Invitation to Volunteers

By Dawn Lowe

(Mohawk, Cherokee, Apache, Hawaiian, Blackfoot)

TEK Educator/Mentor

Hello friends, summer is full steam ahead and our team at the Native American nonprofit Elderberry Wisdom Farm is about to launch our summer internship. Eight gifted interns are joining us to learn about TEK and native plant nursery development from our team and alongside partners during service learning in several habitat restoration and urban forestry projects.

What this has to do with volunteering is that, despite having eight interns and our team of four staff, there is still lots to do. If you would like to work with us and learn about some of the plant species native to the Willamette Valley or help remove some of those pesky invasive species, we welcome you

to join us. 

Our small but mighty organization, now in its sixth year, has big dreams and goals. We have a beautiful Blue Elderberry orchard, Three Sisters Garden, and a dozen vegetable beds for food we are gifting to Native Elders here in the valley. Plus we are now cultivating 1500 native trees and shrubs for partners.

As a volunteer, you are welcome to join us on Thursdays alongside our interns from 9:00 am to noon, or on the third Saturday each month. This summer, that is July 19 and August 16. If you can wear cool, suitable clothing, a hat for shade and closed-toe shoes, that will help to make you more comfortable. We have garden gloves and great well water to fill your drinking container with.

Sometimes in the morning, the deer roam through here. One young buck, with his new soft, fuzzy antlers, likes to stop under the apple tree and munch on the lower apples and then move on to the elderberry shoots, the tomatoes and other vegetables. The neighbor’s sweet Calico barn cat comes by and chases mice. She likes to supervise the goings-on —all part of life here.

If this sounds appealing to you, please get in touch with Dawn at raven@elderberrywisdom.org. I’ll be updating volunteers in a monthly article in our newsletter so you can watch out for it.  I hope you have signed up for the newsletter at our home page. We look forward to hearing from you.