Native American Plant Nursery LLC was created by Elderberry Wisdom Farm (EWF) to specialize in germinating and cultivating tree, shrub and pollinator plants native to the Willamette Valley, including Traditional First Foods that may be under threat or endangered. By cultivating a diverse array of native plant species, Native American Plant Nursery LLC strives to help preserve the ecological and cultural fabric of the region, ensuring sustainability for future generations.
 
The nursery is deeply rooted in a vision to serve and uplift our communities’ need to restore ecological resilience practiced for many generations by our ancestors, including traditional First Food sovereignty. Native American Plant Nursery LLC will adopt Elderberry Wisdom Farm’s practice of integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with modern ecological restoration practices of our conservation partners that help combat the adverse effects of climate change and habitat degradation.
 
The nursery’s business model is uniquely collaborative, focusing on developing partnerships with various stakeholders including government agencies, educational institutions, and conservation organizations. Key partnerships, including with Oregon Department of Forestry: Urban and Community Forestry and Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, are crucial for aligning the nursery’s cultivation plans with the specific needs of habitat restoration partners throughout the region.
 
The nursery’s core mission extends beyond native plant restoration to include targeted training and mentoring Native Americans and other interns as they establish conservation career pathways. This helps EWF to address the critical shortage of skilled Native American horticulturalists and business owners within Oregon’s nursery industry, providing a pathway to overcome these barriers.
 
Native American Plant Nursery LLC also aims to empower those motivated to engage in ecological restoration to offer training in microenterprise business development that helps enhance the biodiversity and sustainability of local ecosystems. By blending TEK with contemporary conservation science, they can create their own nursery businesses that are environmentally significant and culturally relevant.
 
 
More about EWF’s hybrid microenterprise development career track:
 
EWF trains Native Americans and other individuals in agricultural and horticultural microenterprise development. We have formed several Native American LLCs that will provide interns who complete training in business and marketing that can provide opportunities for multigenerational prosperity for their families. Businesses include Blue Elderberry Farm which is developing an organic locally sourced elderberry syrup and skin product line using the native plant species, Sambucus nigra ssp. Cerulea, commonly called Blue Elderberry. This business is serving as a model to Native growers and producers on how to plan, form and operate their own organic and sustainable farm operation. We are currently selling products at the Salem Farmers Market and Corvallis Farmers Market.
 
EWF also formed the businesses, Native American Habitat Restoration LLC and Native American Plant Nursery LLC and are training a crew that, once trained in habitat restoration and native plant nursery development, will work at a living wage restoring mid-Willamette Valley ecosystems. Training and experiential learning activities are provided at two Native American Plant Nursery sites where the native elderberry farm is also located and at partner sites in the Willamette Valley. We are developing this initiative as a micro-enterprise business. After joining the crew, the interns will develop over three years to administer and run their own LLC as owner-operators.