WCC - Week 2 and 3

October has just flown by!

Week 2 - Our first (not quite) full week

Due to Columbus Day, we only worked 3 days for the week. Team Sockeye was assigned to prepare a portion of the Green River levee that was designated as a high risk area.


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As you can see, the river doubles back, creating a pocket where the land is surrounded by water on three sides. On top of numerous industrial holding sites, condos and trailer parks are also at risk if flooding occurs.

Our primary focus was the removal of English Ivy (Hedera helix) and other weeds from the back side of the levee to create a path for inspection when the river levels rise. Ivy removal was exhausting. Utilizing hedge trimmers and various hand tools, we worked in teams to create rolls of ivy that were later transported to a pathway granting access to the Green River Trail. Our method of transportation was: dragging rolls of ivy on tarps!

Levee with additional sandbags

Fearless leader, Kris, fills gas tanks for hedge trimmers.

Lunch time in the sun

Snow Flake!

Many photos have been taken with the crew camera and I have not had the opportunity to obtain those photos just yet!

Week 3 - NMOT, Newaukum Creek, AmeriCorp Kickoff

NMOT - New Member Orientation and Training

Day 1
Our first day of NMOT was a CPR and First Aid course hosted by Aerie Backcountry Medicine. Every member of the crew is now CPR and First Aid certified!

Kyle performing chest compressions on a mannequin

Marching Band???

Wound created by a wolverine!

Car on FIRE! - Caught this image on our way back from NMOT.

Day 2
Our second day of NMOT included: Civic service introduction, payroll stuff, Salmon 101, Sexual Harassment Awareness/Prevention, and a run through of what to expect in our year of service with the WCC.

Our training opportunities include:

1. Wildland Firefighters
2. Wildland Pumps and Saws
3. Low Impact Development and Sustainability
4. GPS and GIS
5. Backcountry Basics
6. Ethnobotany
7. Assessments of Rivers and Wetlands
8. Hazwoper
9. Safety Ropes
10. Rigging Applications
11. Woodworking
12. Grant Writing
13. Wilderness First Responder
14. Wilderness Advanced First Aid

I am likely going to enroll in the Assessments of Rivers and Wetlands and Grant Writing. I believe that they will be the most useful for my future career. The ones that come with certifications would be awesome but I don't see myself using them.

Crew Trucks - For Days

Lovely pond at the Lacey Community Center

Day 3
On our third day we went back to work. Our project for the day involved reinforcing a log jam and removing black fabric skirts at Newaukum Creek. This site is amazing! It is a very aggressive project involving several engineered LWD placements that drastically changed the characteristics of the creek. It is difficult to explain but essentially the creek went from a straight, low feature waterway to a curvy, dynamic waterway. The modifications created habitat opportunities for many salmon species and we were able to see many spawning/spawned out Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Unfortunately I used the crew camera for almost all the photos due to the fact that we trekked through the creek.

Deer!

King County Site for gravel and various debris

Stopped by the meat market - Suicide Stix - Don't do it!

Another crew's treasure!

Day 4
Our final day of the week was the Americorp kick off at the Seattle Center! It was interesting to see the other programs (mostly education in low income areas) and to see how big the WCC really is. Other programs included: Arts Corps, City Year, Apple Corps, Just Serve, Earth Corps, VISTA, Habitat for Humanity... just to name a few. Basically a big pep rally!

After lunching at the Bamboo Garden we had a speaker from City of Seattle address emergency preparedness. It was both educational and entertaining.

I love this city

Wear these if you want attention!

No tripod but I just worked with what I had! This is the view from well known Kerry Park.

Till next time! Take care and have a wonderful weekend and week.