| Mill Creek Project |
 |
|
 |
|
|
Since October, more than 75 volunteers – including Gov. Ted Kulongoski, First Lady Mary Oberst, staff from state agencies, and neighborhood students – have put in at least 300 hours to remove invasive species along the banks of Mill Creek to the north of the State Lands building. The project also involves replanting native species along the creek.
 At their Feb. 10 public meeting, two new Land Board members – Secretary of State Kate Brown and State Treasurer Ben Westlund – joined board chair Gov. Ted Kulongoski in a planting ceremony.
On Feb. 14, Oregon’s 150th birthday, 7th grade science students from Parrish Middle School and youth volunteers from St. Joseph’s church in Salem planted about 70 native plants, including sword fern, Oregon grape, Indian plum, red flowering current and wild ginger.
On May 16, the project was one of five native plant gardens featured on the Friends of Straub Environmental Learning Center's annual Native Plant Tour.
Students from North Salem High School worked weekly on the site as part of their spring-term field biology class. In August, youth volunteers from the Marion County Extension Service's Enviro Squad spent two days removing blackberry, ivy and other invasives along the creek. Students and other volunteers will continue planting native species in the fall.
The Mill Creek cleanup is the brainchild of DSL wetlands specialist Jevra Brown, who with other DSL staff, helped coordinate the project and recruit volunteers to remove holly, laurel, black locust, Himalayan blackberry and English ivy.
The project is the state’s first Take Care of Oregon project. While most statewide activities took place during May, DSL launched the Mill Creek cleanup in October because of low water and dry soil, and because native species need to be planted when winter rains will provide a good start, said Brown.
 “It seemed like the perfect project for us because of our mission to protect Oregon’s waterways and because Mill Creek runs right next to our building,” Brown said. “We enjoy working near the creek but have seen invasive species take over the banks and it was time to do something. This is an opportunity to show how diverse and beautiful Oregon's native plants are.”
The project has garnered substantial in-kind donations, including a 30-yard refuse bin for plant material donated by Allied Waste; landscape assistance and hand tools from the Oregon Department of Administrative Services; mulch from Marion County Department of Public Works; and plants from Mahonia Vineyards and Nursery and Champoeg Nursery.
“This is a great project – one that we couldn’t do alone as an agency, nor would we want to,” said Louise Solliday, DSL director. “We hope our efforts will inspire other property owners along Mill Creek to do this in their own backyards.”
Oberst, president of the Oregon 150 board of directors, was pleased to be involved in the effort in October, and said, “we were really amazed at how much was accomplished in just part of a day. Now...imagine the same sort of thing going on in 400 communities across Oregon!”
For more information about the Mill Creek project, contact Jevra Brown or DSL communications manager Julie Curtis.
Information about Take Care of Oregon efforts is on the Oregon 150 Web site.
|
|
|
|
