 KCD Regional Food
System Grant Program
Pre-Proposals
Due April 23
The KCD Regional Food System Grant Program supports projects that contribute to the economic viability of local farmers, encourage new farmers, expand acreage in food production, improve food access and increase demand for King County farm products.The program seeks to fund projects that demonstrate public benefit and a link to improving working agricultural lands in King County. In 2017, KCD awarded nine competitive grants totaling $607,406 for this program.
The RFP for the 2018 Regional Food System Grant will be released in mid-March and KCD will hold a Grant Orientation Workshop in late March/early April (time and location TBD). Pre-proposals are due April 23 and awards will be announced in October. All application materials and grant timeline will be available HERE on the KCD website, so please check back frequently for updates.
The 2018 Funding Priorities are infrastructure, consumer demand, land access, food safety and business management. For more information about the Regional Food System Grant Program’s requirements or eligibility, please contact Mary Embleton at 425-282-1958 or Mary.Embleton@kingcd.org.
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 Election for KCD
Board of Supervisors
The King Conservation District will hold an election for its Board of Supervisors; the voting period is from March 19 through March 30, 2018. There are two ways to vote in the KCD Board of Supervisors election.
Those interested in voting by mail must request a ballot using an online or telephone ballot application process managed by Election Trust, the third party balloting services company administering the election for KCD. Ballots can be requested beginning on March 17, 2018 through the KCD Elections and Appointments page.
Alternatively, an in-person paper ballot polling station will be available at the KCD Office (1107 SW Grady Way, Suite 130, in Renton, Washington). This in-person polling site will be open from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM (PST) Monday through Friday only during the voting period.
Registered voters who reside within the conservation district boundary are eligible to vote. It is the duty of the candidate to inform the public of their qualifications and desire to be elected. Please contact the KCD Office at 425-282-1900 if you have any questions or visit the KCD Elections and Appointments page. |
 KCD Celebrates the
Year of the Pollinator!
Farming with
Native Bee Pollinators
March 13, Puyallup
KCD is celebrating 2018 as the Year of the Pollinator! Recently, KCD staff and volunteers were at the NW Flower & Garden Festival to introduce over 1,000 visitors to 5 Simple Ways to Support Native Pollinators & Beneficial Insects, including re-thinking chemical use and tillage, planting native plants, leaving the leaves and planting cover crops. Throughout the year, KCD will be offering workshops through Xerces Society and other educational opportunities. For more information, contact Emily Carlson at Emily.Carlson@kingcd.org.
Farming with Native Bee Pollinators will be held on Tuesday, March 13, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at Pierce Conservation District in Puyallup. Hive-less solitary bees, like the mason and leafcutter bee, are gentle, easy to raise and are amazing pollinators. Dave Hunter of Crown Bees, will share about the yield-boosting potential of introducing native bee pollinators on your farm and the role these bees play in addressing the current honey bee pollinator crisis. Click HERE for more information and to register. |
Record-Setting Year
for KCD's Annual
Native Bareroot Plant Sale
KCD's annual Native Bareroot Plant Sale held on February 24 was a rousing success. We had a record-setting 677 preorders and sold more plants than ever before—62,187! Thanks to everyone who supported the sale.
KCD also thanks participants in our Native Plant Community Fair, including the Washington Native Plant Society, King County Noxious Weed Control Program, Rent Mason Bees, Stone Soup Gardens, Tadpole Haven Native Plants, Tilth Alliance, Scarecrow's Pride, King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, Elk Run Farm, Loop, Natural Rain Water, Nature Stewards, and Garden Hotline. Food vendors A Fire Inside Wood Fired Pizza and People of the Chibbs kept everyone fueled in-between rain and snow showers.
For more information on planting and caring for your new native plants, KCD's Bareroot Plants Fact Sheet is a handy reference.
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 Share Your Passion for
Soil and Water Stewardship
Interested in learning more about building healthy soil, composting, protecting your watershed, and helping teach others? Tilth Alliance is offering FREE training options this spring for Seattle and King County residents.
The Master Composter/Sustainability Stewards course is a four-week, nine session volunteer training program for Seattle residents beginning April 4. Participants will become part of a select team of Seattle residents empowered to share what they have learned with friends, neighbors and the community at large.
