Mountains to Sound Greenway Restoration Work on Sparkling Lake Washington.

This is our third summer returning to Luther Burbank Park with the Mountain to Sound Greenway Trust. It was a warm day, but we knew swimming awaited and the tall Oregon ash provided dappled shade as we hauled buckets for sheet mulching. The area we worked used to be a trashy thicket but has been transformed by Squad and many others into a young native planting. The wood chips cover the cardboard, which helps significantly to suppress perennial noxious weeds such as blackberry & reed canary grass / Phalaris arundinacea. In the areas that sheet mulching hasn't been accomplished yet, we created 'rings of life' around the little natives simply by pulling away weeds & flattening or ripping them down. For plants only 24" high, a little goes a long way until they have time to get taller. Of course we dug blackberry too. And of course we played and swam on the gorgeous sparkling lake! We will be back in September on the 4th Tuesday.

Cedar River Watering. Clean Drinking Water & Salmon.

Sockeye salmon at the Ballard locks. It will make its way back to the Cedar River (via Lk WA) to its birthplace, turning red & green, to lay eggs and then die. 

If you live south of the ship canal in the Seattle area, you're drinking water comes from the Cedar River and is impacted by its watershed. A bit downstream of the spot our drinking water is pulled from, we worked in the Cavanaugh Pond Natural Area with King County Parks, to hand-water a riverside native planting.

The kids were thrilled to be assigned water-wading in the mellow river which was running low due to the snow drought. We enjoyed a short naturalist talk about the importance of vegetated, gravel habitat in the salmon's lifecycle. And also the importance of cool water, which is a challenge in low-flow years. The heavy-lifting work, hauling buckets from the river to the young snowberries, cedars, maples, willows and roses helps to establish a healthy forest that will provide many benefits to the riverine ecosystem- shade, insects, water-filtration, erosion control, woody debris, etc.

Some work battling blackberries was accomplished also, as this site used to be a gigantic noxious thicket; which would grow back without consistent stewardship. Needless to say, we all enjoyed the cool river play after a hot afternoon's efforts. Lovely and very fun!

Lake Washington Wetland Weeding & Swimming.

Stewardship Squad returned to Luther Burbank Park with the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, a favorite destination for combining stewardship with swimming on hot summer days. The kids were excited to be working on a new spot, deep in the wetland. We felt like we were on a jungle expedition as we bushwhacked our way back to the site. Our mission: blackberry and ivy removal.

The kids deftly dug, clipped, and pulled as the temperature continued to rise throughout the afternoon. By the end we had cleared a substantial section and everyone was ready to cool off. We made our way to the shore of the lake and the kids swam, the parents lounged, and a bald eagle swooped low overhead.

First of the Summer Swims, on the Green River.

The day was warm, the hike was long, the work was short and the river sparkled. Squad enjoyed many creature sightings in the O'Grady Natural Area including salmon fry/parr darting through the noxious reed canary grass, fresh elk scratchings (removing their antler velvet), a plethora of caddis fly larvae, stoneflies (see last pic), jumbo(!) banana slugs and many Oregon spotted millipedes- not to mention a bonanza of gorgeous salmonberries / Rubus spectabilis and luxuriant stinging nettles / Urtica dioica, which make for a painful picking affair, though the kids hardly minded. After rambling and eating, we reached our work site where a new section of trail is being completed. Our task was to remove rocks larger than a golf ball and chuck them into the woods! Quite fun. After which we cooled off in the Green River (AKA the Duwamish) which was low from the lack of snowmelt this year. King County manages the property as part of the 922-acre Green River Natural Area. Squad has worked at this lovely site on several occasions now, we look forward to further events and maybe even the chance to be invited to a PAWS release! 

Marah oreganus / coastal manroot is a native vine in the Cucurbitaceae, related to pumpkins, cukes, gourdes, etc.

Stonefly molt (one of many in their lifecycle) indicating good water quality. Here is an interesting article from King County on stream health indicators.

Duwamish River, Up-Close. Atriplex & Art Too.

Squad loves to work on the Duwamish River. With EarthCorps Sound Steward Susan, we weeded out noxious triangle orache / Atriplex prostrata. Interestingly, the origin of the species is a confused one, with even the Burke Museum's herbarium having specimens listed as both native and noxious (the USDA calls it native). Susan noted "I remember David (Gibling of the UW) saying they are differentiated by the bractioles, which you pretty much had to use a microscope to see, and he did show me under the scope."

We removed it to make more room for native carex & rushes right along the sandy & muddy riverbank. Afterwards the kids had good fun playing together in the rest of the park. Imagine their excitement happening upon Chicos Santos's playful installation on a mossy log as part of an upcoming festival. What a delight. Duwamish Revealed is an exciting series of creative cultural events celebrating Seattle's only river June 1 – September 30, 2015. Mark your calendars for the beginning:

GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 7–10 pm at THE ESTUARY, 4651 Diagonal Ave. S., Seattle

It is about time we celebrate our river! Stewardship Squad is proud to be a three-year supporter of the Duwamish. We hope to see you out celebrating there this summer.