Join us on Thursday, April 20th at the next Multnomah County Farm Bureau meeting! Jeremy Baker and Aaron Guffey, two of our Senior Rural Conservationists, will both present at the meeting as guest speakers. Jeremy will speak about a new cost-share project for installing drip irrigation for better water management, and Aaron will share the work EMSWCD is doing with nurseries to help address erosion issues. Staff from Clackamas SWCD will also be in attendance.

The meeting takes place at the Country Insurance office in Wood Village (832 NE 223rd Avenue, Suite B, Wood Village), and runs from 7:00 to 8:30 PM. Please RSVP if you plan on attending: call (503) 502-8596 or email hbushue@gmail.com. More details in the Multnomah County Farm Bureau newsletter linked below.

Multnomah County Farm Bureau meeting newsletter

The health of your soil determines the health of everything growing in it – the food you eat and the crops you produce! Learn all about how to care for your soil at Soil School 2017! The event will be a day packed full of information for small farmers, landscapers, gardeners, grounds managers and anyone else who wants to improve their soil.

Attendees will learn about soil structure/composition and analysis, as well as topics such as planting for pollinators, cover crops, irrigation, landscaping with native plants, composting, invasive weeds, fungi, permaculture, composting, pest management, and rebuilding urban soils.

For more information, please call WMSWCD Communications Coordinator Carolyn Lindberg at (503) 238-4775 ext 101 or email at carolyn@wmswcd.org.

Two workshops are coming to Corbett this spring! Learn how to attract pollinators to your property and how to keep the weeds out.

On March 29^th, join us for an evening with Celeste Mazzacano as she introduces us to the flies, beetles, moths, and butterflies that keep our farms and gardens vibrant and productive. Get tips on how to identify some of our most helpful local pollinators and discover which plants will attract them to your land.

On April 12^th, join EMSWCD’s own Weeds Specialist Jon Wagner as he gives us a lesson in local invaders. He’ll show us how to recognize some of the area’s most aggressive weeds and tell us how to keep them off our land and out of our forests.

Update, March 1^st, 2017: The application period for this position is now closed, and we are beginning review. Thank you for your interest!

The East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD) is offering an exciting career opportunity to serve as the Senior Urban Conservationist for our Urban Lands Program. This position will work to reduce the potential loss of natural resources due to soil erosion, water use and pollution, and habitat degradation, among other causes.

The Senior Urban Conservationist will work closely with other EMSWCD staff, board members, and partners with a primary focus on providing on-site technical and financial assistance to landowners and land managers, in order to help them implement urban conservation best practices. Applications for this position are due by 5:00 PM on February 28th, 2017. Learn more about the position and how to apply!

Our annual Native Plant Sale store wrapped up last Saturday, February 18th as everybody picked up their plants. Thank you for supporting our plant sale! Roughly 11,000 native plants have been distributed to new homes in and around the District, which will help restore native habitat, lower outdoor water usage and support beneficial wildlife.

If you did not receive certain plants or have questions about your order, please contact Alex Woolery. We will process refunds for purchased plants that were not fulfilled due to stock shortages. If you did not pick up your order, we will issue a refund to you, minus a restocking fee (see full details here).

Want to keep up with the latest events, workshops and news from EMSWCD? Join our email list! It’s a great way to get updates and announcement about annual events such as our native plant sale and yard tour, as well as our free workshops for urban and rural residents. You can also learn about our grant offerings, our land conservation program, and volunteer opportunities!

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