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.

Be Part of the Garden Experience for Students This Fall

We are seeking adult volunteers for the Student Garden Coordinator Program and appreciate your support in making this program possible.

Adults who wish to volunteer with CASEE students in the Student Garden Coordinator Program tentatively scheduled for September 2026 are required to complete the Battle Ground School District volunteer process.

This includes:

  • Completing the online form: https://www.battlegroundps.org/page/volunteer
  • Visiting the CASEE Center (11104 NE 149th, Building B)
  • Bringing a photo ID (driver's license). Staff will take a copy of your driver's license or photo ID, and you'll sign a volunteer form that is sent to Human Resources to match your online application.

The building is locked for student and staff safety. Once you arrive at the CASEE Center (Building B), please call 360-885-5361 to be let in.


After the school year ends on June 10th, visits are by appointment to ensure staff are available. If there is no answer, please leave a message.The background check typically takes 5–7 business days to process and is valid for two years.

May Class

Please review the attached flyer for our class at the CASEE Center on Saturday May 16th at 10:00am ~ Life Afterlife; the wonders of death in the garden ~ conducted by Hannah Schrager, owner Good Year Farms, native plant nursery (www.goodyearfarms.com).

You will be entertained and enlightened as we find the links between light and dark. Join us to learn about the essential functions furnished by a formidable part of the life-cycle; death & decay. This class will cover interactions between the living and non, demonstrated by the native plants and animals that share our human-influenced landscapes.

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

April Class – Recap

The class Pollinator Efficiency in Action: The Mason Bee Model ~ conducted by Anne Bulger, WSU Master Gardener & OSU Master Melittologist, NS President covered much ground while concentrating on the best practices for caring for Mason bees in preparation for a successful spring cycle for the bees.

Garden Work Parties

Get your hands dirty and volunteer at the gardens! Our work parties will last through October. On work days 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
A new feature this year—we are striving to host a rotating series of garden education talks for our Gardeners and volunteers at a monthly work party. The goal is to offer practical, science-based, and inspiring learning opportunities that support habitat gardening and stewardship. Our Garden Walk 'n Talk with different Garden Ambassadors will take place during the first hour of the designated work party slot. Look for it on the sign up dates/times listings.


Our 3rd Garden Walk 'n Talk speaker on May 16th will be Anne Bulger. Ever wondered who's buzzing through your garden—and how to actually see them? You'll learn how to use the iNaturalist app to spot and record plants and native bees, then try it yourself with guided observation time in the gardens. Along the way, Anne will give a behind-the-scenes look at how Washington Bee Atlas volunteers survey native bees. You may get to see real-time bee "catch and release" using aerial sweep nets, ground netting, and gentle vial capture—if the bees decide to cooperate! This is part nature walk, part discovery session, and part citizen science adventure—perfect for anyone curious about the tiny pollinators doing big work.

Anne is a Washington Bee Atlas volunteer, WSU Clark County Master Gardener, and an OSU Intermediate Master Melittologist, blending science, field experience, and a love of sharing the hidden world of native bees.

We're pleased to offer future Garden Ambassador Walk 'n Talk tours for all garden volunteers, including Garden Coordinators and Apprentices, from 9:00–10:00 am on scheduled work party days.

We'll gather at the shed and get started right at 9:00 am. Please plan to arrive a few minutes early.
**Note: See story (and pic) below regarding our 2nd Garden Ambassador Walk 'n Talk.

Potted Plant Sale – Recap

As you know, this year's plant sale was a first, with a modified version limited to potted plants, including perennials. The sale was a success; we have some perennials remaining but placed all of the potted plants and all of the Mason bee cocoons finding homes (some of which were sold at the sale). The weather was great as were our volunteers! Thanks to all who helped put it together. It's always nice to see our members come together to work and/or shop–many do both. CASEE who opened their greenhouse selling natives also did very well. And the gals at Garden Delights Herb Farm also had a good sale day.

We had a happy Raffle winner, one of our own NatureScaping members.

