Nonprofit nursery digs in for the dogs

Keni Cyr-Rumble propels herself down the steps of an old but sturdy barn, cell phone snug in the back pocket of faded jeans, a clutch of keys clipped to a belt loop. She can hardly wait to start talking. This is our sales area, she says, stopping momentarily on the thick gravel in front of the barn. Raised wooden beds hold an assortment of donated plants, all awaiting the next customers to Recycled Gardens, a nonprofit nursery run by Cyr-Rumble and a pack of volunteers.

That's where the pond will go, she continues. And the display gardens. Already the group has torn down and reassembled a donated greenhouse, cleaned out and spiffed up the barn, and laid a brick patio with materials scavenged from a construction site.

All this was accomplished in less than a year, after it became obvious that the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon plant sale had burst its seams and Cyr-Rumble started casting about for another way to raise money for spaying and neutering cats and dogs.

For five years the coalition had paired its plant sale with the annual Eastmoreland garage sale until the grand finale in June 2000, when the group raised $8,400 in a weekend and decided to break out on its own. "It was exhausting collecting plants, fostering them, setting up. It was way too much work for a two-day sale," says Cyr-Rumble, the sale's chairwoman for two years. Too much work, but a good payoff. There had to be another way.

It came to Cyr-Rumble as she planted leftover dahlias on a piece of land provided by Delores Gregory, an avid supporter of animal charities. "I was mouthing off as usual," recalls Cyr-Rumble. "I said it would be great to have a nursery, and Delores said, 'Use my barn.' " That's all it took.

On July 1, Recycled Gardens opened. Headed by Cyr-Rumble, the all-volunteer nursery collects donated plants -- mostly from private donors, some from construction sites and nurseries -- resells them and uses the proceeds to get dogs and cats spayed or neutered. The group, incorporated under the name Pet Over-Population Prevention Advocates or POPPA, works with no-kill pet shelters and agencies, such as the Columbia Humane Society, Animal Aid, Pet Adoptions West Side and Cat Adoption Teams, to distribute vouchers good at participating veterinary clinics.

Steve Budnick, a volunteer who rarely misses a weekend at Recycled Gardens, says the effort is a great way to help solve the pet overpopulation problem. "Animal charities don't get as much as other charities because (animals) can't speak for themselves," Cyr-Rumble says. "They're voiceless." So she, Budnick and other volunteers speak for them.

In the process, customers of Recycled Gardens get great deals: Most 4-inch potted plants go for $1.50, and gallon-size plants for $3.50. Of course, selection depends on donations, but even in midwinter the inventory ran from ornamental grasses, ground covers, ferns, perennials and trees to tons of irises and calla lilies. "We aren't picky about plants," Cyr-Rumble says. "We accept pretty much everything and will dig for people who can't dig. And we take lots of other things, too -- rocks, bricks, steppingstones, tools."

This group believes in recycling. Gregory allows volunteers to glean fallen hazelnuts from the surrounding orchard, which they bag and sell. Compost, too, is bagged and sold. But perhaps most telling of their dedication is the bat guano gathered from the barn and priced at $2 a bag. It even comes with instructions on how to use it. The bats that provide the guano nest in the barn, where baby bats often fall from the rafters in summer. Too much an animal lover to let the babies die, Cyr-Rumble keeps an extension ladder raised to the rafters so she can scoop them up and reunite them with their mothers. "They're so cute. When you pick them up, they try to be fierce and hiss at you. It just makes me laugh."

Not the type to be idle, Cyr-Rumble has all sorts of plans for Recycled Gardens. Once the barn is up to code, there will be a gift shop and a room for classes on gardening, pet behavior and crafts. In the meantime, there are display gardens to plant, a pond to build and donations to gather. A volunteer's work is never done. Kym Pokorny can be reached at 503-221-8205 or by e-mail at [email protected].