4-H Students plant “Garden of the Future”

Lincoln County’s 4-H Self Reliance Club starts a 7,500-square-foot garden in Toledo this spring, using the latest gardening techniques to develop a local, organic, sustainable food source. High school students from across Lincoln County are invited to join the 4-H Club and take part in this exciting project, known as the Organic Sustainable Food Source Project.

According to OSU, the main goal of the Self Reliance 4-H Club is to teach youth the financial, horticultural and organic gardening practices needed to operate a sustainable garden. Through the Toledo garden, in the former community garden near the Toledo Skate Park, youth will be introduced to the EarthBarrels and EarthBeds self-wicking gardening systems, and a compost hot water system and subterranean heating and cooling system. They will learn to grow food with and without soil, manage a greenhouse and program its computer controls as well as learn how the Garden of the Future could make them money.

The Organic Sustainable Food Source Project also employs aquaponics, a closed system that uses fish waste to provide an organic food source for plants. The plants in turn act as a filter to clean water for the fish.

The Organic Sustainable Food Source Project is being funded in part by a grant from the Oregon State University Youth Advocates for Health (YA4-H!) program. YA4-H has launched the Producing for the Future Project to support local organizations in creating youth-developed community gardens in partnership with supportive adults in limited resource communities. Not only are organic gardening practices a focus but also developing and implementing a micro-enterprise venture to market the produce grown.

Lincoln County high school students and adult volunteers interested in being part of the project are encouraged to join the 4-H Self Reliance Club. No experience is required and all different levels of participation are possible. More-detailed PowerPoint and video presentations are also available for groups or organizations interested in becoming involved. For information, call 541-765-2109 or send an email.

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High Surf Advisory Issued

Powerful surf will affect the Pacific Northwest coastline tonight and Saturday, thanks to large swells out of the Gulf of Alaska. The National Weather Service said seas will begin rising Friday night as a strong cold front moves through with steep wind-driven seas behind it.

.. HIGH SURF ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM PST SATURDAY FOR THE SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTH AND CENTRAL OREGON COASTLINE…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PORTLAND HAS ISSUED A HIGH SURF ADVISORY… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM PST SATURDAY.

* TIMING: TONIGHT AND SATURDAY.

* SEAS: POWERFUL WEST TO NORTHWEST SWELL OF 20 TO 25 FEET WITH A PERIOD OF 15 TO 16 SECONDS.

* SURF: THE SURF ZONE WILL BE EXTREMELY CHAOTIC AND ROUGH. ANYONE NEAR THE SURF ZONE WILL BE PRONE TO BEING SWEPT AWAY BY ERRATIC AND UNPREDICTABLE SNEAKER WAVES THAT CAN BE MUCH LARGER THAN THE GENERAL SEAS.

* IMPACTS: THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BE ON THE BEACH OR ROCKS ANYWHERE NEAR THE SURF ZONE. DOING SO WILL BE TAKING YOUR LIFE INTO YOUR OWN HANDS. IF YOU WISH TO OBSERVE THE SURF… DO SO FROM A SAFE DISTANCE SEVERAL HUNDRED FEET FROM THE SURF ZONE. DEBRIS SUCH AS LOGS IN THE SURF ZONE CAN BE ROLLED AND EVEN TOSSED ONSHORE WITHOUT WARNING. UNPREDICTABLE SNEAKER WAVES AND RIP CURRENTS CAN EASILY CATCH BEACHGOERS OFF GUARD AND SWEEP THEM AWAY INTO THE COLD PACIFIC WATERS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A HIGH SURF ADVISORY MEANS THAT HIGH SURF WILL AFFECT BEACHES IN THE ADVISORY AREA… PRODUCING RIP CURRENTS AND LOCALIZED BEACH EROSION.