Garden Tidings

**On Thursday, April 23rd attendees of the "From Fronds to Flowers: a Native Tour With Gardens" WSU Extension Clark County Master Gardener program, visited our Wildlife Botanical Gardens. After Ruth, the NW Native Garden Co-Coordinator spoke about her garden and a brief history of the gardens was mentioned they were free to walk around and enjoy the gardens before their next stop. See pic.
**Comments regarding volunteers from one of our garden coordinators…..
"Just wanted to let you know we had a great work party today!
Three people came and worked very hard weeding in the water wise garden and the hummingbird garden. A couple of them were a little overzealous and took out some fescue in the WW garden before I caught it (we told her to weed grass out, so she did) but they cleared a big overgrown bed in the hummingbird garden and got rid of tons of shotweed, grass, nettles and will replace the fescue if you send me the type!
They had fun and were all interested in coming back for more. A really nice group of ladies."
Rooted in Relationship: An Earth Day Walk 'n Talk in the WBG
By Anne Bulger
On April 22nd, the Garden Ambassador Walk 'n Talk in the Wildlife Botanical Gardens may have been marked by a chilly, rainy Earth Day, but that didn't deter those who gathered to learn and connect.

We were fortunate to have Hannah Schrager, NatureScaping Board Member and co-owner of Good Year Farms in Washougal, lead the walk. With her depth of knowledge in native plants, Hannah brought the landscape to life—sharing not only how plants grow, but how they have been used, understood, and valued across time.

Plants have played a central role in human development. From time immemorial, humans have depended on the natural world—Mother Nature—for our most basic needs. Ethnobotany honors the enduring relationship between plants and cultures, where native plants supported every aspect of daily life and cultural development. Here in the Pacific Northwest, people have always relied on native plants for food, medicine, shelter, dyes, soaps, and for the very air we breathe.

As we moved through the Gardens, Hannah made these connections feel immediate and tangible. She has a remarkable ability to translate deep knowledge into something accessible and engaging—pointing out plants we might otherwise overlook and revealing their uses, their stories, and their value.

Those who were willing to tolerate our Pacific Northwest rain were rewarded with a richer understanding of the landscape around them. We learned, for example, that the berries of Oregon grape can be made into jelly and or used as a natural dye. It is these moments—simple, surprising, and rooted in place—that make Hannah's teaching so memorable.

Despite the weather, there was a sense of warmth among the group as we moved through the Gardens, learning to see familiar plants through a new lens. It was a fitting way to spend Earth Day—reminded that stewardship continues in all conditions, and that even on a gray day, the Gardens offer richness, resilience, and connection.

Thank you, Hannah, for sharing your expertise and passion, and to all who joined us.

Future Garden Ambassador Walk 'n Talk tours are open to volunteers and will be held from 9:00–10:00 am on scheduled work party days. Participation in the tour is part of the volunteer work party, and volunteers are expected to remain and complete the full shift, which runs until 12:00 noon.

This provides an opportunity to begin the morning with guided learning and then carry those ideas with them as they work in the Gardens.

Did You Know….

By Capt. Brigg Franklin, WBG geocache owner.

Each year the Geocaching program brings dozens or more new visitors to our gardens. The Geocache program is a treasure hunt that people from around the world are drawn too. There are thousands of geocaches just in Washington alone, and millions around the world.
There is one geocache in our Wildlife Botanical Gardens and clues to its location in each of the 10 gardens. Geocachers must find each of the clues to decode the Latitude and Longitude of our cache.
When the clues go missing, it becomes almost impossible to locate the cache. It's up to each of the garden coordinators to locate their clue tag and protect it. The tags are usually located near the back of the gardens to draw the geocachers fully into the gardens. The clue tags can easily be seen from the paths and do not require getting off the path. If you cannot find the Geocache tag in your garden please email me and I will find or replace the tag.
This month I discovered that three of the tags had gone missing and had to be replaced. This usually occurs when "Muggles" (see Harry Potter) steal the tags. If you want to learn more about Geocaching, and our cache visit our Geocaching web page at;

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:

**From Natalie–5 stars
**From Dominic–5 stars and comments: "Perfect for a medium walk. 8 little gardens showing off a variety of plants. Be careful of the lack of a bathroom when none of the workers are onsite."
**From Megan–5 stars
**From Luana–5 stars, comments and photos: "I love coming here to see what's in bloom and enjoy the birds. The little forest you can hike around in is full of fresh clean air. We saw trilliums there today."
**From Mary–5 stars and comments: "Great opportunity to find some good plants and help.as needed."
**From Dan–5 stars
**From Jani–4 stars and comments: "A carefully designed series of 10 garden areas with all volunteer help. No charge. Many places to sit and enjoy the scenes.For those living in the area it is useful to learn what plants grow well."
From Comment Cards:
**From Kelly–Excellent Rating

Nature Related Quote of the Month

From H.G. Wells: "Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative."

Enjoy!