Walterville Seed Banking Project
A joint project between Walama Restoration Project, Walterville Middle School, Eugene Water and Electric Board, and The Jackson Family Foundation
The Lower McKenzie Wildflower Prairie Seed Banking Project is an upland prairie restoration endeavor that will be one half acre just off of Camp Creek Road next to Eugene Water and Electric Boards (EWEB) first native plant demonstration garden. The project pulls together three main collaborators: Walama Restoration Project (WRP), Walterville School, and EWEB. There are three main objectives for this project: To establish a biologically diverse prairie ecosystem, to engage local youth in leading the development and implementation of the project, and to support the groundwork in building an ecologically minded rural community.The project, beginning in 2008, focuses on guiding Walterville middle school students through the steps involved in restoring an upland prairie and how that ecosystem type fits into the larger ecological context. Biologically the project will support seed collection from the area in an effort to begin to bring back a native prairie type, the Willamette Valley Prairie, of which only .5% remains. Furthermore, this project will also help build an ecologically minded community by opening up discussion and creating awareness about the health of our ecosystems for the lower McKenzie students, their families, and people that come to this site for recreational fishing.
