Compost Casa

05/30/2026

One of the rotations at the 2026 Watershed Field Day was with Mr. Waite from Ione High School, where students learned about macroinvertebrates—the tiny creatures living beneath rocks and in streambeds.

These bugs are more than just bugs. They tell the story of a watershed. By studying them, students learned how these tiny creatures can reveal the health of a stream and the quality of the water flowing through it.

Hands-on experiences like these help students connect science to the real world and understand why healthy watersheds matter.

Big shout out to Tillamook County Creamery Association for helping support food and shade for the event, Wildhorse Foundation for the picnic tables and our presenters Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife OSU Extension, Morrow County Morrow County Soil & Water Conservation District, Ione School Districtand Neiffer Triangle 4 Ranch

05/19/2026

Prepping for 2026 Watershed Field Day!
Shade canopies are going up, stations are getting ready, taco bar in the works, cookies are ordered! We'll be spending the day outside learning about soil, water, intervertebrates, navigation and the land around them.
Big shout out to Tillamook County Creamery Association for helping support food and shade for the event, Wildhorse Foundation for the picnic tables and our presenters Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, OSU Extension, Morrow County, Morrow County Soil & Water Conservation District, Ione School District and Neiffer Triangle 4 Ranch

05/15/2026

We’re getting ready for next week’s 2026 Watershed Field Day in Lexington, Oregon!
Fifth graders from Ione and Heppner will spend the day outside learning about watersheds, soil, aquatic insects, plants, wildlife, navigation, and the connection between land and water through hands-on activities and field stations.
Big thanks to the presenters, volunteers, schools, and community partners helping bring real outdoor education experiences to local students!

03/19/2026

Thanks to support from the Wildhorse Foundation, Compost Casa is expanding how students learn:
➝ Paper becomes carbon
➝ Carbon feeds compost
➝ Compost builds soil
➝ Soil feeds farms
THANK YOU East Oregonian for sharing our story!

LEXINGTON — Compost Casa near Lexington received a $9,500 grant from the Wildhorse Foundation to expand its hands-on compost and soil health education programs for local schools and students. Compost […]

02/18/2026

We are incredibly grateful to the Wildhorse Foundation for supporting Compost Casa with a grant to expand our hands-on compost and soil education programs.
This funding will help us add a commercial shredder to process organic materials for our demonstration compost systems — turning waste into soil while students learn real-world environmental solutions.
We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Ione School District to bring more experiential learning opportunities to local students.

Thank you, Wildhorse Foundation, for investing in rural education and community impact.

We're thrilled to announce the Wildhorse Foundation's Q4 grant awards! 👏

A total of $353,606 has been awarded this quarter across 25 organizations driving transformative change 🎉 We're honored to stand by these partners and advance these initiatives—from essential public safety enhancements to salmon habitat restoration.

10/03/2025

Join us this Saturday at Neiffer Triangle 4 Ranch to learn about how to start a compost bin & how to plant a micro-orchard using composted hog manure!

09/07/2025

We're excited to be a part of the 2025 Farm Crawl! Mark your calendars for October 4 from 10-4!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 4 for the 2025 South Morrow County Farm Crawl !We can't wait to see you! Compost Casa Black Acre Farm Seed & Trowel Tin Willows Sheep Dairy & Ranch

07/30/2025

Yesterday, Amazon.com recognized Compost Casa for our Watershed Field Day project— and we couldn’t be more honored. Huge thanks to Amazon for their support and to everyone who made the Eastern Oregon Community Fund Celebration such a meaningful event.

06/02/2025

Watershed Field Day 2025 🌿
We were proud to host this unforgettable outdoor learning event at Neiffer Ranch through our nonprofit, Compost Casa!

Ione’s 5th & 6th graders joined Heppner’s 5th grade for a day packed with hands-on science, nature exploration, and ranch life. Students identified macroinvertebrates in the creek with Dieter Waite and rotated through six interactive stations:
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife – pelts & bones
OSU Extension – soils with Larry Lutcher
Umatilla NRCS – willow planting with Kyle Waggoner
Duane Neiffer – compass navigation
Jake Neiffer – plant ID and a hike up the hill

We’re grateful to our high school volunteers who kept things running smoothly and to our local food heroes – Orem Beef & Neiffer Triangle 4 Ranch – for donating pasture-raised pork, beef, and chicken. Cookies were provided by Hinton Creek Bakery(Heppner), and Lexington's Seed & Trowel brought fresh-cut flowers to brighten the day.

Special thanks to our generous sponsors:
Amazon Web Services – for the awesome T-shirts
Tillamook County Creamery Association (via the Tillamook Foundation) – for supporting lunch
Costco – for keeping us cool with cold drinks
Wildhorse Foundation -for the picnic tables

And a big shout-out to Kevin Payne at NRCS Heppner for helping coordinate presenters and supporting this hands-on day of learning.
This is what real outdoor education looks like — community-powered and hands-on.

05/18/2025

Ione Community 4H Club headed over to learn about processing poultry.