The Boys and Girls Club’s Carroll C. Kendall Unit in Sequim recently received recognition from the National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Wildlife Habitat for its new native garden.

The native garden replaces a strip of grass between raised beds and the street at the club. The variety of shrubs, flowering perennials, and ground covers planted last there November were chosen by the youth in the Boys and Girls Club Garden Club.

Native plants have evolved under local growing conditions and have acclimated themselves to Pacific Northwest soil, water and light conditions, local Master Gardeners note. They have a long relationship with native soil organisms, insects and companion plants in their environment. They not only provide good habitat for birds and pollinators, but also are low maintenance and water-wise.

The local Boys and Girls Club has partnered with Clallam County Master Gardeners since 2014 to provide youth with hands-on experience planting, cultivating, and harvesting vegetables and berries. The garden started with a 40-foot-by-50-foot plot which has been replaced with eight raised beds for peas, lettuce, radishes, corn and carrots and three raised mounds that produce strawberries, pumpkins and squashes.

Program participants take home produce that they have grown.

“We are thrilled to have the longstanding relationship with Master Gardeners and their subject matter expertise to lead a vibrant Healthy Lifestyle program at the club,”said Mary Budke, CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula.

“Our members learn gardening, biology, and sustainable practices. They engage in lessons on photosynthesis, plant life-cycles, ecosystems, and health benefits of fresh produce. They become environmental stewards by composting and recycling organic waste, creating pollinator gardens, and learning about pollinators’ roles in the ecosystem. Adding the native garden is just one more layer to the thriving program.”