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2024 ANNUAL REPORT

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www.naturescaping.org

info@naturescaping.org

360.737.1160

Physical address: 11000 NE 149^th Street, Brush Prairie WA 98606

Mailing address: PO Box 763, Brush Prairie WA 98606

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Find us on Facebook

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NatureScaping of SW Washington

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Mission Statement: Gardens and programs that inspire, educate, and enrich our lives and our community.

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Purpose: To educate and encourage people on the importance of developing, restoring, maintaining, and conserving wildlife habitat and the native plants that comprise that habitat.

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NatureScaping of SW Washington

Message from the President

Over the past 5 years, succession planning has been foremost on my mind to ensure the continued functioning of NatureScaping of SW Washington. I’ve been a squeaky wheel at Board Meetings, squeaking that we need new leadership to continue providing Board and all NatureScaping programming oversight.

I’m thrilled to share that this past Spring, Celeste Monroe started attending our Board Meetings and offered to utilize her career skills as an Operations Analyst, to review how we operate as a Board, in our Committees and programs. As a result, and with input from the Board and Garden Coordinators, the Board adopted a new Operating Model to delegate, across Board members and Committee Chairpersons, the oversight of our events and programs. This Operating Model is shown on page 9 .

I will remain as President in 2025, which now entails only Board business, all contracts and outreach to community partners, and mentoring Committee Chairpersons.

Welcome Celeste Monroe to our Board as of February 1, 2025!

Welcome Libby Adcock as our Treasurer starting February 1, 2025! Her past experience as Treasurer with the Master Gardener Foundation, and currently for the Clark County Chapter of the Hardy Plant Society, was helpful many times to me as I navigated the Treasurer role in 2024.

I am thankful for, and appreciate the support of all the returning Board members, Garden Coordinators, volunteers and community partners as NatureScaping welcomes a new year of transitions and new growth.

NatureScaping of SW Washington greatly appreciates all your support over the past 31 years, and looks forward to the community’s involvement as we continue striving to fulfill our succession planning goals and our mission around the importance of landscaping for wildlife and native plants.

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Warm regards,

Meredith Hardin, President, Treasurer and Water Wise Garden Co-Coordinator

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• Explore seasonally - daily, dawn to dusk: 11000 NE 149^th St., Brush Prairie, WA 98606
• Space to connect with others and feed your spirit through the benefits of nature – photographers, artists, dog walkers etc.
• Available space for small weddings, parties, community events by reservation.
• Benefit to local educational programs through service learning for college and high school students, school field trips; part of training classes for Master Gardeners, Composter Recyclers, and Stream Stewards.
• Geocaching site for people looking for caches, or hidden stashes of objects. Seekers use global positioning system (GPS) devices to find hidden caches. Learn More

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Wildlife Botanical Gardens

Additions to the �Wildlife Botanical Gardens

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• Growing Skills Youth Program with students from Battle Ground School District’s Riverlink High School
• Irrigation drip system in the Collector’s Garden.
• Native and non-native plants and a water feature added to the Flying Flowers Expansion Garden
• Newly added native plants in the Natives, Collector’s and Water Wise Gardens
• New stone pathways in the Water Wise Garden.
• New benches in Hummingbird Garden; new pergola in the Water Wise Garden

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Volunteers

• Board Members volunteered over 1,000 hours on Board projects, organizational programs and events.

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• NatureScaping Garden Coordinators worked over 1,900 hours in the Wildlife Botanical Gardens, and more hours at our events.

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• Clark County Master Gardeners and Stream Stewards volunteers worked over 500 hours helping maintain the Wildlife Botanical Gardens and helping with events and classes.

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• NatureScaping members, Battle Ground School District students, Clark College Students, Clark County Restorative Youth Program and community volunteers worked over 450 hours helping maintain the Wildlife Botanical Gardens and potting plants for our annual fundraiser.

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Memberships

• 178 new members as well as 254 members renewed.

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• New and renewing members now have the option to complete our membership form and payment online via naturescaping.org.

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• Free classes.

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• Receive monthly NatureScaping and News Nuggets Newsletter.

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• Google photos of the Wildlife Botanical Gardens.

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• First choice on times to shop the Bare Root Trees, Shrubs and Perennials Sale.

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Thank you to our members who choose membership levels higher than the $25 General level!

