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.
Welcome members–those who have renewed and those newly joined! (some at higher levels). Thank you so much! Memberships help support our organization and our gardens!
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.
July Class-Recap NatureScaping Photo Walk ~ conducted by Kenneth Meyer, Amateur Nature Photographer and Ecologist.
We had small intimate sessions with opportunities to ask questions and get individual attention. Kenneth shared some photography tips: Photography Points-Kenneth Meyer
Note: For past recorded Zoom classes, we have a playlist at the Camas Library YouTube page where you can view the entire offerings of recorded class sessions from past months at: Camas Library YouTube-NatureScaping Classes
Saturday Morning Work Parties
Saturday Morning Work Parties (SMWP) are from 9-noon. Each Saturday morning, volunteers are guided by one of our garden coordinators to work on needed tasks/projects in the various gardens. Non-Saturday dates may also be available as determined. We have a sign up system using SignUpGenius. Additional sign up dates will be routinely added.
To sign up to work on listed days, here is a link: SignUpGenius
Art in the Garden-Recap
We had a beautiful day on Sunday July 10th for our annual Art in the Garden Event–10th Anniversary edition. We had close to 600 attendees and the most artists we’ve ever hosted. Judging from shared comments, I believe it is safe to say, fun was had by all.
Thanks to all who purchased tickets for our raffle–there were many beautiful items donated by the participating artists. We had a lucky raffle winner (Phyllis) who was very happy to receive her gifts.
Save the Date
GiveMore24
Give More 24! brings together our entire region for 24 hours of generosity. By giving at the same time, and boosting donations through matching dollars and nonprofit prizes, we create one incredible impact.
It is a 24-hour, online fundraiser in southwest Washington that rallies our community to raise money for more than 200 local nonprofits—all using a simple and exciting website. It will launch at 12 a.m. on Thursday September 22, 2022 and last until 11:59 of the same day.
It’s a day when everyone who cares about our area can take action by giving what they can, wherever they are, at the same time. Together, our potential is limitless. So find your cause (we hope including NatureScaping among them) and plan to give on Thursday, September 22. More details to come…. GiveMore24
Perennial, Bulb & Seed Swap It’s back! While working in your yards…..share some plants and grow your garden at the Wildlife Botanical Gardens Perennial, Bulb and Seed Swap on Saturday October 8th from 10 am – 1:00 pm. Take your potted or bagged up excess perennials, bulbs and seeds and trade them in for new specimens at our annual swap. We may have some new additions to our event this year. More to come…
Did you Notice?…..
We have very recently decided to extend the Flying Flowers Garden into the adjacent grassy area to the east.
Current plans include features such as a cascading water feature, a gazebo, plants to attract pollinators and winding paths around the garden beds. We will regularly share photos and information to follow the project as it takes shape starting with this newsletter.
Tours/Visitors
We had several group visits out to the gardens last month.
Master Gardeners chose the gardens for their volunteer event.
Julie (our resident Tour Guide) gave a fun tour to a Headstart Program group of kids and their adults.
We had a volunteer (Kim and friend) from Pacific Northwest Bumble Bee Atlas, supported by the Xerces Society among others. The Atlas project asks volunteers to commit to “adopting a cell” or geographic area home,” and for extra credit Kim surveyed the gardens. She shared a link to a fantastic page including a link to the PNW Bumble Bee Atlas at the bottom: https://xerces.org/bumblebees/get-involved. Even if a person just looks at the image they have of a bumble bee’s life cycle, it’s worth the time to follow the link. To quote Kim, “Thank you again for allowing us to come survey at the gardens. It made my heart full to see the treasure trove of pollinators out this morning!”
Sharing…
New Booklet
We are pleased to announce that 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: https://naturescaping.org/resources/free-booklet/
From LivingtheDreamS who gave us a 5 star review and shared photos: “Could’ve come earlier in the spring, but the garden still holds its magical charm in July”.
From Lisa who gave us a 5 star review and shared photos: “Neat spot!!”
From Dan Lee who gave us a 5 star rating: “Beautiful place for a family outing, plenty of gorgeous flowers so bring your camera.”
From Fiorella who gave us a 5 star review & photos: “Small but beautiful botanical gardens and the community events they host like workshops and Art in the Gardens, are great. Volunteers work hard to keep this garden healthy and the colors are vibrant. It attacks lots of birds and butterflies and makes for a wonderful stroll.”
Nature Related Quote of the Month
From Lao Tzu: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
