Carkeek Park in the mist- a big ivy pull!

It's hard to believe that the Homeschool Stewardship Squad has been around nearly four years now and this was our first time at Carkeek Park. It is also hard to believe that the marathon summer has come to an end but the misty work party and golden leaves proved it's true. The kids yanked, pulled and raked their little hearts out! We worked to rescue young trees, protect snags and generally reduce the biomass of noxious ivy / Hedera helix. Our hosts, the longtime Weekday Workers volunteer group, supported by the Green Seattle Partnership, will come back to dig roots in a long-term effort to eradicate it from the bed of native plants. It was fun to enjoy the Art in the Park installations, as well as the fish-slide and train. We look forward to returning!

Salmon rush-hour on the Green River.

Noxious Impatiens capensis / spotted jewelweed

The pink salmon were thick & busy, splashing in the sunlight over the shallow gravel beds in the Green River Natural Area at O'Grady- it was the most amazing display of spawning ferocity! We stayed out of the areas most densely populated and watched from the edge. They are also called humpies because the males have an arched dorsal ridge that rises out of the water. Also along the water was noxious but lovely Impatiens capensis / spotted jewelweed. 

Prior to exploring the river and viewing the salmon, we worked with King County Parks to maintain the trail system in the forest by removing rocks larger than a golf ball size. Many horses ride the miles of trails, as well as hikers and trail-runners. The salmon reach far into the forest up the streams, so we are looking forward to returning and helping to restore the forest further. Our little cedars from last spring are looking spry and lush despite the drought!

Discovery Park Summer Finale.

Squad had a large group and perfect weather to celebrate the final weeks of summer at Discovery Park with Forest Steward, Matt and his experienced daughter (off school for the teacher-strike). He initiated the blackberry-removal & native planting project on his own volition quite a number of years ago and is now supported in part by the Green Seattle Partnership. We split up into teams to scoop/haul wood chips, dig blackberry and build a stick base to pile the brambles on to ensure they wouldn't reach the ground and re-root.

We had a great mix of new and experienced folks working together to tackle the big jobs, the teamwork amongst the kids was fun to see. One intrepid young volunteer spent 45 minutes between the pines to dig a monster blackberry root mass. Seasoned stewards know that it is imperative to get the crown out or the canes will just grow back. They can be irregularly-shapen but you get a feel for it after awhile.

mossy rose gall

The little fledgling roses hosted a number of mossy rose galls caused by the rose gall wasp. Eggs are laid on the rose, when the larvae hatch and start to feed, their chewing chemically-induces the rose to produce further tissue which builds up into the shape of the gall, in which they overwinter. Very fascinating. Our native roses also host the spiny gall wasp. 

After working hard, we hiked down to the swimming beach at the lighthouse to enjoy the sand, surf and sun. We passed a dead seal, gathered seaweed & enjoyed Mt. Rainier above the sparkling water.

Lake Washington Restoration & Swimming.

Squad was down along the wetland again at Luther Burbank Park in the Mountains to Sound Greenway. where we weeded amongst the native plantings of rose, snowberry, vine maple and more. Blackberry / Rubus armenicus and hedge bindweed / Convolvulus sepium take years to bring under control and vigilance to prevent from re-establishment, so consistent stewardship is vitally important. These vining plants will easily weigh down young natives so much that they bend over to the ground, after-which they are easily smothered. Once the natives are more established, they have greater resilience- just like children. Our children in fact worked hard to yank, haul, dig and chuck large quantities of noxious weeds away from the wetland boardwalk and the small natives, with a bit of help from their parents and our work party host Joe. Great work.

We were happily surprised to see that our favourite quiet swimming beach was busy with heavy machinery doing erosion control and restoration on the bank. While we couldn't swim there, we were delighted to find that the main lifeguarded swimming beach was sandy, warm and very fun. As was the land-art in the form of water-ripples, perfect for running around.

Sparkling Swim & Stewardship on the Cedar River.

Stewardship Squad has become a big Cedar River fan! As it should be since half of us, as Seattle-Metro folks, get our drinking water from it- not to mention all the salmon that call it home. We worked at King County Park's Belmondo Reach Natural Area to mulch native plants in the restoration site. Everyone made new friends while hauling, filling, chatting & dumping. 

The drought this year is hard on such plantings. It made for a low fun river to swim in though, almost all of the parents jumped in too! The current was ideal for a fun-ride to the rock islands. In the bank above you could spot a coal-seam hinting at the mining that once took place in the area. In fact, this site was a village that supplied miners. Today however, the only coal we handled was dispersing illegal fire rings before high-tailing-it into the warm waters to play.

In addition to a wriggly stonefly nymph, we saw a plump garter snake with a distinctive red/orange stripe and tongue. Neither were very skittish. You can see the snakes of WA on the Burke Museum's website.