Restoration Nurseries: Growing Through Lifelong Learning
The 2024 Joint Annual Meeting of the Western Forest and Conservation Nursery Association and Intermountain Container Seedling Grower’s Association will focus on native plant nurseries and their role in successful restoration projects. The first morning will cover nursery-based curricula for middle/high school, AS/BS/graduate and internship programs, as well as continuing education and resources for practitioners. The second morning topics include seed collection planning, nursery to field communication, and regional native plant resources.
Registration price is $225 with registration increasing to $315 at 12 am on August 19. Registration capacity is limited to 80 attendees.
The meeting will take place at the Residence Inn Wenatchee (1229 Walla Walla Ave, Wenatchee, WA 98801). Residence Inn has 20 rooms reserved at the government rate and on a first come first served basis. These rooms will be released on August 1 if not reserved.
Registration & Coffee Social
Welcome & Introductions – Andrew Nelson, University of Idaho, Moscow and Nabil Khadduri, USDA Forest Service, Olympia, WA
The Expanded RNGR Team: Faces and Names, Resources, Ideas – Nabil Khadduri, Western Nursery Specialist with Reforestation, Nurseries, & Genetic Resources Team, Olympia, WA
Incorporating Native Plant Restoration Nurseries into Public School Programs; Content Creation for Native Plant Nurseries – Julie Vanderwal, Beaver Food Forest Farm, Twisp, WA
Break
Programs for Workforce Development in Nurseries at the University of Idaho: New and Ongoing – Andrew Nelson, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
The New Mexico Reforestation Center: A New Model for Collaborative Reforestation – Joshua Sloan, NM Highlands University, Las Vegas, NM
Description of a Student-Led Nursery and Its Unique Contributions to Restoration – Sarah Rogers, SER-University of Washington Native Plant Nursery Manager, Americorps CLEC Member, Seattle, WA
Bag Lunch (provided)
Field Trip 1: (RSVP required) Derby Canyon Natives and Camas Meadows Natural Area Preserve
Depart hotel for Field Trip via carpools
Split group into two; half go to Stop 1 first and half go to Stop 2 first
Stop 1: Derby Canyon Natives, Peshastin, WA (25-minute drive from hotel, 15 minutes to Stop 2)
Derby Canyon Natives is a specialty nursery growing wildflowers, grasses, shrubs and trees native to Central Washington. Since 2002, the nursery has provided container-grown plants produced from seeds and cuttings collected from the region’s varied habitats, including shrub-steppe, forest and riparian zones. All plants are source-identified (traced to their collection location) and locally adapted (grown in the Wenatchee Valley and acclimated to Central Washington conditions). Derby Canyon Natives produces over 120 species of plants for sale.
Stop 2: WADNR Camas Meadows Natural Area Preserve (35-minute drive from hotel, 15 minutes to Stop 1)
Botanical overview with Keyna Bugner, natural areas manager, WADNR SE Region and cultural overview with Mo Major, archaeologist, WA State Parks and Rec (formerly with WADNR). This 2,018-acre preserve contains the largest known population of two plant species, Wenatchee Mountains checker-mallow, which is federally listed as “endangered,” and Wenatchee larkspur, state-listed as “endangered.” These two species are known to exist only within a portion of the Wenatchee Mountains. The preserve is made up of lush meadows dotted with aspen groves and surrounded by ponderosa pine and fir forests. The area is an important traditional cultural property of the Wenatchee people.
Optional (RSVP required) Group Dinner at Columbia Valley Brewing / Riverside Pub
I-90 Snoqualmie Pass East Restoration Project- Working with Nurseries – Kelly Evans, USFS Natural Resource Specialist, and Helen Lau, District Botanist, Okanagan-Wenatchee NF, Cle Ellum, WA
Implementing Large-scale Native Plant Restoration Projects- from Nursery to Field – Ryan Watts, Nursery and Project Manager, WildLands, Inc./WildLands Nursery, Richland, WA
Native Seed Collection Planning for Project Implementation – Kayla Herriman, National Seed Specialist, USFS, Bend, OR
Panel: Nursery Perspectives on Native Plant Restoration from Forest Service Lifelong Learners
Break
Reinventing an Historic Forest Tree Nursery as a Regional Native Plant Center – Jeff DeBell, Wind River Trust, Carson, WA and Kristin Currin and Andrew Merritt, Humble Roots Nursery, Mosier, OR
Rare Native Plant Propagation and Reintroductions – Allie Howell, Research Scientist, UW Botanic Gardens Rare Plant Care and Conservation, Seattle, WA
Using Native Plants in a Fire-Resistant Landscape – Al Murphy, WSU Master Gardener and Retired Forester, USFS, Wenatchee, WA
Bag Lunch (provided)
Field Trip to nearby (7-minute drive) WSU Wenatchee Extension Center.
Walking Stop 1: Native Plants-n-More Demonstration Garden
Susan Peterson, WSU Master Gardener, USFS Retired
In the Southeast corner of the Community Education Garden, a section of Washington native plants segues to a blended home garden of shrubs, trees, and perennials. The combination demonstrates ideas for incorporating native plants into an urban landscape, as well as ideas for season-long interest through combinations of perennials for texture, bloom color and bloom time. This area of the garden also demonstrates different irrigation techniques and mulch covers.
Walking Stop 2: Adjoining Tree Fruit Research Greenhouse
Depart Directly or Return to Hotel / End of Conference