Our Bedrock

Mission Statement: Gardens and programs that inspire, educate and enrich our lives and our community.

Purpose Statement: To educate and encourage citizens on the importance of developing, restoring, maintaining and conserving wildlife habitat and the native plants that comprise that habitat.

Membership:
Welcome new members!! We hope to see you at our monthly classes and upcoming events.

Renewal Information:
Renewal notices (for the most part except for exceptionally large volume months, in which case they are emailed) are sent out via USPS during the month in which it is due.

Note: We can now accept memberships and renewals online with this link: Membership/Renewals.

However, to help us cover our processing costs for the convenience of using online payments, it is necessary to include those costs in our online membership fees. Amounts remain the same as before for checks/cash.
Separate donations can also be transacted online!
Donations/Memorials.

Memberships/renewals help support our organization and our volunteer maintained gardens! Thanks to those who have renewed and have done so continuously and generously.

April-No Class

No class in April due to the Bare Root Trees, Shrubs & Perennial Sale. Class will resume in May–stay tuned….

March Class–Recap
A new experience for us–we (singly) hosted our first ZOOM class (since COVID) Native by Design: Reimagine Beauty with More Habitat, Less Lawn ~ conducted by Eileen M. Stark, Author/Eco-landscape designer. Eileen shared design principles with an ecological focus–native gardening, minimizing lawn, choosing and arranging locally native plants in their natural associations and according to site conditions. Lots of good comprehensive information! 
Work Parties – Weather is warming up (a bit) and the gardens are starting to come alive. Great time to volunteer at the gardens!
On work days, volunteers are guided by one of our garden coordinators to work on needed tasks/projects in the various gardens.
Thanks to those who completed our survey and shared their preferences for possible non-Saturday work days to be added to the schedule. And the winner is…..Wednesdays!! We’ll be adding more of those to our
SignUpGenius schedule as we routinely add dates throughout the year through October–check often and sign up!
Student Gardener Coordinator Program
Over three Saturdays in March, Amanda Shaffer led the Spring session of the program. We hosted 18 CASEE students and 12 adult volunteers who spent time in the classroom and outdoors learning and working together.
In the classroom: **The group discussed the canopy layers of our PNW forests and how to replicate them in our gardens to support biodiversity ** We discussed some important native plant species, which canopy they reside in, and why they are important  ** We learned about insects that we may find in our gardens and how these smallest of critters make such a big impact on the ecosystem.
Outdoors: **We assembled simple Mason Bee habitats using all recycled materials as a way to support these vital pollinators **We discovered some of our favorite native birds and even got to have a listen to each of their songs!
** built an intentional brush pile for wildlife habitat ** planted native plants ** sheet mulched a large site for a future garden ** spread wood chips in walkways ** pulled invasive plants.  See pic.
A great and fruitful experience–(to quote Amanda), “the joy is in the multigenerational discussions and cooperation! Thank you so much to all of those who came out to join us!”
The staff at CASEE considers this an important program as well, stating (edited) “You are creating leaders through this program by providing knowledge, guidance and intergenerational communication, you facilitate a higher level expectation for students.”
Garden Tidings….Mason Bees
We are releasing our second batch of Mason Bee cocoons with additional shelters at the gardens on Sunday, April 6th. We’ll be there from 1:00-3:00pm. We’ve already seen activity among the tubes already placed. See Pic.
**Note: This is another opportunity for those who attended our November 2024 or December 2024 class and have not already picked up their complimentary cocoons (15 cocoons–one set per person) to do so. Please bring a container for your bees!! We will also be selling cocoons and shelters–anyone who wants cocoons now, we got’em!! Look for us at the center of the gardens around the Mason Bee shelter attached to the small shed.
Noticing signs of Spring? (See pic). Visit the gardens soon and see what you can find!

Bare Root Trees, Shrubs and Perennials Sale

Things are progressing for our annual Bare Root Trees, Shrubs & Perennial sale this year at the Wildlife Botanical Gardens located at 11000 NE 149th Street, Brush Prairie on Saturday, April 26th from 9am-4:00pm and Sunday April 27th from 10am to 3pm. We will be picking up trees and shrubs next week! We are all gearing up!

NatureScaping is offering bare root trees for $15+, bare root shrubs for $7 and potted perennials starting at $1. Trees and shrubs will be Potted/bagged & burlapped, and special items will be priced as marked. Need Mason Bee cocoons and/or supplies? We will have them. NatureScaping will be accepting credit cards (MC/VISA), cash, and checks.
Want native plants? Students from the adjacent CASEE Center will be selling native landscaping plants from their greenhouse. They will be accepting credit, cash and checks. Garden Delights Herb Farm (Saturday only) will have a variety of herbs and herbal products. Beautiful photo cards will be offered, and we’ll have a raffle “basket” for sale. See flyer.
Shopping
Early and exclusive access to the sale on Saturday morning is reserved for current members (up-to-date with their dues) and people who become members from now until the sale. We will be using SignUpGenius to schedule people for an hour at 9:00am and 10:00am. The sale will be open to the public starting at 11:00am for the remainder of Saturday. Sunday will be open to the public all day.
Would be helpful to bring your own wagon/cart for shopping.
Important!!: In an attempt at fairness, we are giving this advance notification to everyone ahead of an email which will be sent to members only with details (including the sign-up link) for shopping the sale. The sign-up will go live on Saturday April 5th at 6:00pm.


Volunteer Opportunity

You’ve heard the pleas for volunteers, and thanks to everyone who has already volunteered!! BUT, there
are still opportunities–please help us fill in the gaps,we need you!!  Specific needs for help with certain jobs–both shifts on Sunday (morning shift 9:30-1:30; afternoon 1:00-5:00) and the Saturday afternoon shift (12:15-4:15) 
Here is a brief listing/description for those most needed jobs. Yes, these jobs are admittedly more physical but so essential! Volunteers working a 4-hour shift will receive a complimentary bare root tree, shrub (only those varieties with quantities of 10 or more) or perennial.
Volunteers–absolutely our greatest needed on sale days
Field Helper: Help with selections and help pull trees for purchase
Checker: Write up sales slips for cashiers.
To volunteer, we are using  SignUpGenius, or contact Meredith Hardin at: volunteers@naturescaping.org for help or questions. Won’t you please step up to help if you are able-we appreciate your consideration and support!

Hidden Garden Spot

A feature for those who frequent the gardens regularly and to encourage others to do so. See if you can recognize the spot in one of the gardens where this photo, “Mushroom House” was taken. See pic. 
Note: Look at the end of the attached News Nuggets and Reading Material PDF to find out the answer.

Noticing signs of Spring? Visit the gardens soon and see what you can find!

Sharing……
Flyers
Always striving to best share information, our standard flyers in display boxes at the gardens are now on our website.
Booklet
With funding from a Washington Native Plant Society (WNPS) grant and with many volunteer hours from committee members (you know who you are) a longtime dream has been fulfilled.
We have created a free 52-page booklet as an educational tool that includes dozens of high-quality photos, descriptions and other information regarding native plants found at The Wildlife Botanical Gardens and reasons to incorporate them in your landscape. Here is the link to finding it on our website:
Comments:
From a high school volunteer: A Ridgefield student said, “her experience was the best of all her volunteering projects.”
Nature Related Quote of the Month, from Elizabeth Appell: “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.: