MARYSVILLE — Nearly 90 volunteers were more than willing to get wet April 25. The city of Marysville observed Earth Day by coordinating the planting of 50 cedar and 50 spruce trees at Jennings Park with the help of the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation.
Les Meade, an ecologist with the foundation, explained that this planting is part of the group’s ongoing efforts to restore Allen Creek as a habitat for salmon and other wildlife.
As with the foundation’s other work in the area watershed this spring, this project was jointly funded. The Department of Ecology’s grant paid for the labor. The Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account paid for not only the trees, but also the 60 six-foot black cottonwood live stakes that were planted as well.
Meade was gratified that the morning’s downpour did little to daunt the steady stream of volunteers who filtered in from 10 a.m. to noon that Saturday, even though that’s when it was raining the hardest.
“Most everyone who came to plant stayed until all the trees were in the ground,” Meade said. “They made quick work of the trees, and by lunch, we only had a little more than half the live stakes left to plant.”
Mike Robinson, parks maintenance manager for the city, echoed Meade’s praise for the volunteers’ efficiency and lack of complaints. Both men reported that the volunteers spoke about how much they’d learned about water quality and the importance of the environment, especially after Adopt-A-Stream caught some juvenile salmon and other fish that morning.
“We displayed them in an aquarium, which was a big hit with the crowd at our booth,” Meade said. “We also set up a camera in the stream with a live feed, to see if we could spot some fish in their natural habitat.”
Meade hopes that everyone takes to heart Adopt-A-Stream’s message, that we all need to take care of our streams.
“Our mission statement is to teach people to become stewards of their watersheds,” Meade said. “Most people don’t realize that everything we do effects water quality, and eventually us in some way, shape or form.”
As Adopt-A-Stream continues to work on Allen Creek, Robinson invited the community to check out the Jennings Park pond from 8-11 a.m. on Saturday, May 2, for its annual fishing derby and Kiwanis pancake breakfast.
