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News & Highlights

Earth Day At Home

April 22nd is Earth Day! The 50th Earth Day will be a unique and somber time for the Earth. The shut-down of daily human life has reduced the Earth's vibrations, air pollution has dropped enough to create skyline views not seen in decades, and the city of Los Angeles currently has some of the cleanest air in the world.

But these effects are temporary. To restore the Earth takes all of us. And this year is no different - that's why KCD will be celebrating #earthdayathome. We want to see the many ways our community is finding to support natural yards, native plants, pollinators, and local food. So whether you're putting out mason bees, growing veggie starts, or just getting the garden going, share your projects on social media and tag them with #earthdayathome and @kingconservationdistrict throughout the month of April.

Supporting Local Farms Now and Beyond

Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets has multiple avenues available for you to support and sustain local farmers during this time and keep getting fresh, local produce and products.

Washington State Farmers Market Association had multiple webinars last week on how current policies are affecting Farmers Markets and local producers. Those recordings can be found online on their COVID-19 Resource Page.

For other farmers markets around King County and the rest of the state, you will need to reach out to those organizations or follow their social media.

And Audra Mulkern from Female Farmer Project has another resource list as well.

Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has multiple resources for farmers, ranchers and consumers.

For farmers:

Washington Young Farmers Coaltion March 18, 2020 Farm Resilience Webinar recording and materials are available.

Oregon Tilth posted the Online Sales Platforms for Farmers webinar recording and questions to ask from March 20, 2020.

American Farmland Trust launched The Farmer Relief Fund to help farmers. Eligible farmers have access to cash grants of up to $1,000 each to help them weather the current storm of market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Initial focus is on farms that sell at farmers markets or to restaurants, caterers, schools, stores, or makers who use farm products, but could change over time as the negative impacts of the crisis become more widespread. Initially, eligible applicants include small and mid-size direct-market producers (annual gross revenue of between $10,000 and $1 million) from sales at the above mentioned outlets.

And lastly, Food Insight Group (FIG) is collecting video footage to document how all kinds of districts are procuring, preparing, and distributing food to kids, and they need your help to see what’s working, where the gaps remain, and how they can better prepare to keep our communities nourished now and in the future. If you work in or volunteer with school foodservice, or if you or your family member(s) are currently receiving school meals, FIG needs your help. Visit FIG’s COVID-19 information page. Schools are likely to remain closed for the next few weeks and beyond. Help FIG document what’s happening across the country.

Do you have information or resources to share? Send them to elizabeth.clark@kingcd.org and I’ll do a follow-up post on the KCD blog.

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Thank You for a Great Native Plant Sale

Thank you to everyone who ordered plants from the 2020 KCD Native Plant Sale! We had another strong year with over 820 orders, totaling over 60,300 native plants, bringing more resilient and beautiful landscapes to all of our neighborhoods!

Your flexibility as this year’s sale morphed into a curbside plant pick-up was instrumental in our success. We weren’t sure how things would work out given public health protocols, but everyone did an amazing job honoring social distancing guidelines and working with us for a quick and easy pick-up process.

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Are you proud of a project you planted with KCD Native Plants? We’d love to see it! Share your photos and stories with us. Contact us at news@kingcd.org or tag @kingconservationdistrict and #KCDNativePlants on Facebook, Instagram or @King_CD_WA on Twitter.

Fire Safety Friday: Assessing Risk

Over the next 5 weeks, KCD will be sharing recommendations each Friday that will help you be prepared for a potential wildfire event, culminating with an online live information session on Friday, May 1. Then, you'll be prepared to participate in National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on May 2 either in your community or at home.

This first week covers

How to Spread Manure and Compost without a Spreader

Since KCD has suspended the Equipment Share Program, we thought we would share some additional ideas for how to deal with a winter stockpile of excess manure and compost.

KCD Grant Program Awards Nearly $900k Assisting 20 Jurisdictions in 2019

In 2019, KCD awarded almost $900,000 in grants to cities across King County to increase access to local, healthy food, restore habitat, deliver forest health assessments, keep farmers farming, and more.

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KCD Service Updates

In compliance with the “stay-at-home” order issued by Governor Inslee, KCD offices are closed through May 4th.

KCD staff will be working from home during this time. If you know the person you wish to contact, please reach out to them by cell or email.

If you need assistance please call 425-282-1900 or email district@kingcd.org and your request will be directed to the appropriate individual.

You can also find helpful information on our website through our blog and social media posts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).

2020 Regional and State Envirothon Competitions Canceled

In light of the recent developments and rapid spread of COVID-19, the Washington State Envirothon (WSE) committee has made the decision to cancel the statewide competition for 2020. We feel this decision will best ensure the health and safety of everyone involved in the WSE program. Thank you for supporting and participating in WSE and we hope you will continue to be involved in future competitions.

KCD Soil Testing Temporarily Suspended

KCD is suspending the intake of soil samples for the time being due to public safety concerns presented by the COVID-19 virus. We will announce when soil samples may once again be brought or mailed in. All samples that have been submitted have been processed as of March 6.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Get Involved

KCD events will be subject to change during the Covid-19 outbreak. Please check our website for up-to-date information about KCD events and services.

We are working on launching and retooling some of our workshops and presentations as webinars and will announce those as they are developed.

Sustainable Food Gardening
April 18, Online

Snohomish Conservation District and King County are offering this course: Have you been curious about starting a food garden, but not sure how to begin? Or worried it will cost too much? Learn how growing food in your yard can be simple, inexpensive, and provides many other benefits for people and the planet. We will provide plenty of information and resources to get your garden going!

Managing Wildfire Risk in Your Western Washington Community
May 1, Online

KCD Wildfire and Forest Resiliency Program Coordinator Matt Axe will be sharing information on how you can prepare your property, and your community, to be more wildfire resilient.

See More KCD Events

At King Conservation District, we’re all about Better Ground. Better Ground means taking important stewardship actions at home and in our communities to create healthy soil and water, to provide healthy food, and to conserve land, water, forests, wildlife and related natural resources. And you don’t have to go at it alone. You have a partner, your local conservation district.