We invite you to join us as we support a large hedgerows ecological restoration project on a local farm. We will focus on laying weed-blocking cardboard and woodchip mulch around the native shrubs and trees to enhance their long-term growth by conserving water, preventing weeds, and improving soil health.
By participating, you will learn and volunteer at an ecological restoration project that supports native wildlife habitat, protects water resources, and provides agricultural benefits for a local Thurston County farm. This is also an opportunity to learn more about hedgerows and their positive roles on any site.
This is an all-day event, but you can choose the shift option that works best for your schedule, and/or come and go as you please.
Time: The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end around 1:30 p.m. (or so!). Please arrive a bit early so you have time to walk out to the hedgerow site from the parking area and get checked in. Feel free to come and go as you need, but if you arrive midway through the event, please find one of the leaders so we can check you in and get you oriented to the tasks for the day!
What we’ll be doing: We will be using a sheet-mulching method to cover the soil between the newly planted shrubs and trees to reduce first-year maintenance stress and give the plants the best possible chance to thrive right from the start!
There will be different tasks available, with variable levels of physical effort.
Want to learn more about hedgerows? Read below!
Since the launch of our “Hedgerows Toolkit” in 2023, we’ve partnered with local farmers, Thurston Conservation District, and many other regional and federal funders to implement various demonstration hedgerows. This is combined with learning opportunities for community members, regardless of their interest in the power of hedgerows, to solve many big problems in a comparatively small space.
This project is a 1,500-foot-long planting strip with over 2,500 native trees & shrubs recently planted to enhance livestock health, protect waterways, and provide months of blooms, fruits, and cover for wildlife of all sizes.
If you’d like to learn more about Hedgerows, please navigate to our “Hedgerows Toolkit,” which was launched in 2023, with funding from Thurston County.
This is a joint project of Summit Farms, Thurston Conservation District, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, WSU Extension, & Native Plant Salvage Foundation, implemented with funding provided by Thurston County Community Planning, NRCS, and Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.
The image shows volunteers spreading woodchip mulch evenly on top of the cardboard.