Nursery manager Harrell keeps Kent in the green

When Jennifer Harrell plants a tree, birds pay attention.

Jennifer Harrell poses in the window of a greenhouse at the city’s nursery

Jennifer Harrell poses in the window of a greenhouse at the city’s nursery

When Jennifer Harrell plants a tree, birds pay attention.

“It’s cool to see a bird nesting in a tree we planted five years ago,” said Harrell, manager of the city of Kent’s Green River Nursery along Russell Road.

Although Harrell’s job title is a city environmental technician for the Public Works Department, what she does is grow and plant flowers, bushes and trees for the city’s 310-acre Green River Natural Resources Area and other city wetlands. Hawks, eagles, blue herons, cedar waxwings and goldfinches are among the birds spotted by Harrell.

Not a bad job for someone who received a first assignment as a city intern at age 17 to draw a map of where to place garbage cans in downtown Kent.

Harrell, 29, who started as an intern in 1997, has become the city’s queen of plants. The city plants as many as 15,000 plants per year and all of the plants come from the nursery where Harrell has worked for the last 10 years.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Harrell said Tuesday at the city nursery. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

With the outdoors as her office, Harrell’s job duties change with the seasons. She spends most of her time in the Green River Natural Resources Area that sits west of 64th Avenue South between South 228th Street and South 212th Street. The area includes storm water ponds, wetlands, a wildlife refuge, a public walking trail and three observation towers.

In the summer, Harrell makes sure everything stays watered in the natural resources area. She also goes to parks to collect seeds and berries to prepare for growing at the nursery. She cleans the seeds and puts them in an envelop for storage in a refrigerator. She puts the seeds in pots in October.

Harrell plants in the fall and winter. She has planted more than 40 types of bushes and trees in the natural resources area.

“I don’t think that place would be what it is without her running it,” said Joe Codiga, a city street-vegetation lead worker who has known Harrell for 10 years.

Harrell once planted 700 plants in a day. Five others on the work crew planted a total of 500 that day.

“She plants faster than anybody else,” Codiga said. “She runs circles around me.”

When asked about her speedy planting skills of 700 plants in one day, Harrell remained modest.

“They were small ones,” she said.

Besides learning planting skills on the job, Harrell earned a two-year degree in landscape horticulture from South Seattle Community College. She would work at the nursery during the day and go to school at night.

“It took me five years to get a two-year degree,” Harrell said.

In the spring, Harrell helps run the city’s annual Youth Tree Education Program. Harrell and other city employees go out to 23 Kent elementary schools and now have more than 2,000 students each year learn how to plant a bush or tree.

The interest in plants started for Harrell in a landscaping class at Kentridge High School. Harrell ran the floral shop that provided 75 bud vases each Monday morning for the Kent School District. She thought about becoming a florist. Then her high-school landscaping teacher encouraged her to take an internship with the city during her senior year.

Harrell graduated from Kentridge in 1997 and one year later helped start the city’s new nursery at the Green River Natural Resources Area. She has worked on a master plan for planting the resources area that is expected to be completed next year.

Outside of work, Harrell is married and has a 6-month-old son. She met her husband, Mike Harrell, when he worked for the city’s Public Works Department. Mike now stays at home with their son.

Harrell enjoys fishing, camping and gardening at her Lake Tapps home, where she grows fruits and vegetables.

Last year, Harrell became certified as an arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture. An arborist can assess trees to determine the health, structure and safety of the tree. She said the city gets numerous calls about trees in the wetlands.

“You need to have a good knowledge base about whether or not a tree can be saved,” Harrell said. “I like to try to keep all trees.”


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

File photo
Man sentenced in Federal Way rock throwing death

Judi Kilma retrieved a fist-sized rock after a man punctured one of the tires on Kilma’s bicycle.

t
Kent Police Blotter: March 11-25

Incidents include commercial burglary, DUI arrest

Flowers for slain trooper Chris Gadd begin to collect outside Washington State Patrol District 7 Headquarters on Saturday, March 2 in Marysville. (Ryan Berry / Sound Publishing)
Lynnwood man pleads not guilty in crash that killed WSP trooper

Raul Benitez Santana arraigned Tuesday on vehicular homicide charge in Trooper Chris Gadd’s death.

Captain Ron Mead and Corporal Alexis Robinson embrace during a memorial for Washington State Patrol trooper Chris Gadd on Tuesday, March 12 at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / Sound Publishing)
Man was reportedly driving 112 mph before crashing into Trooper Gadd

Charging documents reveal details of March 2 crash that killed Kentlake High graduate

t
Kent apartment shooting injures man, woman on East Hill

Incident began Sunday, March 24 as domestic dispute; woman’s brother gets involved and shots are fired

Chase Wilcoxson, father to Matilda, 13, and Eloise,12, places a family photo at the roadside memorial dedicated to his daughters, Buster Brown, 12, and Andrea Hudson, 38. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing.
Families forgive Kent suspect involved in fatal crash near Renton

High-speed collision March 19 killed four; families of victims call to make the roads safer

t
Kent mayor plans to keep fighting for sales tax to hire more police

State of the City address also touches on new restaurants, roundabouts and walking paths

t
Crews to begin work on $13.8 million final phase of 76th Avenue upgrade

Street to be raised above Mill Creek floodplain, paved with concrete; bridges to replace culverts

t
Smoke alarms help Kent family of five escape house fire

Firefighters rescue one male from roof in March 19 fire on East Hill

File photo
Victims identified in ‘mass casualty’ collision that killed four near Renton | Update

Detectives say the collision was caused by an 18-year-old driver.

t
Semi-truck rollover blocks Green River Bridge in Auburn

Traffic had to be diverted from State Route 18; heavy impact on Kent streets

t
Seattle church’s donation to cover asylum seekers bill at Kent hotel

Group to remain at Kent Quality Inn for two more weeks