The Glen Tana Nursery!
July 19, 2024
By Mitchell Clark, Conservancy Volunteer
Something is about to bloom at Glen Tana property — The Inland Northwest Land Conservancy is working hard to build a nursery that, when completed, will be able to hold up to 5,000 native plants.
The goal is to create a space where they can grow to maturity from bare roots without the threat of being eaten by the area’s sizable population of deer, moose, and other wildlife. The nursery will also provide an optimal habitat for plant life: an irrigation system will automatically keep plants cool and watered during increasingly warm and dry summers, and shade cloth will let plants that can’t withstand direct sunlight thrive.
The nursery will accelerate the Conservancy’s existing restoration efforts around Glen Tana along the Little Spokane River. Over the past few years, volunteers have helped sow hundreds of native plants around Waikiki Springs, including ponderosa pine, Saskatoon berries, silver buffaloberry shrubs, and baldhip roses. If you’ve walked the trails there, you’ve almost certainly seen the evidence of this in the form of the fences that help protect the young plants from being eaten or trampled before they have the chance to fully grow.
The nursery won’t just be used for INLC’s projects, though. Partner organizations, such as the Spokane Tribe, Washington State Parks, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, can also grow plants for their restoration efforts.
The project hasn’t been without its setbacks. The Conservancy was hoping to have volunteers help build the nursery back in October, but logistical delays made that impossible: the raw materials that would become the nursery hadn’t arrived at the site yet. Given that winter was fast approaching, INLC’s preserve manager, Steven Eddington, had to make the call to hold off on the buildout event.
However, the delay came with a silver lining: It gave Steven time to re-assess the original plans and make some improvements. “Honestly, the delay has been a blessing in disguise because I’ve been really able to hash out these nursery plans and make a more efficient space, but also just a better space than originally planned,” he said.
The Conservancy will be working with partners at the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge and US Fish and Wildlife to flatten out the nursery site at Glen Tana. After the minor excavation is done, work can begin on the nursery itself. That will include the installation of the irrigation system, fencing to protect the plants from wildlife, and a hoop house — think of a greenhouse without the plastic covering. The structure, which is planned to be roughly 100 feet by 20 feet, will act as the scaffolding for the shade cloth needed to protect some plants from the full intensity of the summer sun.
The Conservancy is also planning on improvements to help plants deal with the opposite problem: too much rain. A few inches of gravel under the nursery will act as drainage so plants get the right amount of water instead of being saturated.
After the hoop structure is in place, the Conservancy will work its way outward, building the fence that will keep wildlife from grazing on plants growing or being stored in and around the nursery. Once that step is done, the Conservancy can start getting plants in the ground and growing for the future.
To learn more about the Glen Tana Conservation Area click here! For opportunities to volunteer at the Glen Tana Nursery keep an eye on our events page.