The Soil and Water Stewardship training is open to King County residents who will receive 24 hours of education through a combination of classroom learning and hands-on practice. Participants will receive hands-on training and join a team of community members to empower friends and neighbors to support local food systems and practice environmental stewardship in their everyday actions. The training is offered in two separate locations, on the Eastside (beginning March 24) and in South King County (beginning March 31). |
Forestry Current Use
Taxation Seminar for King
County Property Owners
April 12, Covington
On Thursday, April 12, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, at the Covington Library, WSU Extension Forestry will hold a Forestry Current Use Taxation Seminar. This seminar will introduce the current use taxation programs that are available to property owners with forested/wooded property in King County. Click HERE to learn more and to register for this FREE Seminar. |
The Difference a Good
Liming and Calcium
Nutrition Can Make
March 29, Puyallup
On Thursday, March 29, from 5:00 to 8:00 PM, join Gudrun Mart of Columbia River Carbonates as she shares how to develop a liming program for your farm to boost productivity and improve your bottom line. Better and more predictable results can be achieved by knowing the right material, right amount, right place and right time when it comes to liming. Gudrun will illustrate her recommendations with examples of studies, observed crop responses and experiences from her years advising farmers.
This workshop will be at the Pierce Conservation District in Puyallup. Part One covers liming and crop productivity (5:00 to 7:00 PM) and Part Two covers liming and pasture productivity (7:00 to 8:00 PM). Click HERE for more information and to register. |
 WSU Cover Crop
and Reduced Tillage
Workshop and Field Day,
PLUS No-Till Drill Training
April 17, Puyallup
Cover crops improve soil fertility and organic matter, keep soil in place, are useful in managing field moisture, and can help manage weeds, pests and diseases. On Tuesday, April 17, from 12:30 to 4:30 PM, come to the Washington State University Puyallup Research and Extension Center and find out what researchers are learning about integrating cover crops in Pacific Northwest farming systems.
Registration begins at 12:30 PM. From 1:00 to 3:15 PM, you’ll tour the trial plots and take advantage of the opportunity to join the dialog around adapting cover crops for local farm operations. Are you interested in renting Pierce Conservation District’s new no-till seed drill for seeding cover crops and pasture in 2018? Then stick around for the second half of class, from 3:30 to 4:30 PM, where you’ll have a first opportunity to complete the drill operating training session required for rental. Click HERE for more information and to register in advance.
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Calendar of Events
March 6-April 24: Online Forest Stewardship Coached Planning
Learn about healthy ecosystems in this comprehensive WSU forestry class.
March 8: Streams and Wetlands - Living with Livestock near Water Workshop, Auburn
Learn about land management near streams and wetlands for livestock owners.
March 10: KCD Native Plant Nursery Volunteer Day, Renton
Help KCD staff maintain trees and plants used in King County projects.
March 10: Living with Beavers Farm Tour, Duvall
Learn about the latest strategies for managing beavers.
March 11: Women Owning Woodlands - Managing Small Forests for Wildlife, Duvall
Learn about attracting wildlife to your property.
March 13: Farming with Native Bee Pollinators, Puyallup
Learn how introducing native bee pollinators can boost yields and help address the current honey bee crisis.
March 14: Beautify & Care for Your Streamside Property Workshop, Shoreline
Learn about managing your property so it supports the environment and your land use.
March 15: Mud Management - Record Rainfall, Record Mud Workshop, Auburn
Learn how to develop a mud management plan.
March 16: KCD Native Plant Nursery Volunteer Day, Renton
Help KCD staff maintain trees and plants used in King County projects.
March 17: Magnuson Park Volunteer Work Day, North Seattle
Help the park reach its goal of restoring its 2500 acres of forested land by 2025.
March 17 Duwamish Hill Preserve Volunteer Work Day, Tukwila
Help weed, mulch and prepare for the Spring Duwamish Alive!
March 17: Alki Beach Cleanup, West Seattle
Help clean up debris along the shoreline.
March 22: Manure Management, Got Livestock? Get Manure! Workshop, Auburn
Learn how to design, construct, and implement livestock management practices with one-on-one guidance.
March 24: Horsekeeping on Small Acreage Farm Tour, Woodinville
Learn about chore-efficient mud, manure and pasture management techniques.
March 24 & 31: Soil and Water Stewardship Training Begins, Eastside & South Seattle
Join other King Country residents and learn about soil and water stewardship.
March 25: Sustainable Agritourism on Horse Properties Workshop, Snoqualmie
Learn how horse property owners are leveraging their eco-sensitive horse acreage to create financial sustainability.
March 27: Northwest Regional Envirothon, Woodinville
Compete in this annual environmental competition for high school students.
March 28: Beautify & Care for Your Streamside Property Workshop, Issaquah
Learn ways you can support wildlife, enhance your property’s aesthetic and reduce maintenance needs.
March 29: Pasture Management - Becoming a Grass Farmer Workshop, Auburn
Learn how to grow grass without weeds and meet your livestock forage needs, even on small acreage.
March 31: Ties to the Land Succession Planning Workshop, Carnation
Explore succession planning and ways to maintain family ties to the land generation to generation.
