As the Environmental Justice Intern for the Spring quarter, it was my goal to host an event to introduce people to the Farm and have them feel welcomed. The intended guests for this event were people of color, and specifically, registered student organizations focusing on marginalized identities. In recent history, outdoor spaces have been viewed, and statistically found, as white spaces. 

This excruciatingly rare plant has been documented in only one place: along a basalt ridgetop at the Hanford Reach National Monument.

University of Washington Bothell (UWB) and the University of Washington Botanic Gardens (UWBG) at the Washington Park Arboretum (WPA) partnered this Winter quarter with two community based learning and research BES 495 student interns. Here are their BES 495 project blogs:
Planting Projects at WPA by Jessica Rouhana, BS in Conservation and Restoration Science 
Two projects were focused on: Rhododendron Glen and the Lightning Tree. 

Around the Farm: Seed Saving Season by Kove Janeski, UW Farm Student Staff
As the growing season wraps up in the PNW, the UW Farm team is hard at work threshing, collecting, counting, and storing seeds for the future. Seed saving is an important task for many farms and gardens that aim to be more sustainable and cost-effective.
At the farm, we collect seeds from the most productive open-pollinated and self-pollinated plants throughout the growing season to pass on genes that are more likely to be regionally adapted to the microclimate at UW. 

“It was probably the largest request we’ve ever received, which really speaks to the breadth of our collection and that we can grow so many kinds of trees in our temperate climate,” says Larson.

UW Botanic Gardens welcomes Dr. Christina Owen as Director, starting September 13, and School of Environmental and Forest Sciences Professor Dr. Josh Lawler as the new Faculty Director.

21 U.S. Urban Agriculture Public Garden-Community Partner Collaborations Awarded Funds

Though we appreciate native plants every day, Washington State designates April as Native Plant Appreciation Month. This year’s theme, “Native Pollinators Need Native Plants,” is a mantra to live and garden by. Pollination is just one of many ecosystem services provided by native insects, and while there are many resources published about gardening for pollinators and building pollinator pathways, we should also take a moment to look holistically at supporting all beneficial insects in our garden, for pollination and beyond. 

The SER-UW Native Plant Nursery, a student-run organization that promotes local ecosystems, is hosting a fall native plant sale! We will be selling a variety of species native to the Puget lowlands. Do you have a backyard restoration project you need plants for? Are you looking to attract some native pollinators in your garden? Look no further – check out our plants!  

The John A. Wott Botanic Gardens Endowed Student Award was awarded this spring to Kyra Matin, a second-year Master of Environmental Horticulture student at the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.
As part of her masters project, Kyra is working on several aspects of the New Zealand Forest display in the Pacific Connections Garden at the Washington Park Arboretum.