WCC - Week 4

Alright, it our first FULL week in the field!

Our project site for the week was a planting project on private land along Des Moines Creek.


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The creek used to have very little features until a LWD project took place a year or two ago. There is a lot of LWD on this creek. It will be interesting to see how the creek changes in the next couple of years.

Des Moines Creek - LWD placement

 Laura Hartema, the project manager, talked to several home owners along the creek for permission to do some planting on their property or to gain access to the planting areas. She has also communicated with the local sewage treatment plant in the area, allowing us to plant on some of their land as well.

Plants placed, ready to be planted.

Our aim was to re-establish native vegetation along the riparian corridor. We planted: Big Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum), Sitka Spruce (Pincea sitchenis), Western Red (Thuja plicata), Douglas Fir, Grand Fir, Snow Berry, Nine Bark, Oregon Grape, Vine Maple (Acer circinatum),  Sword Fern, Pacific Willow, Schooner Willow, Nootka Rose, Indian Plum, Thimble Berry, and I might be missing a few but is about it. (Names in Latin are only the ones I could think of off the top of my head.)

Here is a photo that shows the slope we traversed over the week.

Overall I estimate that we planted about... 750 plants or so. A great deal of our time was spent transporting the plants down a very steep hillside and strategically placing them. I am finally getting the hang of this planting business. I'll be an expert soon enough. =D

Super SOCKEYE!

I was able to procure the images from the crew camera and here are some favourites from the past several weeks! (Album)

Froggie!

Rolls of English Ivy that we cut and transported at the Green River.

Marine Derived Nutrients at work

Caught

Close up!

LWD reinforcement

Staples