Updates on Recent Trainings from Native Intern Julie Lomboy

Interns propagating and planting hard cuttings at Elderberry Wisdom Farm, October 2024

This fall through my Habitat Restoration Internship at Elderberry Wisdom Farm, I was given the opportunity to learn how to properly collect hardwood cuttings of Native plant species and then propagate them. We learned here at our two-acre farm and two-acre Native Plant Nursery in the class, and out in the field with some of Elderberry Wisdom Farm partners, and in our Introduction to Horticulture class and lab learning at Chemeketa Community College. The opportunity to practice and implement what I was learning not only in the class but also out in the field helped the information to root. 

The resources and guidance through the Introduction to Horticulture class taught by Joleen Shilling helped make the process and science behind collecting and propagating digestible for someone with no previous experience. In the lab we used common houseplants found throughout the Chemeketa Science Complex. The experiment allowed each student the opportunity to try propagation with and without hormones in a couple different soil mediums on many samples. This was a nice learning exercise to do with my cohort. Her lectures and slides accompanied with the lab sessions allowed me the opportunity to develop a little more efficacy before I went out in the field to harvest some plants for our nonprofit.

My field experiences collecting hard cuttings was exciting. I really enjoyed visiting the Plant Materials Center at USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service in Corvallis. Amy Bartow and Tyler Ross were kind hosts and generous with their time and teachings. It was a privilege to spend time with and learn from them on the beautiful 55-acre lot where they do their conservation work. We were fortunate to get a tour of their property and facilities and learn about a few of the projects they are currently working on along with some of the processes they utilize. We collected hard cuttings of the Physocarpus capitatus, the Pacific Ninebark plus a couple of Salix Willow species that we plan to grow at our own Native Plant Nursery. I enjoyed and felt better collecting cuttings that I knew were more purposeful than just a simple experiment.

I am grateful for the opportunity to learn this valuable skill set, especially in the various settings and with multiple teachers. Learning how to work with the land respectfully and purposefully is rewarding. I have a larger ecological footprint than I would like, so this is one step forward for me to enrich not only the quality of the ecosystems around me, but the quality of the life of all the inhabitants surrounding me.