Workshops & Meetings
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WINTER RURAL HOME AND FARM CLASS SCHEDULE

Realtor Workshop –7.5 Clock Hours
Saturday, December 10
8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., Longbranch,
Fee for class
This first of a two-part workshop series will address on-site septic systems. The day will include lessons in how they work, how to maintain them, and the environmental and human risks associated with failing septic systems. It will also address what real estate professionals need to know about buying or selling real estate with existing systems, how to locate existing systems, and regulations that address them. Clock hours are available. The fee for this all inclusive course is $95. A $50 subsidy is available to the first 20 registrants who regularly work in the Rocky Bay watershed area.

Winter Farm Management
Sunday, January 11
12-2 p.m., Gig Harbor Area Farm
Come and see for yourself how properly installed best management practices work in the winter, and learn how different fence options can help reach farm management objectives. As the storms keep rolling through, find out how much easier and efficient winter chores can be with a well designed (or re-designed!) farm. Livestock and human health are improved, and there is more time for the important things, like figuring out what to do with all those holiday leftovers. Come join us and make a New Year’s resolution to get your farm ready for the next winter season. Please dress for the weather.

Managing Mud, Manure, and Pastures:
The Three Cornerstones of Livestock Farm Management
Tuesday, January 6, 6-8 p.m., Spanaway
Saturday, January 24, 1-4 p.m., Lakebay
Has the winter been awful on your farm for you and your livestock? Are mud and manure piling up, with not a blade of grass to be seen? If so, than this is the class for you! These classroom power point presentations will allow participants to get information on the three key components of small farm management. Find out what materials are being used to keep paddocks dry and learn how to install them correctly (including the new grid systems). Hear how to turn the mountain of manure into a useful soil amendment for your pastures. And learn how to transform that patch of weeds and bare soil into lush pasture to get the most grazing for your animals this coming summer. A class notebook will be provided to each participant.

Wetland, County Code, and Zoning Issues for Livestock Owners
Wednesday, February 11
6-8 p.m., Puyallup
Have you ever thought of any of the following questions, but were afraid to ask for fear that you would get ‘on the radar’: “I have a wetland on my farm, now what?” “Is my wetland grandfathered in for agricultural use?” “Can I clean out the ditches on my farm?” Or, “How many animals can I have per acre?” These and many more questions like them will be answered by our speakers Tom Deming, owner of the environmental consulting firm Habitat Technologies, and Terrance Belieu, a senior planner from Pierce County Planning and Land Services. Bring your questions and leave your fears at home, because knowing the rules is the first step towards doing the right thing.


Please contact Erin or René (253) 845-9770 for more information and to register for any of the classes.
Rain Gardens Help Protect Our Streams – Classroom and Installation Workshops

As our area grows, increasing amounts of native forest and prairie lands are replaced by roads, roofs, driveways, and other hard or impervious surfaces. Rainfall that formerly was intercepted by the forest canopy or soaked into the soils now becomes stormwater runoff flowing across the landscape.

This creates two problems. Localized flooding can occur as too much water floods yards, streets, and parking lots. In addition, stormwater can wash a variety of pollutants into local creeks and rivers, and ultimately Puget Sound. While modern developments include highly engineered solutions for stormwater management, rain gardens offer a low impact development approach that enables individual homeowners to help protect streams and wetlands.

Rain gardens work like a native forest by capturing and infiltrating stormwater. Rain gardens reduce flooding by absorbing water from impervious surfaces; filter oil, grease, fecal bacteria from pet waste, and toxic materials before they can pollute streams, lakes, and bays; help to recharge the aquifer by increasing the quantity of water that soaks into the ground; and provide beneficial wildlife habitat.

In a nutshell, rain gardens are modest depressions in the landscape of people’s yards where water is directed. Rain gardens are typically excavated to a depth of about two feet, and then a mix of highly amended, compost-rich soil is placed in the depression filling it to a level about 6-12 inches below the surrounding landscape to enable ponding to occur during periods of heavy rain. This soil and compost mix soaks up water which is rapidly retained.

