Excitement was in the air at the Linn County Small Woodlands Association’s 27th Annual Seedling Sale, held Saturday, Feb. 5at the Linn County Expo Center. Customers were eager to pick up their pre-ordered seedlings and get busy planting, while others shopped the same-day sale or toured the Local Woods Fair held in conjunction with the seedling sale.
Although masks were still prevalent, there was a hint of returning to normal soon as people rekindled connections gone dormant with COVID restrictions the past two years.
More than $10,000 profit was generated from 215 pre-order sales and 80 same-day sales which has prompted a potential increase of future college scholarships and 4-H awards given to Linn County students. Last year, Linn County Small Woodlands Association distributed $6,600 between college scholarships and 4-H awards.
Fay Sallee of 4-H worked her magic as she rounded up and coordinated the 40-plus volunteers who gathered and wrapped nearly 12,000 seedlings into 1,341 bundles for 215 pre-orders on Friday. Saturday’s sale utilized 35 volunteers, which included Linn County Small Woodlands members and associates and local 4-H youth and their parents, to keep the event running smoothly.
Many of these volunteers return year after year, delighted to participate in this community event which supplies conifer seedlings, protector tubes/sticks, and a wide variety of native plants for planting throughout the Willamette Valley.
As we move forward, we are looking to incorporate online sales and payments for the 2023 seedling sale. A committee is being formed to help make that happen and to divide up the different components and workload involved in consistently producing a successful seedling sale. If you are interested in joining the Seedling Sale Committee, please contact Bonnie Marshall at bonnieym@wvi.com or (503)769-6510.
For additional Seedling Sale highlights and pictures, check out our website at linncountyswa.org.
