Unless you already know where you’re going, it’s easy to miss Hidden Glen Park in southeast Battle Ground. A sign and narrow footpath nestled between homes at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac provide the only indication of an entrance to the 3½-acre park.
For those who live in this neighborhood, Hidden Glen is truly a hidden gem.
On Saturday, 30 to 40 volunteers from the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership converged on the park with the goal of making it a little more special. The volunteers spent the morning planting a variety of shrubs and trees along Woodin Creek, in low-lying grassy areas and on small hills that dot the landscape. It’s all part of an effort to restore native habitat along waterways throughout Southwest Washington.
“I love nature and restoring habitat. I love riparian areas, which is what this is,” said Laurie Kerr of Battle Ground. “I’m excited to have a new park in our community, and I want to help out.”
Kerr, a leader for the Great Old Broads for Wilderness group who has worked on numerous restoration projects, said it was great to finally have a project in her own neighborhood.
“Woodin Creek is a listed stream for pollution. That means it gets some extra attention to reduce the pollution,” said James Sterrett, environmental educator for the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership.
While Woodin Creek is subject to minor agricultural runoff, he said, its primary source of pollution is temperature.
“As the community has been built out, you start to build more hard surfaces,” Sterrett said.
With development comes more paved streets, homes and sidewalks, and fewer green spaces. As stormwater moves along those hard surfaces, it heats up and then flows into the creek, raising the temperature of the creek as well.
“We’re going to be concentrating on trying to shade the creek,” Sterrett said. “There are also areas where the creek comes up and floods onto the lands. The plantings will slow down the water, which helps take the energy out so you have less erosion, less sediment in the water. The plants also do some filtering of pollutants or oils or any heavy metals in the water.”
South of the park, Woodin Creek flows into Salmon Creek, which the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership is also working to restore.
“To work throughout the watershed is really fantastic,” Sterrett said.
Native grasses, shrubs and trees are used for each planting, such as black hawthorn, red elderberry, Indian plum, snowberry, Oregon ash, swamp rose and Pacific ninebark. Black cottonwood trees and Oregon grape plants were planted in 2020.
“Last week, we were working with Chief Umtuch sixth graders and Glenwood Heights fourth graders. We planted maybe 1,000 plants,” Sterrett added.
This isn’t the first clean-up effort at the park. A few years ago, swing sets and a picnic table were removed. A footbridge over the creek built by local Boy Scouts that had been vandalized, set on fire and then rebuilt also was removed.
“I was talking with one of the neighbors, and they commented on how much wildlife they’re seeing since we started planting in here,” Sterrett said. “Eagles are showing up here in their backyard, and they really appreciated it.”
In total, the Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership expects to have 4,500 trees, shrubs and grasses planted at the site.
Yacolt resident Wendy Miller volunteered her time and labor Saturday, along with son Wyatt and daughter Winter.
“We got an email from the school district about this, and my son really wanted to come and see what it was all about,” Miller said.
She also said it was great to finally spend some time outdoors with her children.
To help
The Saturday volunteer event was the first of two plantings scheduled at Hidden Glen Park. A second volunteer planting event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon March 19.
Advance registration is required. To sign up, go to www.estuarypartnership.org/get-involved/volunteering.
