Veterans Conservation Corps Farmalnd Access & Prairie Resotoration Intern
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We are seeking a Veterans Conservation Corps (VCC) member to assist with the monitoring and restoration of rare prairie habitat across the Chehalis watershed (Thurston, Lewis, and Grays Harbor Counties) in Southwest Washington. The VCC member will work to promote responsible grazing practices and educate landowners about conservation programs. This Thurston County based position will support the enhancement and expansion of the South Sound FarmLink program. This program connects available farmland with land-seeking farmers, ranchers, and growers. This position will specifically work to support veteran landowners and land seekers through program development and refinement, outreach material creation, land listing enrollment campaigns, successional planning and leasing assistance, and participant support and education. Support for other educational or farmland preservation events and initiatives will provide additional training and networking opportunities. This position will coordinate with their counterpart based at Lewis Conservation District to include producers in Lewis County in the South Sound FarmLink program.
This is a one-year individual internship position through the WDVA and will work closely with interns doing similar work at the Lewis Conservation District and EcoStudies Institute.
See full position description here.
To apply for this internship: Email a copy of your DD214 and driver license, a resume, and a cover letter explaining your interest in this internship to:
Kim Pham
Veterans Conservation Corps Program Specialist
kim@dva.wa.gov
For information about the position and job requirements, contact:
Nora Carman-White, Communications & Education Manager
nwhite@thurstoncd.com
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Habitat Restoration Field Crew
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These paid internship positions will work on a 5-person field crew alongside our VCC crew members under the supervision of the Thurston Conservation District (TCD) Habitat Restoration Crew Lead. The crew will work on meaningful habitat restoration projects in rural areas within Thurston County to serve their community by improving water quality, enhancing wildlife habitat, and preventing the spread of invasive weeds. The crew will work on public and private properties such as farms and conservation lands, to achieve individual, local and regional resource conservation and restoration goals in Thurston County. Field work activities will include planting native trees and shrubs along rivers and streams, controlling or removing invasive vegetation, implementing erosion control techniques, and participating in salmon recovery projects.
TCD's Habitat Restoration Field Crew Members receive a monthly stipend, accrue paid time off, and receive regular educational and training opportunities. Learn more and see the full position description here.
To view application instructions, visit our website here.
Questions? Contact Kiana Sinner, ksinner@thurstoncd.com or 360-972-0407
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We're looking for volunteer to assist with our annual South Puget Sound Regional Envirothon event on Tuesday, April 19th from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm at Priest Point Park!
Envirothon is an exciting, hands-on, outdoor environmental science competition for high school students and we need volunteers to serve as judges, test proctors, and over all competition support during the event.
If you're interested in volunteering please fill out this online form.
Questions about volunteering? Contact Kiana Sinner, ksinner@thurstoncd.com or 360-972-0407
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Preliminary Election Results
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A mail-in election for a board seat (Position 2) on the Thurston Conservation District was held on March 15, 2022.
TJ Johnson is the winner, in the preliminary results. Election results are certified by the WA State Conservation Commission at their May 2022 meeting.
If you have questions about TCD elections, check out our Elections FAQ page!
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Conservation Starters: Fostering our Forests
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This month, on Conservation Starters, we're joined by Margaret Kreder, our local stewardship forester. We discuss how forest landowners can be good stewards of their property, whether in their back yard or their back forty. Margaret, who offers forestry site visits to local landowners, tells us what types of common problems she sees in forest stands and the best ways to combat them. We also talk about an ongoing forestry webinar series that dives deeper into the world of forest health (see the above events section!). Tune into this month's episode to learn more and see how to get involved!
You can find this month and future episodes on all major streaming platforms.
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News from South Sound GREEN
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A huge thank you to all of our community partners for your help with making our 2022 Student GREEN Congress so successful!
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Student GREEN Congress has come and gone once again! Our 29th annual and second ever virtual Student GREEN Congress event was an amazing success, engaging over 700 students across multiple watershed programs in South Puget Sound and beyond. Alongside the Nisqually River Education Project, the Chehalis Basin Education Consortium, and numerous incredible community partners, we coordinated a virtual Congress event that included an interactive Water Quality Story Map and hands-on environmental workshops. And to top it all off, our Congress Keynote event featured Long Live the Kings presenting and leading their Survive the Sound game, where students learned about tracking juvenile steelhead and modeled steelhead survival rates. Overall, we couldn’t be more proud of how our favorite annual event went, and we hope to return to an in-person event next year!
Outside of Congress, we’ve been busy with water quality field days with Olympia elementary schools and North Thurston middle schools. Getting students outside has always been our priority, even if it’s on their school grounds!
And finally, spring is here! Stay tuned for information about our upcoming Nearshore programs! We’ll need additional volunteer help for a lot of these programs, so if you’re interested in joining us out in some beautiful nearshore environments please reach out to Sam Nadell at snadell@thurstoncd.com!
