Weekly Posts

Week 1:

On monday I was introduced to the group of women that I will be working with for the next five weeks. There is only four of them but together they have produced 8,000 lbs of food last year. I think that’s amazing. I got to tour the medicinal garden, as well as the field where they produce most of the food. I’ve harvested, and planted starters, as well as seeded some squash.

Grace taught me about Salmon berries which are berries that look like salmon eggs. Grace said that her people say when the berries grow it’s also a sign that there are salmon in the waters. When I spoke to Grace about the Salmon runs she said that some Tribal Fisheries will have to close down for two years because of how climate change is affecting the salmon populations which is such a heavy blow to these peoples when you realize how important salmon is out here.

Thursday I learned about some blue berry irrigation and more about the medicinal plants that were in the smaller garden. I learned that there are many different types of kitchen sage and that there are different weeds that are medicinal to us. I typical one would be dandelions that most people know about that is a weed yet it has very medicinal properties.

Week 2:

On monday I helped cut and plant some fingerling potatoes because the garden couldn’t get the Ozette potatoes since another Tribe bought them out. I learned that Ozette potatoes are the most sought out potatoes in the Pacific NorthWest because of the flavor. I guess the terroir of the Ozettes are very popular amongst the restaurant world. I also helped build a low caterpillar tunnel for the tomatoes which was a lot of fun. I learn a lot from it. Today we also had our group lunch that we try to do every week. This week Carlin made a fern tip salad with a honey and vinaigrette drizzle.
Tuesday I helped with the health fair and tabling with Grace about the garden. She made a nettle lemonade which is full of vitamin c and helps increase energy and flush out toxins from your body.
Thursday we harvested rose petals and fern tips-we harvested them for tea. Then we finished the tomato structure.

Week 3:

On monday I transplanted some lettuce, and weeded the garden. I planned my week ahead with my mentors, and I harvested some wormwood and dried it for a class that Grace was teaching.

On tuesday I helped transplant the tomatoes and and then some bell peppers. I learned that the soil is sandy loam and they needed to add an all natural fertilizer that is heavy in nitrogen. An Elder passed away so my garden work for thursday was canceled but I made up for it by helping out with garden work at the school and then on Sunday I’m going to help with a salve making workshop.

Week 4:

On monday I transplanted some Bok Choy, and helped build another tomato tunnel. Then we talked about our volunteer work on thursday with Squaxin Island that we will be doing with their garden this week. The rest of the day was basically maintenance and me setting up an interview time with Grace for my final video.

On Tuesday we just did some more transplanting of cucumbers, squash, and some peppers. I got to harvest some salmon berries to eat.

On thursday we went to Squaxin Island Tribe’s garden and we helped them plant tomatoes and some peppers. They used an old horse corral for the garden part and they designed in the shape of a medicine wheel. Utilizing the four directions north, south, east, west. The design to tribes is very symbolic and important and I thought that it was really cool for them to design their garden after it. Later that day UW Tacoma students came to the garden to get a tour and help out with the weeding.

Week five:

Monday I did garden work  of weeding and helping transplant some spinach. I did some meetings with Carlin and on my experience over the five weeks. I then went to the longhouse to look at the garden there. I did some work on the writings and presentation and video which was good.

Tuesday I did some harvest and helped weed the tomatoes I also trellised them since they were growing pretty tall. We then had the group lunch and celebrated Erica’s birthday by harvesting some wild strawberries and eating pie.

Thursday was my last day. I weeded, and transplanted fennel and more spinach and lettuce. Then I helped seed some corn and some broccoli and harvested more strawberries. Caitlin and Carlin threw me a goodbye lunch with pizza and some salad from the radishes and lettuce from the garden. We had strawberry lemonade with the strawberries we harvested and talked about me coming back for harvest in August. I had a really lovely time interning here and I’m going to miss it a lot. I thank everyone who has helped me do this, Caitlin, Carlin, and Grace and Janelle. This experience really helped me grow more and discover more myself what I want to do with my future.