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:
Thanks to those who have renewed and have done so continuously and generously. Memberships/Renewals help support our organization to maintain the gardens!

Renewal notices will be emailed during the month in which it is due. Due to circumstances, it is currently the more expeditious and cost-effective method.

Note:
Though you may still choose to mail in payments, we can now accept memberships and renewals online with this link: Membership/Renewals. (Note: It is possible to use credit/debit cards in lieu of a PayPal account. If it asks you to log in with a one time code, choose the option of “try another way” and then you can choose credit/debit card and go from there.)

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.

July Class

Please review the attached flyer for our class at the CASEE Center on Saturday July 18th at 10:00am ~ entitled Avian Super Powers! ~ conducted by Brandon Burger, Backyard Bird Shop Vancouver (www.backyardbirdshop.com).

Brandon, one of our favorite speakers, is back! Wonder how Woodpeckers can beat on trees day in and day out, but don’t develop concussions; how birds can defend themselves; how they don’t seem to get cold? Learn about these abilities and many more!

Please let me know if you would like to attend this class to
ensure proper chair set up and materials–members are
always welcome.

Garden Work Parties

Please consider spending a few hours volunteering–we could really use your help! On work days (some Saturdays and weekdays) volunteers are guided by one of our garden coordinators to work on needed tasks/projects in the various gardens. 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 the link: SignUpGenius. 

This month, our Garden Walk ‘n Talk offering is with Garden Ambassador Karen Palmer on Wednesday July 8th at 9:00am. Do you know that approximately one-third of the food we eat depends on pollinators? Do you know that bees aren’t the only pollinators? We need to protect all the little pollinators we rely on for our vegetable, fruit, and flower production. The changing climate has a definite effect on pollinators, but we can take some simple steps in our own yards to help them out. We can help them “weather the storm” so to speak.
Come join WSU Extension Clark County Master Gardener, Karen Palmer, for a 45-minute walkabout to learn about climate effects on pollinators, how flowers are pollinated, and the flower palette that will help sustain all our pollinators.

 
Note: An advance notice for our Saturday August 1st at 9:00am Garden Walk ‘n Talk offering (a rescheduling from the May talk, cancelled due to weather), “Using iNaturalist to Notice the Nature Around Us”, with Garden Ambassador Anne Bulger.
Have you ever wondered what that flower, bee, butterfly, or bird is? Join Anne Bulger for a relaxed, beginner-friendly walk as we explore the gardens through the lens of iNaturalist, a free app that helps identify and document the amazing plants and wildlife around us.

During our walk, you’ll learn:
*How iNaturalist works
*How to observe and photograph plants and native bees
*Tips for using your phone effectively outdoors
*The differences between the Classic and New iNaturalist apps
*How your observations contribute to real scientific research and conservation
No experience is necessary—just curiosity! Whether you’re brand new to iNaturalist or have used it a little and would like to learn more, you’re welcome to join us.
To help you get the most out of the walk, I’ll send simple instructions before the event explaining how to download and install the iNaturalist app on your phone, so you’ll be ready to start making observations when we meet.
A few helpful reminders:
*Please watch your footing while taking photographs and help us protect the garden beds.
*Phone photography and GPS can drain batteries quickly, so arriving with a fully charged phone is recommended.
*No worries if you don’t have time to upload your observations during the walk—you can simply take photos and upload them later from the comfort of home.
Come discover how slowing down, looking closely, and noticing the nature around us can open the door to a whole new world. I hope you’ll join us!

Update…..

**The fall session of the Student Garden Coordinator Program (pairing adults with CASEE students learning and working in the gardens) which was tentatively scheduled for September 2026 has been paused. We will consider it again in the spring. Thanks to those who considered volunteering. 
 
**In case you missed the announcement….Art in the Garden which traditionally was held in July for many years will no longer be held at the gardens. It was brought to our attention that this event and other certain activities are not permitted usage of the property per the lease agreement with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) who owns the land we use for the gardens.

Sharing…..

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 Google Business:
**Lauren–5 star review
**Mark–5 star review & comment: “Beautiful”
**Emily–5 star review & comment: “It was beautiful and   obviously well-loved!”
**Dennis–5 star review
 
From Geocache: (see note)

**From durancache & comment: “Yay! What a fun adventure. Thx for the experience and find!”


Note: The Geocache program is a treasure hunt that people from around the world are drawn to–we have one at the gardens. If you want to learn more about Geocaching, and our cache visit our Geocaching web page.
**Want to see some great garden photos? Photo sharing is possible at  NS WBG 2025-2026 Occasionals. 
**Talked with a mom and her kiddo–frequent visitors to the gardens–and snapped this photo (attached).
I showed you mine….let’s see yours!

Nature Quote of the Month

From William Shakespeare: “Nature hath framed strange fellows in her time”.

Enjoy!