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August 28, 2005
Shoreline Workshop and Planting with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Yesterday Jamison and I went to a Shoreline Workshop and Planting Workshop done by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and several other sponsers. I received and email earlier in the week and asked Jamison if he'd go with me. It went like this:
Our annual workshop and planting for landowners and communities to learn Bay-Friendly techniques (such as using native vegetation and bio-engineering) for shoreline protection.Interested volunteers are needed for CBF's annual Living Shoreline Workshop and Planting event on Saturday, August 27, beginning at 9 a.m. We will be installing and planting up biologs with trees, shrubs, grasses and wetland plants. The permit process, design issues and native plant selection will also be covered.
Surprisingly he said yes right off the bat so I talked to Amber and arranged for her to baby-sit so we could go as a friend of mine said and "hang out with the tree huggers". Little did she know how much that used to irritate me, given that I don't think someone who is concerned about our planet should be ridiculed, but then I decided tree hugger was a cool moniker and even though initially people intended it as a slight, it's actually a very cool way of explaining how much you love nature. I'm proud to be a tree hugger, but again that's neither here nor there.
We set off yesterday morning around 8 and headed to the Back Creek Nature Park in Annapolis. We arrived a little before 9 and after we signed in we were immediately immersed in helping getting the plantings going. Our first task was to carry flats of water grass to the edge of the lagoon so that they were where they needed to be to be planted. We each took one flat to the water's edge and then we were assigned the duty of planting trees, shrubs and plants. We started out with a large magnolia tree to plant and let me tell you he was a bugger! But after we got the kinks worked out the next one was a breeze!
The next tree we planted was also a magnolia. It was taller than me! He was easier to plant as I mentioned above because we got the kinks out with the first one, and a landscaper who was also volunteering showed us the trick to get big root bound plants out of their pots. With her trick the rest of the plants were a breeze to remove from their pots!
After we got the second tree planted things went downhill from there for me. I started planting marsh grasses, mallow plants and black eyed Susans, while Jamison tackled some shrubs in the same area. The dirt was compacted by the water and was very claylike. It was a bit difficult to shovel, but not impossible. Even with gloves I managed to get the nastiest, largest blister that ended up being more wound like that I think I've ever had. Seriously folks, it's ugly! I would take a picture and post it, but I don't want the collective internet community to gag so I'll spare you. I got our first aid kit out of Jamison's trunk and cleaned the wound, slathered on some antibiotic cream and covered it with a gauze pad before I put my gloves back on and got back to work.
With the wound there was no way I was going to be shoveling anything anymore so Jamison and I devised a system where he would dig the hole, I would take the plants or shrubs out of the pots and put them in the hole, he'd fill in the hole and I'd take the pots and markers to the recycling area. Yes, yes he had a bit more physical labor, but it was working. We work pretty good together, what can I say, but it became apparent that I was making my hand worse so after we got the plants planted in our area and they had the workshop portion of the day we ended up heading home earlier than we had intended.
This event was a wonderful experience and I can't wait to participate in similar events again! The diversity of people who showed up to help was astounding! (Jamison has a blog post brewing in his head something along the lines of the "Sociology of Ecologists" that should prove to be interesting, but I digress.) Anyway, it was nice to see everyone working together as a team, even though there were a few minor ideal clashes that were relatively quiet, everyone managed to work through any issues and get done what needed to be done. It's amazing the little things that can restore some of your faith in humanity.
I really wish I had batteries for my camera, because it was amazing the transformation that took place around the lagoon while we were there! Hopefully the Chesapeake Bay Foundation will post some pictures on their website. I'll post a link here if they do. Also check out their section on Bay-Friendly Landscaping. It covers a lot of the things we were doing at the lagoon on Saturday and gives an idea of how you can get started on your own property.
Overall the whole day was fascinating! To be able to see some of the Best Managment Practice principles I've read about for the past few years in action was phenomenal and it was also good experience. Jamison was teasing me about finding "my people" and though he was being silly, he was right! I felt very at home amongst the aquatic biologists and the ecologists.
All in all it was a fun day, wounded hand not withstanding. The Back Creek Nature Park is beautiful and the environmental education program they are setting up is a very good program. I can't wait to take Alexis over there to check things out. I told Jamison the minute we got there that Alexis would have loved that place! If you ever get a chance check it out. And if you ever get a chance volunteer for a workshop/planting with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation or something similar in your area. You'll learn a lot and have fun in the process.
Posted by Daffodil at August 28, 2005 9:07 AM
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Comments
I have pictures of the magnolia planting, but I'm leaving for two weeks. Will send copy to Marcy, CBF.
Posted by: Creek geek at September 2, 2005 11:17 PM
Thanks!
Posted by: Dianne at September 3, 2005 8:46 AM