Submit your photos here and vote on your favorite submissions!

WSU Kitsap Extension Water Stewardship wants to see your photos! We are currently hosting our annual photo contest. Have you taken any nature photos in Kitsap recently? Feel free to share your favorite photos of wildlife, plants, landscapes, ocean views, and more here. You could win one of four awesome prizes. We are giving away local guidebooks, our favorite identification books, experiential opportunity certificates and more! Remember, you don’t have to be a photographer to enter. Let’s share our appreciation of nature in Kitsap!

The contest ends on December 1st.

-November 12, 2021

We are looking for adults that have time to share with youth and/or a special talent or skill they want to teach youth for hands on learning. Don’t have a talent to share, that is ok! We have many different volunteer roles and provide training for each one.

4-H students are leaders. They pursue passions. They solve problems and tackle everyday challenges. And YOU are the key to their success! We need adult volunteers to mentor 4-H youth, lead local clubs, and run events. No experience necessary – we’ll train you! Based on your specific role, we’ll let you know what level of training you may need.

You decide the level of involvement that fits your skills and schedule, such as:

• Lead community clubs, or after-school programs and camp settings
• Serve as chaperone, board member, event judge or camp counselor.
• Create community service opportunities for youth in your area
• Work with other adults to create fun and exciting programs

If interested, please contact Sheila Jernigan ( sheila.jernigan@wsu.edu ) or Lis Nilsson ( elisabeth.nilsson@wsu.edu ).

– October 28, 2021

Instructor Zsofia Pasztor is a horticulturist, arborist and urban agriculturist who has been involved with Low Impact Development stormwater management work in the NW for over 20 years. She is a co-author of the book Rain Gardens for the Pacific Northwest.

Installation and Maintenance

Thursday, Nov. 4, 1:00-2:00 PM
For more info and to register:
CLICK HERE
Learn what to consider when planning the installation and maintenance of a new rain garden. Time, costs and materials will be discussed.

Choosing the Right Plants

Thursday, Nov.18, 1:00-2:00 PM
For more info and to register:
CLICK HERE
Learn what plants to use in a rain garden. Which plants are best suited to each level and situation.

Trouble Shooting Problems

Thursday, Dec. 2, 1:00-2:00 PM
For more info and to register:
CLICK HERE
No matter how carefully planned, some things don’t go as expected. Learn to troubleshoot and return your rain garden to full efficiency.

Presented on Zoom
$20 Per Class
CEUs available
For more info, contact hari.stone@wsu.edu

October 25-29, 2021 – 11-12 Pacific

The SCIENCEx webinar series brings together scientists and land management experts from across U.S. Forest Service research stations and beyond to explore the latest science and best practices for addressing large natural resource challenges across the country. These webinars will be primarily management focused, but with applicability for participants from across sectors.

Learn More

This is an exciting role in the build-out of a Bremerton aggregation hub, working with gleaned fruit, garden produce, and food bank donations. The food is sorted and divided according to site needs and then distributed. Working independently and with volunteers, practicing food safety handling, we strive to increase distribution to sites with consistency and need. You will learn about managing food coming in and going out through data management, practice of the best food safety handling practices, and learning about the communities we are servicing through one on one interactions to assess performance of foods received.

Learn more and apply here

– October 12, 2021

Learn More Here

The Pandemic Response and Safety (PRS) Grant Program provides grants to specialty crop producers and processors, other select producers, meat and other processors, distributors, and farmers markets to respond to coronavirus, including for measures to protect workers against novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID–19). This program is authorized and funded under section 751 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (Pub. L. No. 116—260). USDA developed the PRS Grant Program in response to extensive stakeholder feedback during listening sessions in March 2021, and written comments provided through March 30, 2021. Information from the listening sessions is available online here.

Important Dates:
Application Period Opens: October 6, 2021
Application Period Closes: 11:59 PM Eastern Time on November 22, 2021

All applications submitted before the deadline will be considered for funding. Applications will not be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.

– Posted October 7, 2021

Women’s Farm2Food Accelerator in WA & OR Accepting Applications for 2022

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO.

This is a program for women farmers and entrepreneurs with food and beverage products who are interested in an online accelerator to launch new products and explore expanding into new markets. The application is open at the link above until October 15, 2021. The program will run from November 2021 – March 2022.

– Posted September 20, 2021

READ THE FULL LETTER

Dear Valued WSU Extension Volunteers,

We appreciate the hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours you have given to Washington State on behalf of WSU, and want to make sure you are aware that WSU is required to comply with Governor Inslee’s recent vaccination proclamation requirement. This health and safety proclamation that has been ordered by the Governor includes employees, contractors and volunteers. WSU Extension is aware of the challenges and frustrations this imposes. Clearly defining the processes volunteers will need follow to verify vaccination or seek exemption in order to maintain volunteer status is high priority.

Below are a series of references, deadlines and explanations that provide further details.

1. The Proclamation (21-14.1) can be found HERE
2. Deadline: All current WSU Volunteers are required to be fully vaccinated or exempted by October 18th. Volunteers who are not fully vaccinated or who do not have an approved exemption on file by October 18 will be put on inactive status. They will not be able to engage in any volunteer activities with WSU Extension until proof of full vaccination can be observed or until an exemption request has been reviewed.
3. Proof of vaccination: WSU Extension will announce a county-level process for observing & recording documentation of vaccination status for volunteers. See page two for examples of
   appropriate documentation.
4. Exemption process: WSU Extension will seek to implement a state-level exemption process (for religious or medical reasons) for volunteers and will announce details on that process shortly.
5. All other ongoing protocols for health and safety remain in effect and should be followed.

Thank you in advance for your understanding, cooperation, and patience in helping us navigate this situation. We intend to develop a smooth process enabling us to comply with the proclamation efficiently and then, as WSU Extension volunteers and staff, continue the work about which we are all so passionate!

If you have any questions, please email them to extension.vaccinepolicy@wsu.edu.

Email Vicki McCracken

Email Mike Gaffney

– September 3, 2021