Restoration Planting

Day 147: In addition to my regular routine of walking and riding the exercise bike, today I spent three hours planting over fifty Douglas fir and Cascara saplings in a field of rocks and mud. The project was part of the Nisqually Land Trust's efforts toward restoring natural habitat in Ohop Valley. Several old barns and outbuildings were removed from this site last fall, and the concrete slab foundations were broken into chunks with bulldozers and were then left to lay until funding could be found for removal of the debris. That work was completed a few weeks ago. It will take several more sessions such as this one before the site is completely replanted. In a few years' time, this area will present a very different aspect, and will again be home to many species of wildlife and birds.

Plants Vs. Zombies In Real-Time

Day 24: The Nisqually Land Trust's annual Hallowe'en tree-planting event saw several Zombies obviously affected by behaviour-altering Hypno-shrooms working hard at digging holes and installing saplings in an area of Ohop Valley wetland. Most of the 45 participants in this project missed the memo regarding the dress code for the occasion, but it didn't dampen their enthusiasm. We planted 500-600 native trees and shrubs, including Baldhip Rose, Salmonberry and Oregon Ash, all especially selected for the wet-soil ecology of this newly-acquired property. It doesn't take BRAAAAAIIINS to understand the value of the work contributed by these volunteers, both alive and undead.