Written by SOLVE Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest Members, Nicole Poletto and Lauren McKenna
Gladstone HS @ Rinearson Creek on 1.10.2013
Despite the snowy morning, Gladstone High School came out to Rinearson Creek in clear, beautiful weather! The cold couldn’t stop us on our mission to restore Rinearson.
We started off the morning by learning how to use lateral bud arrangement to ID native plants. We also learned fun tricks to identify natives like Ninebark (9 layers of peely bark) and Western Red Cedar (the tree of life). Once we were Plant ID pros, we focused on lovingly planting Red Currant, 25 to be exact. We planted a Ralph, a Harold, a Kumar…(because of course they need names!)
As we looked at our newly planted plants, we realized they were surrounded by Blackberry. We couldn’t let invasives take over our baby natives, so we began to dig out as many Blackberry roots as possible. The last 10 minutes of class were a fierce competition to see who could dig out the most roots.
Although we may not have been able to feel our hands, Rinearson Creek definitely felt the love that day. Thank you for all of your hard work to keep our riparian zones healthy, Gladstone!
SOLVE Green Team 