— by Sklar Dalusio and Maia Lewis-Shunk, with Mary Gropp —
The Orcas Island Youth Conservation Corps spent two days last week working with the San Juan Preservation Trust on easement property surrounding a large marsh at the base of Mt. Woolard. Over the course of two days we packed our heads full of information about different native plant species, invasive species, and how you can prevent the spread of noxious weeds. With the help of Dean Dougherty, SJPT Director of Stewardship, and Jason Ontjes, of the San Juan County Noxious Weed Board, we eradicated large amounts of Scotch broom and a small patch of Tansy ragwort. We learned to use weed wrenches to pull up the roots of Scotch broom. But mainly we used clippers and loppers to cut the plants off at the base, then made large piles in the shade, which will help to prevent the seeds from sprouting. The amount of progress we made was phenomenal!
The crew also took the time to listen to our two guests talk about noxious weeds and native plant species, many that the crew had never heard of before. We learned to identify 11 different native shrubs species. This information will stick with us through our conservation career.
On our second day we stopped pulling scotch broom at lunch time, and were joined by Mindy Kayl, a local wetlands consultant. Mindy taught us some very interesting information about wetlands. We learned that you have to look at the presence of water, the plant species, and the type of soil to tell if a wetland exists. We took time to look at wetland plants with magnifiers, and enjoyed being in a beautiful location.
This week was productive and interesting for all of the OIYCC members.
This is a great project. These progress reports about what you OIYCC members are doing gives me hope that our future will be in good hands. Thanks for your hard work, and desire to learn as much as you can about native habitat conservation.