Images of Permaculture in Washington County

According to the Washington County Farm Bureau, our county is home to some of Oregon's most precious and productive farmland - a result of the nutrient-rich soil and crop-friendly climate in this area. Add to that the fact that this rich land is located right next to the largest urban center in the state, and the potential for providing a large block of Oregon's population with local, sustainable food becomes obvious. Of course, all is not perfect in Washington County's current farmland arrangement: we need more of these local foods to be produced without petroleum-intensive fertilizers and pesticides, and for giant monocrops dedicated to growing ornamental lawn grass to be replaced with land dedicated to actual food production. However, an often-overlooked facet to our region's struggle for sustainability is the need to preserve what farmland is left as a safeguard that will ensure our area's ability to feed itself for decades to come.

There are several important models of sustainable food production in Washington County already. However, the one I'm most familiar with is the Pacific University B. St Permaculture Project, located a twenty-minute walk from the Pacific campus in Forest Grove. The constantly-evolving Project, certified as organic by Oregon Tilth, produces vegetables without synthetic fertilizers, and uses only natural methods of pest control. To prevent weeds from encroaching into B. St's vegetable beds, we farm workers have dug shallow ditches along the edges of some beds, providing a simple barrier to the underground roots of grasses attempting invade. Meanwhile, vegetable beds are readied for planting in spring with a "chicken tractor" - a portable device containing several chickens, who do a great job preparing the soil by devouring weeds, scratching through the dirt, and fertilizing it chicken droppings.

Below are a few images of B. St in late winter. I know that for me, an hour of weeding thistles at the Permaculture Project, smelling damp earth and listening to the Canada geese and occasional group of tundra swans fly overhead, always serves to restore my belief that humans and nature can co-exist peacefully. Let's preserve Washington County's farmland to provide food for people in a way that complements natural landscapes and preserves ecosystems for the future.