Soil Reclamation on Vashon Island

The Institute for Environmental Research and Education (IERE) is instigating a soil reclamation experiment on Vashon Island. An old copper smelter smoke stack from across the Puget Sound in Tacoma poured arsenic, lead, cadmium and other heavy metals into the air that drifted over to Vashon Island. As a result, islanders need to test their soil before growing vegetable gardens or even allowing children to play in the dirt. On an experimental site on our island, IERE is planning to grow species of plants that have been tested and found to be useful in leeching cadmium and other metals out of the soil. One of the best plants for this purpose is foxglove. The foxglove in NW Washington grow from three to eight feet tall and take two years to complete their life cycle. The flowers stalks are covered in deep bells ranging from white to pink to deep purple. Raised beds were constructed to hold varieties of foxglove to test which type of foxglove works the best for these purposes.

IERE called on Allison to help them kick off their project with a "Community Celebration - Educational Workparty". They asked "would you tell the story that will make a pretty dry (but important) topic interesting and memorable?"

I found a nugget of the story I developed in Candace Miller's "Tales From the Plant Kingdom" about a woman who befriends the hobgoblins by growing goblin gloves (foxgloves) and in turn, how these hobgoblins help her. The IERE staff explained that when they had a Shaman come out to bless the land at the beginning of their project, they were told to have this celebration to wake up or revive the local nature spirits who felt neglected and overlooked… an interesting expansion on who my audience would be! After the story was shared, IERE staff members said "this was the perfect way for our work to begin! "


Soil Reclamation Project on Vashon Island
The Institute for Environmental Research and Education (IERE) is instigating a soil reclamation experiment on Vashon Island. An old copper smelter smoke stack from across the Puget Sound in Tacoma poured arsenic, lead, cadmium and other heavy metals into the air that drifted over to Vashon Island. As a result, islanders need to test their soil before growing vegetable gardens or even allowing children to play in the dirt. On an experimental site on our island, IERE is planning to grow species of plants that have been tested and found to be useful in leeching cadmium and other metals out of the soil. One of the best plants for this purpose is foxglove. The foxglove in NW Washington grow from three to eight feet tall and take two years to complete their life cycle. The flowers stalks are covered in deep bells ranging from white to pink to deep purple. Raised beds were constructed to hold varieties of foxglove to test which type of foxglove works the best for these purposes. IERE called on Allison to help them kick off their project with a "Community Celebration - Educational Workparty". They asked "would you tell the story that will make a pretty dry (but important) topic interesting and memorable?" I found a nugget of the story I developed in Candace Miller's "Tales From the Plant Kingdom" about a woman who befriends the hobgoblins by growing goblin gloves (foxgloves) and in turn, how these hobgoblins help her. The IERE staff explained that when they had a Shaman come out to bless the land at the beginning of their project, they were told to have this celebration to wake up or revive the local nature spirits who felt neglected and overlooked… an interesting expansion on who my audience would be! After the story was shared, IERE staff members said "this was the perfect way for our work to begin! " For more information on IERE, go to: www.iere.org/vashon-metals.html Return to Environmental Storytelling Read about Watershed Tales in the salmon tent Learn about Foxglove Folklore Read Allison's "Goblin's Gloves"
Allison Cox • (206) 463-3844 • 25714 Wax Orchard Rd • Vashon, WA • 98070 • Email Allison
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