March 31: Puget Sound Steward Workshop - Restoration Basics, Seattle
Learn the basics of habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest.
April 4: Master Composter/ Sustainability Stewards Training Begins, Seattle
Join other Seattle residents and learn how to build healthy soil through composting.
April 7: Farm Tour - Cover Crops and Hands-On Soil Sampling, Redmond
Learn the benefits of using cover crops and techniques for gathering samples for soil testing.
April 12: Forestry Current Use Taxation Seminar for King County Property Owners, Covington
Learn about the current use taxation programs available to property owners with forested/wooded.
April 14: KCD Native Plant Nursery Volunteer Day, Renton
Help KCD staff maintain trees and plants used in King County projects.
April 19: Beautify & Care for Your Streamside Property Workshop - Tukwila
Learn ways you can support wildlife, enhance your property’s aesthetic and reduce maintenance needs.
April 20: KCD Native Plant Nursery Volunteer Day, Renton
Help KCD staff maintain trees and plants used in King County projects.
April 21: Duwamish Alive Work Party - Longfellow Creek, Seattle
Restore forest habitat along Seattle's second largest Salmon-bearing creek. |
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Meet KCD's Newest
AmeriCorps Staff Members
KCD has welcomed four new AmeriCorps members to its staff. Hannah Klein and Maggie Harper, will be working in the Community Agriculture Program to improve food access, support local community farms and gardens, and implement green design. Michael Mendez, the new Forestry Projects Coordinator for Urban Forest Health Management Program, and Kevin Watson, the new Farm Planning Project Coordinator for the Farm Management Services Program, are both AmeriCorps members of the VetsWork program ran by the Mt. Adams Institute.
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Looking For a Career in Natural Resource Conservation?
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 Land & Water Stewardship
Workshop Series
March 8-29, Auburn
The KCD Land & Water Stewardship Series includes four free workshops for livestock owners. All classes will be held Thursday evenings from 6:15 to 8:45 PM at the Auburn Public Library.
The series kicks off March 8 with Streams and Wetlands: Living with Livestock Near Water, where you'll learn how to protect your property, water quality, and fish and wildlife habitat. This is followed on March 15 by Mud Management: Record Rainfall - Record Mud, when a speaker from Horses for Clean Water will provide information on how to develop a mud management plan. On March 22, Manure Management: Got Livestock? Got Manure! will feature Alayne Blickle of Horses for Clean Water. She'll help you discover what’s possible based on your finances, time and ability, and how to develop a manure composting and utilization plan. The series closes on March 29 with Pasture Management: Becoming a Grass Farmer, which shows how you can grow grass without weeds and meet your livestock forage needs, even on small acreage.
Register online for the FREE Land & Water Stewardship Workshop Series. |
Farm Tour to Showcase
Living with Beavers
March 10, Duvall
Join KCD for a FREE farm tour on March 10, from 10:00 AM to Noon at the Experience Farming Project along the Snoqualmie River. See how a cooperative crop farm manages active beavers.
The Experience Farm Project is a SnoValley Tilth program that leases land to farmers interested in growing and selling produce. They are also working with KCD Farm Management Services and King County Water & Land Resources Division to improve access to the property by upgrading a farm access bridge.
Meet KCD and King County staff to learn more about how we are helping farmers manage beavers to maintain the productivity of their land. Click HERE to register. |
Women Owning Woodlands
Event: Managing Small
Forests for Wildlife
with Mary Crane
March 11, Duvall
Join with other women forest owners on Sunday, March 11 from Noon to 3:00 PM at Mary Crane's farm near Duvall to learn about attracting wildlife to your property. Please bring your own lunch, and binoculars if desired, and dress for the weather!
RSVP to Kelsey Ketcheson at kelsey.ketcheson@wsu.edu. Visit Woman Owning Woodlands Network (WOWnet) for more information. |
Hugelkultur Workshop
for Women
with Liz Crain
March 17, Duvall
"Who-ga-culture.” Who the what?! German for "mound or hill culture," this ancient agricultural technique is used to construct garden beds from decaying wood debris and other compostable biomass plant materials. Join with other women woodland owners for this FREE Hugelkultur Workshop on Saturday, March 17, from 10:00 to 2:00 PM at Leafhopper Farm in Duvall to learn the basics of mound cultivation and view established hugelkultur mounds in use. The Hugelkultur process helps to improve soil fertility, water retention and soil warming, thus benefiting plants grown on or near such mounds. Please bring your own lunch and dress for the weather!