If you are interested in volunteering for any of South Sound GREEN’s programs, or want to learn how to get your own school or class involved, contact Sam Nadell, snadell@thurstoncd.com or (360)754-2588 ext.102
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From Our Community
A snapshot of other great events, programs, and services available from throughout our community.
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Program News
Check this area in our newsletter monthly to see upcoming opportunities, deadlines, and programmatic information from our partners at the Natural Resources Conservation Service office.
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Forest Stewardship in a Changing Climate
WSU Extension
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VIrtual symposium
6:00 - 8:00 pm on April 21st, 28th, and May 5th.
Register here.
Questions? contact Rebekah Zimmerer at rebekah.zimmerer@wsu.edu
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Between heat domes and record droughts, it can be tough to be a tree right now. As we are transitioning into a warmer and drier climate, tree mortality is on the rise. Trees with low drought tolerance like hemlocks and cedars are particularly struggling, and other species are also impacted. Will our native trees survive? Should we be planting other species?
If you own wooded property in the Puget Sound area, be sure to join us for this free virtual symposium to learn how to increase the long-resilience of your forest and give your trees a fighting chance.
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Annual Nisqually Watershed Festival Poster Contest
Nisqually Reach Nature Center
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The deadline for the entries is Friday, June 1st 2022.
Questions? Contact Dominique Rosario nisquallyeducation@fws.gov
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It’s time for the Annual Nisqually Watershed Festival Poster Contest! This year’s theme is “Amphibians of the Watershed”.
All participating teachers will be entered into a drawing for a FREE trip to Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge! Every poster entered will be displayed throughout the festival.
Judges choose the top five posters from each grade K-6 and these students are given a certificate and prize during a public ceremony at the Festival.
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Thurston Strong Grants
Thurston Economic Development Council
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To learn more and see if your agricultural business is eligible click here.
Questions? Contact Tina Sharp, tsharp@thurstonedc.com or 360-218-2662
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The Thurston Strong Agricultural Recovery Grant is directed to agricultural businesses attempting to recover from economic injury as a result of COVID-19. All Thurston County agricultural businesses meeting eligibility requirements will be considered. The Thurston Economic Development Council (EDC) and Thurston County WSU Extension will administer the program on behalf of Thurston Strong partners. The majority of funding support has been provided by Thurston County.
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Spring Plant Sale
Native Plant Salvage
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Monday, April 25, 2022 - Monday, May 9, 2022
Native Plant Salvage
3054 Carpenter Road SE
Olympia, WA, 98503
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Specific dates are still TBD, but in late-April, into early May, Native Plant Salvage will have their annual online spring plant sale and in-person pickup! More information to come on their website.
This is a great opportunity for plants if you're unable to attend our March 5th sale event!
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Conservation News
Interesting news, articles, and studies on conservation issues from around the world.
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Living Roots: Fighting Soil Compaction with Biology and Diversity
By Stan Wise for No-Till Farmer
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"As farm equipment has modernized, it has become much larger. That extra horsepower comes at a cost – and not just the one on the sticker. “Back in the day, they weren’t recommending any more than 5 tons per axle,” South Dakota State University Soils Field Specialist Anthony Bly said. “And we’ve well exceeded that in most all of our tractors and combines today.” The weight of farm equipment is supported by the soil, and if the weight is too high or if the ground is too wet when it is worked, it can severely compact the soil, making it more difficult to successfully grow crops."
Read more here.
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To Revive a River, Restore Its Hidden Gut
By Erica Gies for Scientific American Photos by Jelle Wagenaar
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"Salmon are so elemental to Indigenous peoples who live along North America’s northwestern coast that for generations several nations have called themselves the “Salmon People.” But when settlers came, their forms of agricultural and urban development devastated the mighty fish. The new inhabitants cut down streamside vegetation that once slowed and absorbed rains, causing floods. They straightened curvy creeks to try to speed floodwater off the land and armored the sides to prevent erosion, but the faster flow gouged the riverbed. Later, urban planners and engineers funneled streams into buried pipes so they could build more city on top, disconnecting waterways from soil, plants and animals. The cumulative impact of these injuries led to flash floods, unstable banks, heavy pollution and waning life. The hallowed salmon all but disappeared."
Read more here.
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A living archive of Oregon’s hops and beer
By Theo Whitcomb for High Country News
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"A hundred years ago, Polk County, Oregon, called itself the “Hop Center of the World.” A little self-aggrandizing, sure, but accurate: By producing the key ingredient for brewing beer, Oregon’s hop industry powered American beer making throughout the 20th century. And since 2013, Tiah Edmunson-Morton, an archivist at Oregon State University, has been collecting the industry’s ephemera and records for the Oregon Hops & Brewing Archives."
Read more here.
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