Greetings friends and supporters of 21 Acres.

Fresh News!

• A flurry of activity continued at 21 Acres in June with several volunteer and school projects along with corporate community service days. If you haven’t stopped by lately, you’re welcome any time to sit a spell, walk the trails or to lend a hand. 

• Bees introduced into the 21 Acres Apiary – Hidden just south off the main trail and east of the Spiral Garden on the Farm, the 21 Acres Apiary is surrounded by a hedgerow or “bee friendly” plants. The honeybees are producing honey and as they harvest the flower nectar nearby, they also pollinate the fields and orchards, continuing another another cycle of nature. Read more

• Sammamish Valley 4-H members, Matthew & Jocelyn Wang, brought nine ewes to the farm this week. The public will have an opportunity to pet the sheep and learn about their care, intelligence and abilities while present at 21 Acres, as they demonstrate rotational grazing. Read more

• The Garden Shed interior is near completion thanks to project manager, Michele Lange, Google employees and Bellevue Community College interior design students who submitted five designs.

• Subscriptions for Growing Washington’s Local Choice Food Box are currently available. This Food Box is unusual in that it lets you choose what produce you want from the seasonal choices at the 21 Acres Farm. Subscribers can pick up their items at 21 Acres in addition to other locations. Read more

21 Acres Farm is Salmon-Safe Certified!

In keeping with our commitment to sustainable growing practices and land stewardship, 21 Acres Farm is now Salmon-Safe certified. Salmon-Safe is an emerging Northwest eco-label that recognizes farmers who protect water quality and habitat for fish and wildlife.
Salmon-Safe recognized 21 Acres as a model of good stewardship and sustainable farming practices Read more:


Food Forest newly Established

The Food Forest at 21 Acres  is the initial step to integrating permaculture principles at 21 Acres. It will demonstrate a home-scale model of how fruits, herbs, and vegetables can be used within a landscape. With the help of hard working volunteers from Comcast and Google, 21 acres has begun to develop a small parcel of land by planting 23 apple, pear, and plum trees, 8 blueberry shrubs, 2 currents, 2 gooseberry, 4 Kiwi, and a variety of herbs. Garden designed by Daniel Whitsell. Read more:

Permaculture by definition ("Perm"anent "agri"culture and "Perma"nent "culture") is a regenerative design system stressing the harmonious interrelationship of humans, plants, animals and the Earth.

Worm bins and composting are essential to permaculture farms and gardens. Top, Patty Evans, 21 Acres Community Gardener and King County Master Recycler/Composter demonstrates worm bins at 21 Acres. Bottom, employees from Google haul mulch for the new permaculture garden.

A Place in History— 21 Acres  & the Sammamish Valley

Nature and human plans have governed the fate of the land on which 21 Acres is established.  The effects of both destructive and creative forces of nature long preceded those of humans.  Glaciation scoured the land, and then redeposited the first of the soils that would grow and grow into arable land, attracting the settlers who arrived in the late 19th century.  Our acreage remained agricultural from thence to today.  Read more here: external-link

Thank you to Nan Hawthorne, 21 Acres Community Gardener and volunteer, for the extensive research and providing this in depth historical perspective.

 Sammamish Valley Summer, Artwork by Ron Paul Baum

Time, Treasures & Talents

• Thank you to a team of volunteers, including Michele Lange and Joanne Hedou, who participated in presentations and attended special events representing 21 Acres: Seattle Greendrinks; Microsoft; Google; Good Food film screening at SIFF.

• Joanne Hedou, 21 Acres Grantwriter, was invited by the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) to attend the King County E3 Regional Summit on June 19. The summit was the last of a statewide series of county summits organized by the Environmental Education Association of Washington (EEAW) to develop the E3 Strategy-a coordinated statewide mechanism to promote environmental literacy and sustainability through public and private education. Other attendees included businesses, tribes, schools, museums and, non-profit and community organizations. The goal of the E3 Strategy is to promote sustainability throughout the state of Washington by 2025. Learn more.
  

• A special thank you to the following donors this month: Lowell DeYoung, Rhonda Greer, Satomi Hurn, Bob McNamara, Heather Rhodes-Weaver, Virginia Stamey, Irmgard Tank, Virginia Brix, Joe & Dee Strecker. And, thank you to all who have contributed to 21 Acres including our volunteers, interns, school groups and community groups. Contributors
  



Google volunteers work in the Orchard during a recent community service day. A report came in noting the discovery of the first apple in the new Orchard

It’s a Fact

Data released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency shows that somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. National Geographic News, 9-2-03. Take your own reuseable bags whenever you go to the store or market. 21 Acres re-useable cloth shopping bags will be available for purchase later this summer.

Thank you again!  Gretchen Garth and the 21 Acres Board and Staff

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