Native plant garden gets boost

 

Garfield/Palouse high school students from Mark Sawyer's Natural Resource management class work in the Palouse native plant garden during the last week of school.

A Palouse resident has led a new effort at the native plant garden near the south entrance of town by the car wash. The project has involved school children, the Palouse Conservation District and Americorps.

"I'm an individual looking to revitalize the native plant garden," said Jamie Gaber, a six-year Palouse resident who works in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) literacy at the WSU Center for Civic Engagement.

The Palouse Conservation District donated plants and 50 Garfield/Palouse grade school to high school students helped with plantings in May and early June.

Among the 30 new plants in the garden species include woodsrose, nootka – two native roses – mock orange, a syringa bush and Palouse clump grass.

Among them also are edible native plants.

"I think that is a great thing to educate people about that," said Gaber.

The Palouse Conservation District established the garden in 2009.

The park, which runs along the edge of the Palouse River, includes eight mature trees.

"The native aspect hadn't been addressed in quite a while," said Gaber. "It's just been maintained. I wanted to plant additional species."

The park is taken care of by citizens; it is not part of the city's public works.

Volunteer work continues, and a ground cloth and wood chips for an oval shaped path around the garden came from an anonymous donor.

The Palouse city council is considering providing giant rocks.

What is the next step?

"Water, water, water," said Gaber.

She noted they will plant wildflower seeds with school children in the fall and next spring do more planting.

 

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