012 the nursery was moved to its current location, and the Samish Tribe has been a great partner in this endeavor. The nursery is nestled between Burlington and Sedro-Woolley on the banks of Thomas Creek. Through an agreement with the Samish Indian Tribe, SFEG rents tribal-owned land for the purpose of growing native plants for future restoration projects. At maximum capacity our nursery holds about 10,000 plants, and anyone who has attended a potting party or weeded over the summer has seen it in its full glory!
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We’ve battled snow, ice, flooding, and wandering cows over the years, and often have the company of assorted wildlife onsite. Oh, and a global pandemic. Never a dull moment, for sure. If you are one of the hundreds of volunteers who’ve helped out at our nursery over the past two plus decades we thank you! You are helping us grow the plants that will shade the salmon, feed the macroinvertebrates, stabilize the banks, and provide riparian habitat for countless species in the Skagit Watershed. THANK YOU!
-Lucy DeGrace, Outreach Manager
Weekday Potting Party April 8th
Upcoming EventsPotting Party Fun!
Are weekdays your thing? Then join us on Thursdays this spring getting baby plants into pots at our nursery. SFEG staff will be on site all day each Thursday, and we invite YOU to join us 9am-noon. Stay an hour, stay longer! Your choice.
Bring your own gloves if you have them. If not, we will gift you some! All ages welcome, masks required. Dress for the weather!
Due to ongoing Covid-19 health and safety concerns, registration for these and all volunteer events is required, in order to maintain small group numbers. Maximum participants is 12 for each event.
Register HERE
Riverfront Park: Then and Now | Project 7 of 30
30/30 Projects, From the FieldRiverfront Park: Then and Now
Riverfront Park is a 35 acre property situated at the banks of the lower main-stem of the Skagit River in south Sedro-Woolley. The park was developed in 1984 and now includes a dog park, several sports fields, and a place for RV’s and campers to settle in for the night.
Funding from the Rose Foundation and Washington State Department of Ecology has allowed SFEG to restore 7 acres of the city park property over the past few years. You wouldn’t know when visiting the park now but the restoration site, adjacent to the dog park, was covered in a swath of Himalayan blackberry and reed canary grass. These invasive species do not promote a healthy and balanced ecosystem, as they create a monoculture, by out-competing all other species that could potentially grow and thrive in the area.
Blackberry before SFEG restoration
Riverfront after restoration and plantings
Throughout 2018, the site was prepped for the first stage of restoration. Once the invasive species were removed by chemical and mechanical means, volunteers came out to the park alongside SFEG staff to take part in a number of tasks during the fall of 2019 for Make a Difference Day. Trails were built and a variety of native species were planted to promote a more healthy and stable ecosystem. Further, interpretive signs were installed at the site to inform the community of the purpose and importance of the project and how it enhances salmon habitat.
The side channel that runs through the restoration site
Olivia Hubert leading the pink group section during the Fall 2020 planting
Since the first plantings, vegetation surveys have been conducted to determine the survival of the plants. Staff and crews have weeded, mowed, and mulched to maintain the space around the plants in the summer. While in the Fall of 2020, another volunteer planting occurred in conjunction with the celebration of Orca Recovery Day, to replace the trees that didn’t survive the first season. The trickling stream running through the site is slated for passage barrier restoration in the future. When salmon do return, they will find a healthy riparian buffer that will help provide them with clean, cold, and clear water. This work is just the beginning of making Riverfront Park a bountiful land for all kinds of native species and people to enjoy.
Riverfront Planting Volunteer Interview
Sowing the Seeds of Hope | Project 6 of 30
30/30 Projects, From the Field“He who plants a tree, plants a hope”
-Lucy Larcom, from her poem “Plant a Tree”
SFEG’s native plant nursery sprouted from humble beginnings way back in the 1990s, on borrowed land at the Northern State Campus with help from the Cascades Job Corps program headquartered there. Thousands of donated or cheaply acquired trees and shrubs were heeled in to await planting at restoration sites. Our current Stewardship Coordinator, Bengt Miller, was our Washington Conservation Corps member at the time, and helped start our nursery with a donation from San Juan Conservation District. In spring 2000, a potted nursery was started there, with plants salvaged from nearby properties, rescued from the rejects pile at area plant sales, or gotten by some other cost-effective means. A dozen years of trial and error happened there with the help of so many volunteers, under the watchful guidance of late SFEG Board Member Jim Thomas.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
In late 2012 the nursery was moved to its current location, and the Samish Tribe has been a great partner in this endeavor. The nursery is nestled between Burlington and Sedro-Woolley on the banks of Thomas Creek. Through an agreement with the Samish Indian Tribe, SFEG rents tribal-owned land for the purpose of growing native plants for future restoration projects. At maximum capacity our nursery holds about 10,000 plants, and anyone who has attended a potting party or weeded over the summer has seen it in its full glory!
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
We’ve battled snow, ice, flooding, and wandering cows over the years, and often have the company of assorted wildlife onsite. Oh, and a global pandemic. Never a dull moment, for sure. If you are one of the hundreds of volunteers who’ve helped out at our nursery over the past two plus decades we thank you! You are helping us grow the plants that will shade the salmon, feed the macroinvertebrates, stabilize the banks, and provide riparian habitat for countless species in the Skagit Watershed. THANK YOU!
-Lucy DeGrace, Outreach Manager