Connelly Creek service site transforming: Gray Wolf Pups & Townsend's Chipmunks

We shoulda taken photos (Check that - we did. Track the history of our service at this site by clicking on the “tag links” below: Connelly Creek). I wasn’t there, but I’m told that when the Boys Explorers first set eyes on the Connelly Creek service site a few years ago, the scene was dominated by Himalayan blackberry bushes and tall Reed canarygrass. Both are invasive, non-native plants that detract from the health of the creek. And, of course, the blackberry brambles hurt! Hidden in all that growth was an equally unpleasant discovery - trash. Apparently, the area had been used as a dump by people with nails, car parts, rusting wire, plastic, concrete and more to spare. The thing is, as an explorers club motto puts it, all things are connected. 

Himalayan blackberry was introduced from Eurasia. It often spreads over the top of other plants and crushes or smothers them. It can root at branch tips and spread from roots (suckers). Birds can spread the berries over long distances. It is a Class C weed in Washington State, which means it is already widespread. And, as the scratches on arms and legs will attest, it has a strong defense against well-meaning service workers.

Reed canarygrass forms dense, highly productive single species stands that pose a major threat to many wetland ecosystems. The species grows so vigorously that it is able to inhibit and eliminate competing species. According to the state department of Ecology, the species poses a significant threat to the state’s wetlands. 

Salmon, of course, need the ecological balance that these aggressive species will eliminate if not combatted. As I said, it’s all connected.

So, once each fall and spring, each explorers club (EC) group spends an outing working at the site to replace blackberries and canarygrass with native species. With guidance from Bellingham Parks and tools on loan from the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association(NSEA), the boys devote their time and energies to clipping and uprooting blackberries and then stomping down canarygrass and covering it with bark mulch to deprive it of the sun on which it thrives. They’ve also planted trees and bushes to shade the area, providing a more permanent solution to the “problem” sun. In this way, the explorers, parks and NSEA are connecting and protecting, another EC motto.

I’ve been through two seasons of service outings now, and can personally attest to scores of bags of brambles and roots (and dozens of scrapes!). I’ve witnessed multiple groups of explorers cutting (which turned out to be the wrong strategy - encourages growth) and stomping down (better approach) canarygrass, and moving dozens of yards of bark mulch in buckets large and small to cover the grass. And I’ve supervised the removal of rusted nails, plastic who-knows-whats, and much more trash. (We shoulda inventoried.) The work was done willingly, even eagerly, as a rule. Despite the occasional bark battle, the irresistible tree waiting to be climbed, and the allure of the creek, the explorers keep at it, demonstrating again the EC motto - many hands make light work. 

So now there are young alders reaching for the sky and native shrubs such as ninebark restoring ecological balance to the area. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Read it aloud - it sounds even better that way...restoring ecological balance. Nice. If you’re interested, check here for information on native, non-invasive plants for your garden. Along the way, we liberated some trees that were being swallowed up and a fence that was hidden in the blackberries. Here’s a panoramic view (pardon my poor photography skills) of the site today. 



Saturday’s was our last service outing of the spring. We’ll be back at it in the fall, again with the collaboration of the Bellingham Parks and NSEA. Your final EC motto for the day - Everyone helps. Your boys are learning the importance of caring for the land. As they return twice a year, they’re excited by the progress they’ve made and can see the change they can affect. Sure, the creek is better off, but no more so that all of us who have the privilege of putting the blackberries and cararygrass in their rightful place. 

Gray Wolf Pup families, click here for the gallery of photos from Saturday’s service outing. Townsend's Chipmunk folks, click here.

The Gray Wolf Pups return to exploring on Sunday, June 7 with a traverse. Click here for further information on that outing.

The Townsend's Chipmunks are also back at it on Sunday, June 7 with a traverse (different place!). Look herefor the outing description.