McNARY EDUCATION CENTER

The building used for education administration since February 1997 was removed. This front area will be leveled and filled as necessary for a driveway between Lake Road and Maple street to allow for buses. The parking lot will accommodate school buses and visitors to the Center. A cement path will be accessible from the parking lot to the bird blind as before.
Nearly one thousand school children are scheduled to attend the special outdoor McNary Education learning activities during the month of May. New school registrations will be accepted for the fall of 2009 and spring 2010.
Volunteers staff the office and the Center so there are some choice opportunities indoors as well as the exciting outdoor science involving plants, insects, mammals, birds, Native Peoples, habitats and wildlands stewardship.
If you would like to partner with Friends for any of these activities, please contact
by email: "McNaryFriends NWRcomplex" <mcnaryedcenter@gmail.com>,
or by phone: 509 546 8350,
or by snail mail: Friends, 311 Lake Road, Burbank, WA 99323.
The office will be staffed Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 am until 1 pm in March and April. Binoculars and bird books are available to aid in discovering the identity of the fliers and swimmers now present on and around the pond. - Naomi Sherer

Growings On Native Plant Garden......Deb Jennings

Prairie Clover fascinates me. Every spring, the vivid magenta flowers with long deep yellow pistils take my breath away. But, there is only one native Prairie Clover plant in the McNary Garden. I think we need a few more.

For the past five years, I’ve collected the seeds and planted them in little pots. None of them ever germinated. I could just cry!

Until this year! Yes, I learned the secrets! First, I have to peel the fuzzy chaff off the seeds and scarify them. Scarify? Do I have to scream “Boo” at them? No, I just have to rub them gently with fine sandpaper to scuff them up a little. Huh. Second, I had to sprinkle them with a little water & sugar to make them sticky. That was easy.

Third, I found out that prairie clover is a legume like lupine, peas and lima beans. So, for successful germination, it was best to inoculate them. Inoculate? Give them shots? No, I had go to the Farmer’s Exchange and buy a packet of inoculate. This packet contains a live bacteria called Rhizobium which fixes the nitrogen in the soil so the roots grow. (I couldn’t find the inoculate in the fall but it became a stock item in January). Anyway, I sprinkled the inoculate over the sticky seeds until the mixture formed a thick little mud puddle. Lastly, I used a toothpick to carefully pick up each seed and bury them about ¼ inch deep in potting soil.

Within a week, the seeds germinated. I called everyone I knew about this glorious event. Some celebrated; some just humored me. In any event, I thought I would share my exciting new found knowledge with you. And, if you give it a whirl and want to celebrate your success, I’ll be there for you in the McNary Garden. --Deb Jennings