To RSVP and for more information, please contact Liz Crain at info@leafhopperfarm.com. |
Farm Tour:
Horsekeeping on
Small Acreage
March 24, Woodinville
Join us on Saturday, March 24, from 10:00 AM to Noon for a tour of Star Bright Farms in Woodinville, a small scale horse property. See how being eco-sensitive doesn’t have to be grandiose or require large scale budgets. Learn about chore-efficient mud, manure and pasture management techniques in a real-life, workable situation. Find out how compost bins can double as cold frames and how to turn your compost into 50 pints of blueberries!
Click HERE to register for this FREE tour. |
Sustainable Agritourism
on Horse Properties
March 25, Snoqualmie
Underneath the watchful eye of Mt Si sits an amazing horse property, A & W Farms. Join us on Sunday, March 25, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM to see how this horse property and others are leveraging their eco-sensitive horse acreage to create finanical sustainability. Featured speakers include Alayne Blickle of Sweet Pepper Ranch; A & W Farms: King County Open Spaces Farm and Ag Program; equine property specialist Teri Herrera; and KCD Senior Farm Conservation Planner Jay Mirro.
Register for this FREE workshop by clicking HERE, emailing signup@kingcd.org or calling (425) 282-1949. |
2018 Northwest Regional
Envirothon
March 27, Woodinville
Join us on Tuesday, March 27 at the Brightwater Environmental Education Center near Woodinville for the 2018 Northwest Regional Envirothon, a hands-on, outdoor environmental science competition for high school students.
The Envirothon is North America's leading environmental education competition, with an estimated 500,000 high school students in the United States and Canada demonstrating their knowledge and problem-solving skills on the topics of aquatic ecology, forestry, soils/land use, wildlife and a current issue. The special topic for the 2018 Envirothon is Western Rangeland Management: Balancing Diverse Views.
The annual Envirothon is an excellent opportunity for students to cultivate new skills and learn about resource conservation career opportunities. This year, KCD is co-planning the Regional Envirothon event with Snohomish Conservation District. To learn more or to register a team, visit the KCD Envirothon webpage. |
 Beautify & Care for Your
Streamside Property
March 28, Issaquah
April 19, Tukwila
Learn ways that you can support wildlife, enhance your property, and reduce maintenance needs. Don't miss these FREE workshops for homeowners living near streams, lakes and wetlands.
Topics will include minimizing pollution runoff on your property; controlling invasive weeds; utilizing native plants for wildlife habitat and erosion control; adding value and beauty to your yard naturally; and learning about environmental regulations that impact your property.
The Shoreline workshop will be held at the Shoreline Public Library on Wednesday, March 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Click HERE to register.
The Issaquah workshop will be held at the Grange on Wednesday, March 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Click HERE to register.
The Tukwila workshop will be held at the Tukwila Public Library on Thursday, April 19, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Click HERE to register.
Contact Kristen McCune at kristen.mccune@kingcd.org or 425-282-1927 for more information. |
Ties to the Land
Succession Planning
Workshop
March 31, Carnation
Many family forest and farm owners want to preserve their family lands but face challenges engaging family members in ownership and operations. Join us for this facilitated workshop on Saturday, March 31, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Carnation Farms and explore succession planning, the human side of estate planning, which focuses on ways to maintain family ties to the land from generation to generation.
The workshop features the award-winning Ties to the Land curriculum. Cost is $35 per couple before March 22, and $45 per couple thereafter. The fee includes one set of materials and lunch. Extra lunches and materials can be purchased for additional family members who would like to attend. Click HERE to register. Learn more by contacting Kelsey Ketcheson at (206) 263-1128. |
April Farm Tour to Feature
Cover Crops and
Hands-On Soil Sampling
April 7, Redmond
Plan on joining KCD on April 7, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the Agrarian Society Farm in Sammamish Valley to tour a cooperative farm where we'll learn how the farmers are using cover crops to prevent soil erosion and improve soil health. We'll also find out how to use soil probes and shovels to gather soil samples for submission to KCD's Soil Nutrient Testing Program.
Learn how farmers work cooperatively, bringing in sheep to graze rotationally on the fallow plots, helping amend the soil with manure. Click HERE to register. For more information, contact Elizabeth Clark at Elizabeth.Clark@kingcd.org.
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Duwamish Alive Work Party
Along Longfellow Creek
April 21, Seattle
On Saturday, April 21, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, join the King Conservation District, the Green Seattle Partnership, and the Duwamish Alive Coalition as we restore important forest habitat along Longfellow Creek. Longfellow creek is the second largest Salmon bearing creek in Seattle. KCD will provide an orientation including safety, introduction to Longfellow Creek, forest health and forest restoration techniques. No prior experience is necessary. Just come ready to get dirty and have fun! Click HERE to register. |
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