Field-day Workshop & Volunteer Event - Hedgerow Installation, Start to Finish!

Location: Helsing Junction Farms, Rochester, WA

Join in this hands-on learning experience while installing a 500-foot long by 15-foot wide hedgerow in a field where Helsing Junction Farms grows a bounty of organic produce for our region! (Physical limitations? No worries. We’ll be in teams, and you can still work the planting plans & learn as we go!)

Featured topics for this field-based workshop include:

• Laying out a hedgerow design and practicing use of a planting plan diagram;

• How budget and goals affect plant choices, including bare-root plants, livestakes, and containerized plants (and experience the specific techniques for planting each type); and

• How the hedgerow will support habitat for different types of pollinators and other beneficial insects that sustain healthy organic vegetable crops, presented by an expert from the Xerces Society.

Agenda: 

9-9:25 a.m. - Check-in/registration

9:30 a.m. - Instruction begins

• Planting techniques taught for 3 kinds of planting stock

• Hands-on experience planting 2 kinds of hedgerow template planting plans, including trees, shrubs, native grasses, and herbaceous perennials

12:00 noon - Role of Hedgerows in supporting pollinators, beneficial insects, and farmers (Corin Pease, Xerces Society)

1 p.m. - Multiple mulching techniques demonstrated & explained

1:30-3:30 p.m. - Volunteers continue hands-on learning and complete the installation of the hedgerow

Workshop is free, but advanced registration is required to receive details in advance (and so we’ll have enough snacks on hand!). Register at this link.

Questions? Email ericag@wsu.edu or erica@nativeplantsalvage.org