Boze Elementary 3rd Graders planted 150 plants!
Boze Elementary 3rd Graders Lead the Way
PCD recently partnered with Boze
Elementary in Tacoma on an exciting
component of their Project Based
Learning model. The 3rd graders learned
about plants, pollinators, and habitat
over the past few months from the
District’s environmental educators, local
landscapers, and WSU Master Gardeners.
Their project culminated in the
planting of a roundabout in front of
their school that had previously been
dominated by weeds and litter.
Thanks
to assistance from the City of Tacoma,
the roundabout was cleaned out and
funds were donated to purchase plants.
Portland Avenue Nursery also donated
plants to the effort. The 3rd graders
researched the plant options and laid
them out in the roundabout. With
help from community volunteers and
local neighbors, over 150 plants were
put into the roundabout. The kids
were very proud of their work and are
determined to keep it looking nice and
free of litter. Most talked about how
they pass by this spot often and will
always be reminded of their hard work
as the roundabout blooms in a variety
of colors and buzzes with bees and
other pollinators. The last plant had
barely been put in the ground by the
time the bees had settled in, so their
work has already started to pay off.
Stream Restoration Planting
Wraps Up on Clarks Creek
Community volunteers and students
in this spring’s Washington Native
Plant Society Habitat Stewards class
worked through an unusually warm
spring morning on April 30 to complete
the restoration planting of a section
of Clarks Creek near Puyallup.
Volunteers helped install another 600 plants along
Clarks Creek, bringing the grand total to 1,800
plants installed, transforming 900 linear feet of this
important salmon stream!
Planting began at this site, owned
by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, last
October. As the first 1200 trees and
shrubs began to establish in their new
home over the winter, another 600 were
installed at the downstream end of the
property to complete the transformation
of approximately 900 linear feet
of stream from a near-monoculture of
reed canary grass to a diverse riparian
plant community of trees and shrubs.
The Gig Harbor Rain Barrel Workshop
was one of six rain barrel workshops
we held this spring, resulting in over
150 rain barrels installed across Pierce County!
Rain Barrel Workshops
This spring, the District partnered with Pierce County, as well as
the cities of Orting, Gig Harbor, and Buckley on a series of successful
and popular rain barrel workshops. Covering general rain barrel
uses, maintenance, and installation tips, the workshops culminate
in an opportunity for participants to assemble and take home their
very own rain barrel, ready to install and begin harvesting the rain!
Rain barrels (or other rain water catchment systems) are one
of many homeowner friendly ways individuals can make steps
to minimizing stormwater run-off that every year contributes
non-point source pollution and localized flooding.
Planting with PCC Farmland
Trust Extends Hedgerow 1000’
Returning to the scene of much collaborative
restoration work over the
past few years, the District and PCC
Farmland Trust, together with three
dozen hard working volunteers,
planted more than 300 native plants
at the historic Reise farm near Orting.
This planting extended the original
700’ hedgerow parallel to the Foothills
Trail and SR-162 an additional
1000’ towards the city of Orting.
As it matures, the native shrubs in
the hedgerow will provide benefits
to the organic crops planted in the
adjacent fields, not the least of which
is the attraction of native pollinators.
Check it out as you drive, bike, or
walk through this area in McMillin.