Class session # 7

Woo hoo!  We didn't have to sit on our duffs all day.....  that made for a nice change. Right off the bat we were up and about taking tours.  Three to be exact:
1.  The Herbarium.
2.  The Library
3.  Merrill Hall.

HERBARIUM
Know what an herbarium is?  I thought I did until this morning......



..... it's a library of pressed plant samples.  This one has 19,773 of them to be exact.  Organized by Family, Genus, Species, Cultivar and Variety.  Wow!

Herbariums are a wonderful resource if you're struggling to identify a plant.  I felt much better after hearing that it takes YEARS to become good at identifying plants, and as rookie Master Gardeners we shouldn't feel bad if we can only get it down to the family/species level.   If we need more specifics that's where herbariums come in handy.  The Otis Douglas Hyde herbarium is accessible to the public, not just UW folks or Master Gardeners.  You can contact them anytime you need help identifying something.   If you give them a plant they can't readily identify, they have all the necessary research equipment to figure it out.....

........ it may take them a week or two to get back to you, but they will get you an answer.

THE LIBRARY

Our second tour took us to the library.  This isn't your ordinary, generic, been there done that library..... instead this one is totally dedicated to plants, horticulture, botany and gardening.   Thousands of books, periodicals, research articles, nature writings and more... and it's all open and available to the public.  Any and all are welcome.  A gardener's paradise! 

I could see this being a great place to visit on a cold, dark, rainy day when we're dreaming of spring/summer and being outdoors in our beautiful PNW.

Many of the journals and periodicals are from around the world, so you can see what gardeners do in other countries, and they have an area called PNW Connections which references plants from areas around the world that have a climate similar to ours.   It's truly a global resource, not just PNW focused material.  That's cool!  

They also have a children's corner with numerous gardening-related books/activities organized by age group, and all kinds of resources/reference materials for teachers / parents to use to encourage the younger generation to dig in.  Very impressive!  

Next time you're over in the U-district, go check this library out. It's a real gem.

MERRILL HALL

Our final tour gave us some insight into the actual building where we have our training.   Did you know it was one of the first LEED certified buildings in Seattle?    It's constructed with recycled and local materials, designed to minimize the use of resources and optimize sunlight and air movement for heating/cooling, captures/reuses rainwater, has occupancy sensors that detect both light and movement to turn off lights when appropriate...... the list goes on.   Very cool!

If you've never been in a LEED building, try to find one in your neck of the woods and go check it out.  It's inspiring to see how we can still have all our comforts while minimizing our impact on the natural world.

After a break we spent the rest of the morning learning about teaching kits.  What's a teaching kit you ask?  Well it's a self-contained classroom/gardening-related discovery in a box.  Each box focuses on a different subject, and there are currently 13 topics to pick from: 

1.   Roots and Shoots

2.   Seeds and Flowers

3.   Native Plant / Wildlife Habitat

4.   Trees

5.   Observation Chamber

6.   Water

7.   Insects

8.   Pollinators

9.   Soil and Compost

10. Worms

11. Mini Worm Bin

12. Recycling

13. Nutrition

These kits are available to master gardeners, parents, teachers and anyone who wishes to share/teach this information to others.   You sign them out just like you would a library book.  The box contains all the materials,  props, posters and the like, and an instruction guide. What a cool resource!  When all our training is over, I think I'll venture into this area..... a fun way to get my head into a given subject to learn it more thoroughly and then share what I've learned with others.  I already have some ideas for other subjects to add to the list...... do you have any topics you'd like to see?  If you'd like to take a closer look at these kits, or borrow one to share with your child's school, scout troop, gathering of gardening friends etc. just let me know..... happy to help. 

As you know from an earlier blog, the afternoon session was cancelled because the instructor didn't show up...... so class dismissed.   7 down, 5 more to go.