Sisters Greta (left) and Morgan (right) Watters work hard in the nursery together.

Homeschoolers and Dirt Waterfalls

Have you heard of the Homeschool Stewardship Squad? They are a group of homeschoolin’ moms and kids who get together to focus on stewardship through volunteering. I had a lot of fun working with them earlier this month.

This is a new partnership between the Homeschool Stewardship Squad, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, the Washington Trails Association (WTA) and the King Conservation District (KCD). The Squad volunteers twice a month working with these three local organizations.

This is a unique group because of the wide range of ages- from 9 months to 8 years old – and their interest in gaining practical skills and local knowledge through volunteering. At our Native Plant Nursery we all gathered together on the giant dirt pile of GroCo (a compost product containing recycled human biosolids and sawdust). It is completely safe for humans and I got quite the shocked look when I told the kids what kind of dirt they were sitting on!

We had a blast potting salmonberry for the day on our giant pile of dirt! The kids invented dirt waterfalls to pour the soil into their pots for their shrubs. They even did a great job pushing the heavy carts of plants over to the salmonberry section in the nursery and helped unload.

The Homeschool Stewardship Squad is open to any homeschool families of all ages who are interested in community involvement, family education and volunteering through environmental stewardship. If you would like to join the Squad contact:

Heidi Watters
206.679.8820
Events: 10:30am-1:30pm on the 2nd Tuesday and 4th Thursday of the month

Rachel Allison is the current Youth and Outreach Associate with the Greenway Trust. She graduated from Western Washington University and spent last year as a WCC Crew Assistant Supervisor; sponsored by the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association. She is excited to work with all the amazing youth who have committed some of their time to working in the Greenway!