Activity Report Explorer

Cascade Volcanoes • Entered by Laurie Kerr on November 19, 2020

Pull em and Plant em

November 4, 2020 – November 6, 2020

Participants and Hours

Pre Planning hours	6
Post Admin hours	2
Activity Hours	5
Participants	42
Total Hours	218

Key Issue: Climate Change
Activity Type: Stewardship (monitoring, sampling, planting, etc.)
Key Partners: Chehalis River Basin Land Trust/Chehalis Tribe/Stream Team/Grays Harbor Audubon/Surfriders/Conservation Northwest/Polly Dyer BB/North Penninsula BB/

Measurable Outcomes

Outcome 1: Plants planted (314 trees)
Outcome 2: Event Attendees (42 people)

Short Description of Activity

“Pull em and Plant em” was a CES grant-funded project to restore the riparian area on the Chehalis River along the Discovery Trail in Centralia, Wa.

Reflection/Evaluation

The goals of the project included:

1) To improve the Chehalis River health by removing invasive blackberries and planting native species along the riparian buffer of the Chehalis River;
2) To improve understanding of the relationship between climate change and river health;
3) To improve understanding of a healthy river; and
4) To improve understanding of the river restoration project and climate change

Invasive Himalayan blackberries have overtaken the river’s edge for about a mile along the river which has formed a barrier to accessing the river. Big Leaf Maple, Oregon Ash, Ninebark, and Red Alder were purchased for planting along the riparian buffer zone during the morning session, while local experts led small group educational walks during the afternoon. These educational topics included: Habitat Connectivity and Species Response to Climate Change; EDDMaps App–Invasive Species Monitoring; Community Connection in Watershed Restoration, Chehalis Land Trust Mission and History; Chehalis Land Trust Mission and Birding; Volunteer Restoration Projects Impact on Climate Change Resilience; and Climate Change in Western Washington.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to pull invasive blackberries so volunteers concentrated on planting the native trees along 4 areas by the river. Face masks and social distancing were respected and folks had a great time and also worked hard. Port a potty and handwashing station were available for the event. We had a great response from partner groups and engaging in real life was a treat! The registration was tricky because I was responsible for registering people but I did not have access to internet after Wednesday morning. I am not sure how this could have been changed but we had plenty of space at the event. The shelter was large enough for us to social distance and also protected us from the rain. It only rained on Thursday. All of the above goals with the exception of #1 were achieved. I also learned alot from reviewing the rivers module in the CES leadership dashboard.