New Indigenous-focused horticulturist brings traditional ecological knowledge to light

As Washington State University's new Indigenous-focused horticulturist, Jeffrey Wall has begun exploring how traditional practices from the state's first peoples can help nourish societies and repair the environment.

Part of the Department of Horticulture, Wall moved to Washington to begin his work at the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center on Jan. 1. Studying the connections between plants, cultures, and ecology, his research supports Native, rural, and urban communities, farmers, and nature.

"There's a profound amount of knowledge, practice - even art - that comes from our ancestry, and it has a lot to tell us about how to care for the environment," Wall said.

Wall, who is not Indigenous, said his mind was broadened while working with First Nations members in Canada as a postdoctoral researcher for the University of Guelph. Over four years, he served and studied Indigenous-led conservation and cultural continuity efforts in the Mi'kma'ki/Cape Breton community as well as Canada's Northwest Territories.

The scientist credits his undergraduate anthropology teacher at the College of Charleston, John Rashford, for teaching him about the fundamental link between plants and culture.

"I became convinced that these two really should be seen as part of the same big picture," Wall said. "Especially if you want to make an impact for the good of our environment."

I'm focused on protecting habitats for plants as well as the animals - birds, mammals, and aquatic life - that belong in these places.

Trained in environmental and natural resource science as well as anthropology, Wall comes to WSU from the University of Turku in Finland, where he led ongoing research on the culture and off-farm migration of olive growing communities in Turkey and Morocco. Prior projects put Wall in contact with traditional farming and foraging communities in the Caucasus, the Mediterranean Basin, and Uzbekistan.

Horticulturists typically focus on a single aspect of plant science. Wall's approach is different.

"I'm focused on protecting habitats for plants as well as the animals - birds, mammals, and aquatic life - that belong in these places," he said.

Now interested in historic coastal and inland Indigenous cultural ecosystems defined by legacy plant communities, human caretaking, and the archaeological record, Wall's goal is to find Indigenous-led initiatives involving plants, food crops, and the environment. He is exploring collaborations with the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, the Squaxin Island Tribal Garden, Kwiáht, a nonprofit conservation biology laboratory, and other partners.

"I am in listening and learning mode, but actively plugging into ongoing initiatives with native crabapple, camas cultivation, and aquaculture led by Tribal members," he said.

Wall wants to draw attention to traditional landscapes that were well established at the time of European contact, such as camas meadows, estuarine root gardens, and clam gardens, and share what he learns with fellow scientists, students and the broader public.

Pacific crabapple, for example, interests him as a useful indicator of longstanding Indigenous settlement and an important traditional food source.

With camas, cultivated for over 3,500 years, Wall wants to learn more about traits like taste, size, growth habits, and fire tolerance.

"I've been surprised at how rich this inquiry is, in terms of how many traits are proving important for those who know and care about camas," he said.

Wall credits the university for the vision to create a role that looks at plants' value from an angle that's rarely represented in the field.

"When it comes to supporting the health of the environment around us, there's a lot we're not drawing on in terms of traditional knowledge," he said. "I'm working to open channels for broader discussion."