 The Arbor Day Restoration Team... good weather, good work and good pizza!  Plucking blackberry roots and planting native vegetation has it's rewards. When you are doing it in great company it's even better. Under the guidance of seniors from the UW Restoration Ecology Network we got a jump on planting what will end up being several hundred trees and shrubs. The morning started with blackberries. The area being restored is by far the largest of all of the UW-REN sites between Bothell and Tacoma. As tenacious as the blackberries can be, with canes up to 30' long, they don't stand a chance against the determination of this team. Newcomers to the site wonder at the magnitude of this project but it doesn't take long to see what some joyful labor can accomplish.  One of the features of the restoration design is to increase forest cover along a sunny margin. This will rob blackberries of the light they need while native plants take over. Another design goal is to increase the density of trees and shrubs favored by birds and other wildlife. Berries and seeds maturing at different times of the year will bring an increase nesting birds. At no time did we just dig a hole and stick a plant in it. Instead each plant has it's roots fanned out over a cone of soil and is then carefully covered first in soil then with leaves to retard evaporation.  Snowberry and huckleberry will be growing all over this forested slope along with salal and oregon grape. Indian Plumb is already found in abundance.
 We gathered for the planting of two 10' alders and prepare for our days end pizza to be delivered. It took a bit of talking to convince the pizza shop that this was a legitimate place to bring the pizza. Thank you for the great day everyone! Friends of North Creek Forest
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 Darryl Nevels: UW-REN team; President UWB/CCC Sustainability Organization; founding Board Member Friends of North Creek Forest
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STUDENTS from UW Bothell and Cascadia CC are serious about North Creek Forest. Today is the last day of finals. Tomorrow at 9:00 AM they will be loading up on coffee, fliers and maps. By 9:30 they will "swarm" Bothell neighborhoods to raise citizens awareness about BOTHELL'S last great forest. There appears to be new kind of optimism among student these days. It's hard to tell if it is the quality of their education, the ubiquity of information, the speed of communication or a clarifying of values. For whatever reason, students are engaging forest conservation and stewardship like a team invited to the championships. They are out in the forest mapping and surveying plant communities, digging out blackberries, planting trees and shrubs and doing all of this in all kinds of weather. The most common days you see them are Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. And now this.... a community outreach, not proposed by Friends of North Creek Forest, but by the students themselves. None of these undertakings are small. Would you like to help out a bit? Saturday March 17 (tomorrow) 9:00 AM 20212 108th Ave NE Coffee and bagels, short orientation, 3 hours of house calls, pizza and stories. Please tell us if you are coming so we have enough of everything. RSVP HERE Thanks, Friends of North Creek Forest  Click on IMAGE for directions to the work party. North Creek Forest is going to take some loving care to remain an urban refuge for a diverse array of wildlife. It's edges are constantly challenged by invasive plants. If left alone these plants move deeper into the forest and begin to harm sensitive areas. Seeds from these unwanted plants can be delivered by a passing car, a bird or often by a neighbor who unwittingly introduces something "guaranteed to be easy to grow".... THE REMEDY Join UW-REN and some Friends for a 3 hour work party tomorrow March 10th. Invasive plant removal will continue and planting of natives may get underway. Click on the IMAGE to the left and find out the location. Hope to see you tomorrow.  SPECIAL THANKS TO PIPERS CREEK NURSERY for donating 18 Sword Ferns and about 10 trees to help UW students restore North Creek Forest. You can click on their banner above to visit their web site.
OTHER NEWS The City of Bothell is applying for a King County Conservation Futures Grant. This is the beginning of Phase 2 forest acquisition to save the rest of the forest. Friends of North Creek Forest and the group Help Our Woods are doing what we can to assist in the process. AND The City Council has now designated our new forest North Creek Forest. Thanks everyone. The name fits the ecology. Future generations won't even know the story but we appreciate the efforts and our ecosystem is better for it! Friends of North Creek Forest |
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