Sustainable Plant Workshop
 

Results Summary

October 7, 2004

With a recycled wastewater wetland at its back, a green roof in its backyard, and barley straw fighting back against the algae in its ponds, SPROut (Sustainable Plant Research and Outreach) pushes forward with its agenda to solve environmental problems with plants. The professional community was invited to a Workshop on October 7, 2004 focused around research priorities. Over 130 people, in professions ranging from city planners to environmental consultants and engineers to environmental educators to park/open space managers to wetland and university scientists to nursery growers to innovative entrepreneurs attended the day-long workshop at The Oregon Garden. Government agencies that participated included Natural Resources Conservation Service, Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Dept. of Agriculture, Soil/Water Conservation Districts, US Dept of Agriculture- Agricultural Research Service, and Metro Regional Government.
 

Off to a running start with a welcome by Oregon Garden Board member Rick Gustafson, the Workshop proceeded with a SPROut introduction by Thayne Dutson, Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at OSU. Rene Kane (Oregon State University) and Renee Stoops (SPROut Coordinator) offered a slide show of current research projects in the Pacific Northwest, and Kane presented her Literature Review titled “The Green Fuse”, which covers available information on environmental uses of plants. Mark Madison (CH2M Hill) and Louis Licht (Ecolotree) offered an extensive presentation on phytoremediation capabilities- the abilities of plants to remove contaminants from soil, water, or air. The Keynote Presentation of the morning was by Sarah Spear Cooke, Wetlands Ecologist with 18 years experience. She has taught at the University of Washington and at Portland State University; runs her own company called Cooke Scientific Services; and is the principal author and editor of “A Field Guide to the Common Wetland Plants of Western Washington and Northwestern Oregon”. Her presentation titled “Opportunities for Using Plants to Attain a More Sustainable Environment” inspired many workshop participants to re-examine approaches to the hydrologic aspects of their projects.
 

The afternoon was dedicated to discussion groups focused around five themes: wetlands and wastewater; phytoremediation; urban stormwater management and ecoscaping; native plant restoration and invasive species control; and riparian restoration. Discussions were guided by local experts in these topics, to reach some professional consensus on the prioritization of research needs. Ray William, from the horticulture department at OSU, led a group synthesis at the end of the day, and there were definitely some common priorities that emerged from all the discussion groups.
 

Most groups agreed that we need a better understanding of the plants themselves, their individual characteristics such as their range of function, their hydrology requirements, and invasive tendencies. Economic analysis was also important to most groups- being able to quantify the costs, benefits, and effectiveness of using low-tech solutions with plants over other engineered, mechanical, or chemical solutions. Increasing public awareness with education and demonstration was considered very important by Workshop participants, and The Oregon Garden is well poised to use its site, its visitor base, and its partnerships with academic institutions to fulfill this need. The importance of water found its way into many discussions, and site-specific considerations such as scale, design, management, and survival rates demonstrated a need for specific answers to specific problems.
 

Equally informative, however, were the underlying differences between discussion groups. While the native plant supporters tend to classify plants by geographic distribution, either current /invasive or historic/native, the phytoremediation practitioners prefer to classify plants by function, i.e. which plants are good at removing which contaminants from the soil. And the riparian and wetland scientists often classify plants by their hydrologic requirements- the depth and duration of water that a plant can survive. Some of the discussion groups viewed plants as the final product in/of themselves, such as for genetic diversity or native wildlife habitat. Other groups viewed plants as a tool/means by which to achieve a specific outcome, such as pollution control or maximizing small land-use to achieve clean water. Knowing how to integrate multiple goals with varying impacts was a challenge for everyone. In some cases, there appeared to be a need for more extensive communication routes between growers of plant material and land managers/practitioners. Issues of supply/demand; genetic source stock, invasive potential, and varying care requirements for different forms of nursery propagation were all raised. To begin to address this, SPROut is planning to offer a non-credit course, in partnership with Chemeketa Community College, focused around horticultural skills for environmental restoration project leaders. Look for this course in April, 2005!
 

SPROut has used the results of the workshop discussions to construct an RFP that targets the research priorities identified at this workshop. Small grants will be available from SPROut in time for the 2005 summer season. Given the vibrancy of the Workshop discussions, it was clear that the interest among professionals in using plant-based solutions to address environmental challenges is high.