You may have heard by now about exciting changes happening with Rare Care and UW Botanic Gardens. UW Botanic Gardens and the Arboretum Foundation have joined together under a 501(c)3 organization called Seattle Botanic Gardens. Seattle Botanic Gardens will remain closely affiliated with the University of Washington and continue UW Botanic Gardens’ role of managing the Center for Urban Horticulture and Washington Park Arboretum plant collections, facilities, and programs. 

Seed collecting truly highlights the collective (pun not intended) nature of our botanical community. This spring and summer, we completed 43 rare plant seed collections that were made possible through years of collaboration with the Washington Natural Heritage Program, state and federal partners, and Rare Care volunteers. Other people outside of these partnerships survey, collect herbarium specimens, and make observations without knowing what plant conservation they may enable. 

Whether it’s making rare seed collections or monitoring rare plant reintroductions, my summer as a field technician for Rare Care has been spent jumping from one project to the next. Despite the ever-changing nature of field work, one thing remained constant: every two weeks, Allie Howell and I would drive three hours to water an outplanted population of the low-growing, yellow-flowered Umtanum desert buckwheat (Eriogonum codium). 

Rare Care monitors traveled here, there, and everywhere this field season, from the Olympic to the Blue Mountains, river valleys to alpine peaks. All in the pursuit of surveying rare plants.
Teamwork, determination, and luck went in to finding annuals this year. Joanna Long, Sarah Stolar, and Tiffani Manteuffel-Ross created a rotating schedule to try to relocate a population of white fairy-poppy (Meconella oregana) in Island County that had not been found the last two years. 

This month marks the final edition of E-Flora, our monthly newsletter that has kept Seattle-area garden lovers informed for many years.
Beginning in September, you’ll start receiving updates from Seattle Botanic Gardens (SBG), a new nonprofit organization bringing together the UW Botanic Gardens, the Arboretum Foundation, and the Seattle Japanese Garden. By uniting these organizations, we can offer a more connected experience across the gardens, programs, and natural spaces you know and love and bring you stories, events, and opportunities from across our growing community. 

If you’re planning a visit to the Center for Urban Horticulture this summer, we want to share an upcoming change so you can plan ahead.
Starting July 1, 2026, the E16 parking lot will become a paid lot, following a broader University of Washington effort to bring all campus parking into alignment with current policies and state law. Throughout this process, our team advocated for solutions that would maintain accessibility for our visitors. 

 
A Recap of UW Farm’s 2026 Earth Day Events
By: Phoebe Clifton, UW Farm Intern, Environmental Studies ‘26 
Each year around Earth Day, the UW Farm hosts volunteer work parties to celebrate the beautiful and bountiful planet we live on! The farm team typically plans to do something that makes people excited to get their hands dirty while helping improve the sustainability of the farm. 

We are excited to introduce this year’s Spring cohort of interns on the farm.  This year, we are trying out an intern cohort model.   In the cohort system, we are meeting weekly with the team of interns to discuss farm-related readings and develop a sense of community within the group.  Selection for our intern spots was competitive – we initially set the number of interns we could take at 10, but the field of applicants was so rich we ended up taking a couple more!   

06.26.24

Around The Farm

UW Farm and Teen Feed Reduce Food Waste & Support Food Security in University District 
By Cassie Diamond

At first glance, feeding unhoused folks and protecting the environment may not seem like they have a whole lot to do with each other. However, Teen Feed volunteers have found a way to do both at the same time. 

My-Lan Le will be heading our rare seed collections this field season. My-Lan grew up in the Bay Area of California and has eight years of experience working across the West in various botany jobs. She most recently earned a master’s degree from the University of Colorado in Biology. She is most excited to spend time in unique plant communities and the chance to compare different rare plant populations to better understand them.