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Officers:

Meredith Hardin – President 2013 through Feb 2023, 2024; Treasurer 2024. Board Member since 2008. Water Wise Garden Co-Coordinator

Christy Caplan – Secretary since 2023. Board Member since March, 2022.

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Board Members:

Libby Adcock – Board Member as of January, 2024.

Marlene Dellsy – Administrative Assistant duties since 2014. Board member since 2015.

Troy Dunn – Board Member as of Feb. 2021. Chairperson of our Online Communications Committee

Pam Moody – Board Member as of January 2024. Chairperson of the Garden Coordinators’ Committee. Hummingbird Garden Co-Coordinator since March 2024.

Rich Palmer – Board Member since 2017. Chairperson of the Garden Maintenance Committee. Homestead Garden Coordinator.

Hannah Schrager – Board Member since Feb, 2021. Owner of Good Year Farms and educational consultant for our programs.

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Board Members

Wildlife Botanical Gardens �Coordinators

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• Julie Carlsen - Bird Haven Garden Coordinator
• Carla Coffey - Flying Flowers Garden Co-Coordinator
• Nigel Cundy - Deputy Mason Bee Coordinator
• Ron Ferguson – Arborist/Compost Coordinator
• Brigg Franklin - Mason Bees Program and Geocaching Coordinator
• Karen Furnanz - Cottage Garden Coordinator
• Larry Greene - Flying Flowers Garden Co-Coordinator
• Meredith Hardin - Water Wise Garden Co-Coordinator
• Lisa Kausen - Collector’s Garden Coordinator
• Elizabeth (Lee) LaLone - Entrance Perennial Garden Coordinator
• Karen Leckie - Water Wise Garden Co-Coordinator
• Monica Meyer – Sensory Garden Coordinator
• Pam Moody – Garden Coordinators Committee Chairperson and Hummingbird Garden Co-Coordinator
• Celeste Monroe – Events/Program Committee Chairperson and Hummingbird Garden Co-Coordinator
• Chelsey Pacanins - NW Natives Garden Co-Coordinator
• Richard Palmer – Garden Maintenance Committee Chairperson and Homestead Garden Coordinator
• Martha Stephenson - Manor Garden Coordinator
• John Wilson – NW Natives Garden Co-Coordinator

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Wildlife Botanical Gardens �Operating Model

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Events

Annual Plant Sale

Art in the Garden

Perennial, Bulb & Seed Swap

Programs

Backyard Habitat Certification

Education

Community Outreach

Growing Skills

Mason Bee

Student Garden

Volunteer Management

Garden collection design,

implementation and maintenance

Website & Social Media Oversight

Garden Structures, Tools, Irrigation, Soil and Compost requirements

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Board Members

Margaret Bessert

CASEE Center Representative

Marlene Dellsy

Administration

Libby Adcock

Treasurer

Richard Palmer

Garden Maintenance

Meredith Hardin

Garden Coordinators

Celeste Monroe

Programs / Events

Troy Dunn

Online Communications

Hannah Schrager *

Special Projects Advisor

Christi Caplan

Secretary

Meredith Hardin

President / Chairperson of the Board

* CASEE Advisory Board

2025 Plans

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• Board succession goals of mentoring new Committee Chairpersons and expanding the roles of Garden Coordinators and NatureScaping volunteers.

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• Expand our online social media platforms to educate the community about our programs and mission.

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• NatureScaping will donate $5,000 in January, 2025 to the Backyard Habitat Certification Program, a partnership program through Watershed Alliance of SW Washington, Bird Alliance and Columbia Land Trust.

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• With the support of the Backyard Habitat Certification Program, the Bird Haven, Sensory and NW Natives Gardens will be assessed and then work in 2025 to complete the tasks needed to become certified.

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• In Fall, 2024, we joined the Botanical Gardens International organization to begin planning and initiating projects to certify the Wildlife Botanical Gardens as a true Botanical Garden.

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• Completing the renovation of our large shed; completing drip irrigation systems in all the Wildlife Botanical Gardens.

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• Change the Collector’s Garden to a Sensory Garden to include plants for color, texture, fragrance, sound, movement.

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• Improve accessibility for all abilities in our programs.

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• Enjoying the serenity in the Wildlife Botanical Gardens!

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