Written by SOLVE Jesuit Volunteer Northwest Member, Gina Graziano
Students came runnin’ down the path to find a beautiful, sunny afternoon at Cedar Mill Creek! Unlike our last Green Team activity, the weather was perfect- sunny but not too warm… perfect for doing some stream restoration work. Students gathered round and we reviewed the reasons for dumping buckets of mulch next to all of the native trees and shrubs we planted.
“For nutrients!” one student exclaimed, “to help hydrate them!” another added, and “to get rid of blackberry!” a student shared. All of those reasons are exactly right! Mulch helps retain moisture in the warm, summer months, suppresses weeds such as Armenian Blackberry, and gives the plant some great nutrients it needs to survive!
After that little review, we were off! People were filling buckets in an assembly line of sorts, others shuttling the buckets to plants, and some students even took the time to make plant identification signs in front of some of our plantings! Thanks, Meghan (SOLVE) for helping students identify and spell the names of our plants! Before we knew it, all of our plants were mulched, and ready for summer!
We headed back up to the classroom to have popsicles and review our work as a Green Team this year. Students shared their favorite parts of the year and gave helpful suggestions for Green Team next year. We at SOLVE really appreciate all of your help this year, hope you have a wonderful summer, and can’t wait to see you in the fall!
Thank you Audrey for all of your incredible dedication to the Green Team and thank you parent volunteers who make this stream restoration project possible. And, most of all, thank you wonderful Forest Park Elementary School Green Team for your positive energy and willingness to make a difference in your watershed!
SOLVE Green Team 