Rain gardens are finished off with a variety of plants that do well in both wet winter and dry summer conditions. While many of these plants are native to the Northwest, a number of non-native ornamentals may also be used to create a colorful, attractive landscape.

Rain gardens are easy to create but they must be built carefully. They have to be designed to accommodate the correct amount of rainfall. Soil conditions must also be carefully assessed during the design to determine the depth of the soil and compost mix.

To learn more about how you can incorporate a rain garden into your yard’s landscape, as well as other low-impact development practices, join us for a hands-on classroom workshop on rain garden design and construction.

The Pierce Stream Team, Stewardship Partners, Native Plant Salvage Project, and the Clover Chambers and Puyallup River Watershed Councils are offering Rain Gardens – The Key to Managing Drainage and Protecting Puget Sound classroom workshops beginning in February. Workshop participants and volunteers are also invited to learn more by participating in an actual rain garden installation workshop to be scheduled later in the spring.

The complete rain garden classroom schedule:

Clover Chambers Watershed
• Thursday, February 19, Tacoma
• Thursday, March 19, Lakewood
• Monday, April 20, University Place

Puyallup Watershed
• Thursday, February 5, Orting
• Thursday, March 5, Buckley
• Thursday, April 30, Edgewood

All workshops will be scheduled in the evening hours and registration is required. Participants will be sent site-assessment instructions in advance to help maximize their learning at the workshops. Contact Stream Team to register and for more details: (253) 845-2973 or email streamteam@piercecountycd.org.
District and Stream Team Annual Meeting

The Pierce Conservation District and Stream Team invite volunteers, cooperators, project partners, and interested members of the public to join us at our annual meeting and awards ceremony on February 2, 2009, at the Puyallup Pavilion. The evening’s featured speaker will be Jaime Pinkham, a Nez Perce Tribal member who has vast experience with many of Washington State’s natural resource agencies.

Mr. Pinkham has a long history of working for the environment, and is currently the Watershed Director for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. He has also worked for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources as a Field Unit Manager and Legislative Liaison, as well as the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and was the Director of the National Tribal Lands Program for the Trust for Public Lands. Mr. Pinkham has been instrumental in the reintroduction of grey wolves to Idaho, the acquisition of tribal ancestral homelands in northeastern Oregon, and regional salmon recovery efforts.

Mr. Pinkham has a strong message of native spirituality and its connection to environmental protection and rehabilitation. We are thrilled to have him speak at our annual meeting and welcome you to join us.
Save Your Farm and Garden Plastics This Winter — Recycling Event Coming in Spring
If you are a livestock owner, crop farmer, or an ardent gardener, you already know that agricultural operations generate a tremendous amount of plastic waste. Items such as nursery pots and trays; ground cover; seed, fertilizer and feed sacks; plastic binder (hay) twine; pesticide containers; greenhouse film; and shrink wrap take up a lot of landfill space. Recycling them provides manufacturers with a source of materials that does not require the use of new fossil fuels.

Whether you feel frustrated by the lack of recycling opportunities for these materials, or you are a business owner trying to cut costs associated with waste removal, here is some great news. The Pierce Conservation District and Washington State University – Puyallup Research and Extension Center are partnering with Agri-Plas Inc. of Oregon to hold a one-day collection event in Puyallup this spring. Start stockpiling your farm and garden plastics now! If this event is successful and there is an on-going need for this service, future plans could include up to four collection events per year.

In addition to the above mentioned items, this event will also accept: plastic drums, plastic buckets and lids, and plastic livestock supplement tubs. All material must be relatively clean. Nursery pots and trays must have the soil knocked out, and agricultural film should not be muddy. Items that are not acceptable include rocks, metal, and bags that are made out of both paper and plastic. All pesticide jugs and drums must be triple rinsed. For further information, please contact René at the District office at 253 845-9770 ext. 106.