Swale Work Party

Spring is here… and with your help we hope to make some more progress in the Beverly Cleary School Fernwood campus gardens!  Many of you share our wish that the students will benefit from direct experiences with nature and a more natural environment in which to play and learn.  We are already getting great use out of the raised beds that were installed last spring.
 
Our main focus this spring is the bioswale, on the north side of the building.  Many of you use the path along the bioswale as a shortcut from the front of the building to the playground.  The BCS Garden Committee received a $10,000 matching grant last year from the EMSWCD to “activate” the bioswale by disconnecting the downspouts and helping to improve its functionality and appearance.  The project will promote natural drainage and remove polluted runoff from the sewer system and our Willamette River watershed.  This is an exciting project because it will benefit the community, enhance our school’s greenspace and allow our students to learn about ecological systems in their own “living laboratory.”
 
To provide the required match for our grant we need help from BCS families.
 
On Friday, May 14 from 1:30 - 6:00 pm we are hosting a family work party.  We will transplant three trees, remove invasive plants, remove dirt for French drains, create French drains, and sand and prime the garden shed.  We need lots of volunteers as well as the loan of pruners, shovels and wheelbarrows.  Don’t forget to wear gloves.  Come for the afternoon or just for whatever time you can spare.
 
To complete these tasks we are seeking donations:
-    dump box fees
-    round rock
-    landscape cloth for French drains
-    primer
-    benches
-    cash donations are welcome,  checks can be made out to Beverly Cleary School