by Kyrstin Onaga

Birders looking for some feathered friends on Earth Day.

On April 20th twenty amazing volunteers joined Pierce Conservation District's habitat team at South Prairie Creek Preserve for our annual Earth Day celebration. The day started with a bird walk led by our resident birder and Riparian Stewardship Program Manager, Glenn Johnson. Glenn reported that they saw a total of 28 different bird species (eBird List)!

A red-breasted sapsucker, just one of the birds spotted at South Prairie Creek Preserve! Photo by Bill Johnson.

Volunteers are ready to mulch!

Volunteers mulched recently planted trees and shrubs in preparation for the hot and droughty summer months. Mulching provides a host of benefits for plants. It helps conserve water, suppress weed and grass competition, provide organic matter in decomposition, and create a microclimate that reduces pressure caused by heat. In total, we were able to spread 11 cubic yards of mulch over 1.7 acres throughout the Preserve.

As many gardeners know, the mulching never ends.

The trees planted at the Preserve also provide many benefits to Salmon restoration. Their leaves and bark provide a habitat for adult macroinvertebrates that create eggs and larva that juvenile salmon eat. Throughout our Earth Day event, participants took a trip down to the slough to see what macroinvertebrates were hiding under rocks. We saw mayfly, stonefly, and caddisfly larvae; coleoptera; and Diptera, which are all indicators of healthy waterways. Honorable mentions to the rough-skinned newts, pacific chorus frogs, and garter snakes seen along the way.

A huge thank you to all those who came out to support the Preserve and the salmon we aim to aid in restoring. We look forward to working with our community members at future volunteer work parties at South Prairie Creek Preserve.