2023 Native Plant in the Landscape Grant Awards

Meerkerk extends congratulations to these organizations who are committed to promoting sustainable practices in landscaping, teaching the value of native plant conservation, and incorporating native plants into their projects.

Friends of Whidbey State Park was awarded $4,989 to create a native plant rain garden at Fort Casey State Park. This garden will help in the management of stormwater runoff and will provide a demonstration area for teaching visitors about rain gardens and native plants. Plant maps and photo guides will be made available for docents and visitors at Fort Casey’s main office and on the Friends website. The rain garden will be registered on a non-profit promoting rain gardens around Puget Sound and the Salish Sea: 12000RainGardens.org

Island County Master Gardeners was awarded $1,150 to restore part of the Greenbank Marsh wetland area adjacent to the Master Gardener Education Gardens. This project includes removal of invasive and non-native plants and replanting with native wetland plants. This project is supported by the Port of Coupeville as an authorized and desirable function of the Island County Master Gardeners at the Greenbank Farm.

Nordland Garden Club was awarded $3,550 to restore their Native Plant Garden established in 2009, and to develop a new garden area, adding an irrigation system to the well water system to support replanting of Rhododendrons within those gardens. The Club will host educational classes to educate the public on the value of using native plants and Rhododendrons in the landscape.

Pacific Rim Institute of Environmental Stewardship was awarded $3,260 to increase the use of native plants in their interpretive and educational programs by increasing the number of native plants in their Learning Landscape Beds and producing both hardcopy guides and an on-line guide. They will also increase their propagation of Rhododendron macrophylluym and plant native rhododendrons on their site.

Washington Native Plant Society was awarded $5,000 for the purchase of native plants and mulch for three middle school students participating in the Youth Ecology Education Through Restoration (YEER) program during the 2023-2024 school year.

• 6th graders at Rose Hill School in Redmond will restore their third schoolyard site currently covered with Himalayan Blackberry.

• 8th graders at Wahluke Middle School in Mattawa along the Columbia River, Easter Washington, will restore a 21,000 sq. ft area with shrub-steppe plants in their schoolyard.

• 6th graders at Paterson School in Benton County along the Columbia River south of Richland will restore shrub-steppe plants to a highly disturbed ecosystem of 5,200 sq. ft. adjacent to their school.

Funds for this grant are generated from sales of Meerkerk’s State Flower License Plate.