Glorious spring weather welcomed hundreds of volunteers Saturday at an Earth Day-themed bash for Salmon Creek.
The event, organized by Clark Public Utilities’ StreamTeam, was an opportunity to plant trees or root out invasive garlic mustard while learning about the environment and enjoying an EcoFair complete with live music and a wildlife show.
It wasn’t always like this. Although the Clark Public Utilities-led group has planted more than 600,000 trees along the creek in the past 18 years, StreamTeam coordinator Lisa Baranek remembered 2006, when only 100 volunteers showed up to plant trees on a private plot.
“We’ve since grown into this EcoFair extravaganza,” she said Saturday, as temperatures climbed toward a high of 71. “It’s a one-stop shop.”
Shading Salmon Creek
Planting trees helps cool the creek, making it more hospitable for salmon. The team planted more than 50,000 trees in the last year alone. Organizer Jeff Wittler said that the group has completed about 15 to 20 percent of its replanting project.
“Planting trees is something that everybody can get into,” he said. “I think humans innately connect with trees. It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter what side of the political spectrum you’re on.”
Volunteers took turns digging holes for 22 tree species. After planting the trees, they fastened tubes around the trunks to protect them from animals.
“It’s pretty intense, but it raises the survival rate,” said Joel Bader, who had just finished pick-axing through rock to plant his tree. “It’s about quality over quantity.”
By the end of the day, 250 volunteers more than 700 trees throughout the channel system just west of Klineline pond. About 80 volunteers removed 133 gallons of garlic mustard.
Nature fair
More than 20 representatives from federal agencies, local businesses and high schools took part in the EcoFair, showing visitors how to lessen their impact on the planet and save money while supporting the environment.
Liesl Plomsky, an AmeriCorps intern with the U.S. Forest Service, pulled out her smartphone and showed off a new application called “What’s Invasive?” that tracks the location of invasive plant species. “The next step is adding animals into the app,” she said.
Other groups provided information on local produce and urban agriculture. NW Wild Fish Rescue gave children buckets of young salmon to dump back into the stream.
You could barely hear the vendors as The Christie Snow Band belted out an hour’s worth of country tunes.
To end the day, Wild on Wildlife displayed birds of prey, including a screech owl, an aplomado falcon and a red-tailed hawk.
“My litmus test (for success) is that we connected people to their own environment,” Wittler said. “In the end, the most important thing is connections. A certain number of these will spark a passion.”
For more information on the StreamTeam, visit http://www.clarkpublicutilities.com/ourenvironment/StreamTeam.
