OIYCC in Deer Harbor, Moran, and Mud

— from Sophia Fleming and Skylar Dalusio, with Mary Gropp —

The past three days have been very interesting and full of mud and dirt for the Orcas Island Youth Conservation Corps! On Tuesday and Wednesday we worked with Marta Branch from the San Juan County Marine Resources Committee, and biologist Jason Morgan and Joan Drinkwin from the Northwest Straits Foundation, at the Deer Harbor bridge.

With the help of retired botany professor Barbara Bentley, we were trained to identify and collect vegetation samples. We named and coded plants we found by the shore and recorded the number of plants within a specific area. The specific area we focused on was determined by where we placed quadrats, which are grids made of PVC pipe and cord. To determine where we placed quadrats, we learned how to take a compass bearing. We used the same method to survey the mud flats outside the Deer Harbor Lagoon for inter-tidal creatures.

We collected the base-line data for what will be a long-term monitoring project on the Deer Harbor estuary. We learned that the existing bridge is going to be replaced, and the water flow will be greatly increased in the remodel. That is why we were counting the number and types of plants and animals along the intertidal zone. The Northwest Straights Foundation and the Marine Resources Committee will be monitoring how the area changes when the new bridge is in place.

All of this work required we muck around in the mud a lot! Some of us discovered mud-skating, and others discovered mud-falling. The funder of this project generously donated big icecream cones to the whole team. With the skills we learned earlier in the day, we determined that the flavor of ice cream with the highest percentage of distribution among our group was lemon drop sorbet.

On Thursday our project was back on land, in Moran State Park, working on the trail which leaves the South End campground, and passes near the old growth fir tree, Bertha. After determining that it took 7 of us with arms stretched out, to circle the trunk of Bertha, we learned about trail maintenance techniques. Then we restored some parts of the trail that had become worn down, and clipped plants along the trail to make it easier to walk along. Because it has been such a hot summer, we quit a little early, and we all cooled off in Cascade Lake.