The Salish Seeds Project promotes native-plant diversity and makes habitat restoration possible.
The San Juan Islands are host to incredibly diverse and beautiful plant life. But some plants that were once plentiful in the islands have become uncommon and difficult to find. The Salish Seeds Project, a joint program of the San Juan Preservation Trust and the San Juan County Conservation Land Bank, is restoring wildflowers and grasses to our islands to ensure that island ecosystems include more native plants and make habitat restoration possible. Demand for native plants and seeds is on the rise and our current facilities are not equipped to meet this demand.
Golden paintbrush at the Salish Seeds nursery
Plant plugs for restoration projects at the nursery
To meet growing demand for native plants, we need to upgrade our facilities.
Our current capacity for equipment storage, protection of seedlings, and indoor tasks is severely limited. Increasingly harsh weather conditions pose challenges—both to our plants and our workers—due to lack of proper shelter from the elements. With your financial support, we plan to upgrade our facilities. Please donate now to help meet our goal of $67,000 to accomplish the following:
• Build a 300-square-foot shed, and
• Install a 400-square-foot unheated greenhouse
The shed will provide storage for tools and equipment as well as a sheltered workspace for seeding, transplanting, and seed processing. The shed’s purpose-built design will incorporate a green or living roof planted with San Juan County native species. The greenhouse will protect overwintering plants in containers and provide space for growing and germinating seeds in early spring and for drying harvested seeds in the summer.