Another Allstar, All awesome, day!

Today we were at our newly established Allstar fitness site. If you recall a few weeks ago we started our project with a group from University Prep. They cleared a lot of area for us to go in today and start... just guess...

PLANTING!!!

We had a group of teens from the city with John Leers come out and do bare root plantings. Meanwhile, the propagation group did a quality control sweep of the invasives. We planted 161 assorted bare root native species and removed 300 sq.ft. of Himalayan blackberry and Scotch broom.

Planting planting planting!

Today Amanda came out and planted for four hours. This planting season we have what seems to be a never ending source of plants and they keep coming and coming. Just this last week we received over 3,000 plants/trees!! So we need all the extra help, no matter how miniscule, we can get. Amanda, Alyssa, and Tux (her dog) planted 33 bare root Indian plum.

If this sounds like something you would enjoy doing, please contact Amy or Alyssa at volunteer@naturec.org

We have started hosting mass work parties which have us working practically seven days a week! Today we focused on spreading new mulch rings as well as thickening up existing mulch rings. This process will help to protect the plants'

resources from invasives and also will hold moisture in for the plant. We also worked on some cosmetic things by the gate. We put mulch around the job box, in front of the toilet, and by the entrance. We spread 300 sq.ft. of mulch and applied 270 mulch rings.

Cooper

Today was a good sized group and the weather turned out for the better. The picture to the right shows one of our volunteers engaging in removing Scotch broom with weed wrenches. We use these wrenches quite a bit when dealing with Scotch broom, because they are best for tough jobs. The wrench has a vice-like head at the bottom which holds the base of the plant. As you push down on the handle, it rips the plant out of the ground, root and all. We removed 1575 sq.ft. of Scotch broom and continued onto planting.






We were joined by musicians Marc Smason and Ben Yarges who played a brass ensemble and the shakuhachi (Japanese flute). By the end of the work party, 316 native understory/trees went into the ground: 41 salal, 19 bare root vine maple, 20 bare root Gary oak, 62 bare root red flowering currant, 54 bare root nutka rose, 18 oregon ash, 39 bare root tall Oregon grape, 27 vine maple, and 36 Doug fir.

John Hay Elementary

Today we met with Joy Burke's 4th and 5th grade class from John Hay. We began the day with a review of what invasive species are and by discussing what a plant needs to survive. We then moved on to replant the seeds that didn't survive over winter break. We planted Oregon Grape and Dogwood. Once we finished planting, we talked about the water cycle as well as how a plant grows. Overall it was a great day and we are looking forward to seeing the class in the greenbelt soon.

Overcast, but not OVER

We had a Cooper school work party today. We started out with some initial invasive removal. We cleared a total area of 1,771 sq.ft. of Scotch broom (see before & after pictures below) and blackberry, and all of the debris was hauled to the school driveway. The other half of the day was devoted to planting. We put 55 Doug fir, 14 Hazelnut, 32 Tall Oregon grape, and 27 Salal in the ground by the end of the day, plus 100 mulch rings.

Before (see area behind Buphalo) ................................................................and After (big area cleared!)

Hustlin' bustlin' interns

Today the work party focused on erosion, fabricating, and live staking. Erosion is the removal of solids from a natural environment via weather. For example, when it rains on a slope, the water turns the dirt into mud. Then, as a result of gravity, everything on the slope gets pulled down the hill. This is where fabricating comes in. By laying down our 900 gram jute fabric, using eco-stakes to keep it in place, we can control erosion and keep all the organic solids on the hill.



Along with that, we did some live staking on the slope. Staking in Pacific Nine Bark will help with erosion as well. Over time, as the stakes take to the soil and start growing, the roots will hold the soil in place. After completing that phase, we hiked up the trail to a space by a wetland. Here we conducted an experiment with some more live stakes. The soil in the area by the wetland was very soft with cement underneath. When doing live staking, you should have 80% of the branch in the ground. We stuck them in sideways sticking out almost parallel with the ground.



In keeping with the idea of reusing materials, we used the scraps from trimming our live stakes and instead of putting them in the ground, we mimicked live staking and covered them with decomposed mulch from the trail. Then, of course, we replaced that with fresh mulch. We also re-established barricades made 1.5 years ago to a trail that goes off into a marshy wetland. We want to keep people out because that area has high ecological value.

Allstar.. All awesome!

Today we started on the last leg of the restoration of the Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail. We were joined on our first day by a fleet of 7th graders from University Prep. Our work was cut out for us: the piece of property we worked on was abundant in large untamed Himalayan blackberry and fields of Scott's Broom. It was a mess but we did not tire...

By the end of the day we removed invasives from 7000 sq.ft., hauled away a quarter cu.yd. of garbage. After our school group departed, our other volunteers pressed on, removing another 600 sq.ft. of Scotch broom and Himalayan blackberry, coming to a total of 1,100 sq.ft. for the day. About 300 sq.ft. of that was spent digging up blackberry root balls on the slope you see in the pictures above. For a first day at the new site, we got a lot of work done!

1/31/09

Today was a beautiful day.

We began the day by removing invasive Himalayan blackberry and we removed a total of 6414 sq ft of blackberry. We also removed Evergreen blackberry farther up the hill. While we were working we listened to Amy Denio on the clarinet. Once we finished maintaining an area we were able to plant in it. We planted a total of 116 plants including 7 Vine maple, 18 Red elderberry, 2 Oregon grape, 43 Hazelnut, 13 Lady fern, 12 Salal, 2 Doug fir, and 19 Hemlock.

Bare Roots

We had a pretty good sized group for planting today. The red flags in the picture were placed to indicate where to plant the bare root conifers. To plant these trees, we use a tool called a dibble to make the hole. Holes dug for bare root Indian plum, which we also planted today, only require a shovel. At the end of the day, we put 219 native plants in the ground: 109 bare root Indian plum, 98 bare root cedars, and 12 low Oregon grape.