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.
Welcome to our many new members–we look forward to getting to know you’all! To those who have renewed your memberships (some at higher levels) and to those who made donations, thank you so much! Memberships help support our organization and our gardens!
Note: We can now accept memberships and renewals online! 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!
May Class
Friday May 20th Zoom class at 4:00pm entitled ~ Not Weeds-Northwest Roadside Wildflowers presented by Mark Turner, Photographer, Speaker, Writer www.pnwflowers.com
Northwest roadsides can spring to life with showy wildflowers. While we have a number of invasive weeds, many of our native species also put on quite a show. You’ll be introduced to some plants that are easily recognized from behind your windshield.
We are again partnering with the Camas Library.
Mark’s work has been published on covers and inside magazines like Garden Design, Sunset, American Gardener, Horticulture, Organic Gardening, and Birds and Blooms as well as in numerous garden books. He has three solo books. Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, an American Horticultural Society Book Award winner (co-authored with Phyllis Gustafson), Trees and Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest (co-authored with Ellen Kuhlmann), and Bellingham Impressions, a a soft-cover coffee-table book enjoyed by Bellingham lovers around the world.
Note: 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
Bare Root Trees, Shrubs & Plant Sale-Update
It was great seeing so many of our members this past weekend! It didn’t rain on us! which I’m sure contributed to our successful plant sale April 30th and May1st. CASEE also had their greenhouse open selling native plants. We also sold quite a few Mason Bee cocoons and the remainder will be let loose in the gardens by our Bee Herder, Brigg.
It takes a large number of people to hold an event of this size and I want to sincerely thank all of the many volunteers and particularly some very dedicated volunteers, who helped make the sale fruitful (attempt at small pun).
We sold almost 900 bare root trees and shrubs but we do have a number of trees remaining and we are trying our best, within reason, to find them homes. We are having a mini “pop up” sale on Thursday May 5th in the afternoon from 2-5pm where we will be offering 2 for 1 bare root trees. Check our website (www.naturescaping.org) for the list of remaining trees and CASEE’s plant list.
Remaining potted items will be for sale at our Art in the Garden event in July.
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
Speaking about volunteers…..
On April 28th, we had a group of volunteers from the Charles Schwab office. They were kicking off Schwab Volunteer Week 2022 and chose our gardens as one of the recipients of their efforts. Thanks goes to them!!
Art in the Garden
Our next big event will be the 10th anniversary of Art in the Garden on Sunday July 10th. This is the event where various artists will be displaying and selling their creations which are strategically located among the gardens.
The committee will be meeting soon to make space selections for the artist’s placements. Stay tuned….
Backyard Habitat Certification Program
The Water Wise garden, one of the gardens in the Wildlife Botanical Gardens is certified by the Backyard Habitat Certification Program (BYCP). It is included this year in the 2022 BHCP Open Gardens Project. The Open Gardens Project is a special perk for the Backyard Habitat Certification Program participants. It is a volunteer-coordinated, grassroots, and casual project intended to be a source of inspiration, education, and community building. Visiting the open gardens is reserved for program participants. The gardens are not open to the general public. We had our first open visit in April and have several more scheduled.
Our excerpt from the BHCP website:
The Water Wise Garden was featured on the Open Gardens Project Blog: Open gardens project Water Wise Garden blurb
This garden demonstrates landscaping ideas for partial or total lawn replacement. Sheet mulching (or lasagna gardening) over grass is utilized to create new planting beds.
Native pollinator-friendly shrubs, perennials, and grasses, along with non-native, drought-tolerant plants can be found here.
Come see the rain garden and learn how to create a rain garden in your yard. In 2021, The Backyard Habitat Certification Program certified the WaterWise Garden at the PLATINUM level.
This is the first certification of a community demonstration garden. A nearby building has downspouts directed to a rain garden with signage to educate guests.
Mason bees are housed nearby, and a snag stands in one corner of the plot.
Open On 4/23 5/28 7/9 8/27 9/3
Chipping
On April 16th in conjunction with CASEE, a commercial chipper was rented to reduce some of the large debris piled up in the compost area at the west end of the gardens–part of the Master Composter Recycler Demonstration area. This had been planned prior to the freak snow storm we experienced in early April. That storm did some sizable damage to several of the gardens. The chipping pile grew notably bigger!!
Did You Know….
Lately inquiries about using the gardens for various tours, events and educational opportunities have increased. We do get requests from homeschooler groups, nonprofit schools of various types, retirement/Senior citizen groups, interest groups (photography), celebration of life gatherings, baby showers, bridal/wedding celebrations etc. The beauty and educational values of our gardens are being noticed!!
Handouts
We have a few informational handouts which we display in the gardens and used to share with folks at in-person classes and tabling events back when we could gather. With all of our newer members and others, we thought we would share them in our newsletter. I will include one each month. Here’s the link to our Butterflies handout: Butterflies
Sharing……
The Wildlife Botanical Gardens mean so much to so many people in many different ways–wanted to share some comments.
Comments from Google:
From Mason
“I love being a part of CASSE and seeing the nature scaping garden. It helps take my mind off of a typical school day to come here. I hope to be here all 4 years of high school. Also who wouldn’t love the cute little salamander? Thanks CASSE and nature scaping (sp)
workers!”
From Angela (a new member)
“We moved here from California during the pandemic and the gardens were and have been both teacher and much needed outlet for myself and our toddler. He loves the birds! Happy to be a member.”
Also attached some pics from the gardens earlier in Spring. Changes happen fast this time of year!
Nature Related Quote of the Month
From Anne Lamott: “I am going to try to pay attention to the spring. I am going to look around at all the flowers, and look up at the hectic trees. I am going to close my eyes and listen.”
Stay safe and enjoy!!