Submitted by Nancy Henderson.
Three successful work parties in one week to spruce up our Town parks and pathways sets a new record for parks and trails volunteerism.
Native roses along the 5th St Waterway, long hidden from view, were liberated from strangling blackberry vines by a determined group of volunteers on Monday, 13 May. Project leader Alex Chaney trained volunteers to distinguish between the native small flowered bull rush and reed canary grass, the latter being invasive and removed by hand. Blackberry vines and reed canary grass are relentless so there is more work to be done.
On Thursday, 16 May, 20 enthusiastic and hard-working National Honor Society students led by NHS Advisor Erin Anderson made quick work of spreading fresh bark along the perimeter of the park and beneath most of the fruit trees.
The next day, Friday 17 May, volunteers transformed the planting strip at the Saltars Point Park entrance from a degraded dirt strip to an orderly green row of day lilies. Down below, more volunteers removed green alkanet, tansy ragwort, and blackberry vines, creating space for native plants to continue to retake their territory.
As always, Town staff supported the event with tools and supplies necessary to complete the task.
Thank you, Town of Steilacoom volunteers, who make this community a wonderful place of beauty.
