10.30.24

Around The Farm

Community Volunteer Groups Prove Critical for UW Farm Operations

by Erica Fong, AmeriCorps Education and Outreach Coordinator and Perry Acworth, UW Farm Manager

One of the opportunities that an urban farm enjoys is being close to a large population and potential volunteers. At UW there are many faculty that value experiential learning, utilizing the farm for hands-on experiences for students. research, field trips and labs. 

Scientific Name: Taxus brevifolia
Common Name: Pacific yew, western yew
Family: Taxaceae
Native Range: Western coast of the United States, from southern Alaska to northern California; western Rocky Mountains, from northern British Columbia to Idaho and Montana
Location in the Arboretum: South end of the Arboretum above Azalea Way (Grid 17-1E)
The Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia, is a native tree or large shrub that is often overlooked below the overstory of large iconic Pacific Northwest trees such as Western redcedars, Douglas firs, and Western hemlocks. 

10.16.24

Around The Farm

Candy Roasters and Beyond – Winter Squash Harvest Demonstrates Diversity and Cultural Relevancy in UW Farm Crops
by Aisling Doyle Wade
Last week I experienced a culminating moment in a 10 month long crop growing experience. After a couple weeks of curing, the farm team moved all of our North Georgia Candy Roaster winter squash inside from our high tunnel into dry storage in the Douglas Research Conservatory.As we transported the over 650 lbs. 

Out among the undulating biscuit and swale topography of the sagebrush-steppe in east-central Washington lives Spalding’s catchfly (Silene spaldingii). The basalt studded landscape feels vast and open under the blue skies of summer. For three weeks in August of 2023, you could find Allie Howell and I hiking between hundreds of patches of Spalding’s catchfly scattered over 50 square miles. Our task was to gather an updated population count after the devastating Whitney fire in 2020 that swept through a large section of the plant’s range in east-central Washington. 

10.09.24

Around The Farm

Capstone Project Leads to New Heritage Apple Orchard
  
by Perry Acworth, UW Farm Manager
 

On September 19th the UW Farm and UW Botanic Gardens hosted the Annual Harvest Dinner Fundraiser, at the Center for Urban Horticulture. Attendees celebrated the harvest season and a new Heritage Orchard along with a feast featuring locally caught salmon and UW Farm fresh produce. 

10.02.24

Around The Farm

Homemade Salsa: Connecting Mexican Heritage with the UW Farm Experience
  
by Sasha Crawford, UW Farm Work Study Student Staff, Masters of Landscape Architecture, College of Built Environments, UW ’26

My name is Sasha Crawford, and I joined the UW Farm the summer quarter, as a full-time work-study student.
As classes begin this fall, and my availability to work at the farm wanes, I reflect on an amazing summer of learning and growth in my first few months at the farm. 

Sienna Wessel is the first-ever second botanist at the Washington Natural Heritage Program (WNHP), bringing with her experience working for multiple land management agencies across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Hailing from the Midwest, Sienna’s botanical journey began in the tallgrass prairie, where she developed a deep desire to protect plant biodiversity within the tiny remaining refugia of this once vast ecosystem. 

The weekend of July 12th – 14th found 15 Rare Care volunteers and assorted partners on Table Mountain in the Cle Elum Ranger District for the annual Monitoring Weekend. We conducted 21 surveys and successfully located the target plant on 16 of them, with all of the teams participating in at least one success and one new discovery. Thank you to all of our fabulous volunteers! 

It is nearing the end of my summer internship with Rare Care, stationed at Mount Rainier National Park, and I am excited to share what we found! The internship opportunity sprung from a collaboration between Rare Care and the National Park Service to confirm and improve the accuracy of rare plant records within Mount Rainier National Park’s boundaries. For the Park Service, this work will provide vital spatial information about rare plants to inform management decisions.