As a Metro scientist, Kate Holleran sees nature's biggest challenges and most glorious surprises – and she has the muddy boots to prove it. Read her latest reflections on restoring the land protected by Metro's voter-approved Natural Areas Program.
By Kate Holleran, Metro Scientist
Conserving nature, one acre at a time
True confession: I love planting season. It usually means long days that start with cold, wet, foggy mornings – who wouldn’t love it? February is the middle of planting season for lands at elevations less than about 1,000 feet, which includes most of Metro’s urban and rural natural areas. On a planting morning we are out in the field at 7 a.m., waiting for the planting crew. Ideally, planting day is the culmination of a thoughtful process of getting to know the land, studying the nuances of the natural area to understand the best mix of species to plant (is it a wet site or a dry site, a sunny site or a shady site?) and determining how many seedlings to plant. By the end of March when our planting season is over, we’ll have added more than 100,000 native trees and shrubs to Metro natural areas.
Today the planters arrive along Johnson Creek while it is still foggy. The crew climbs out of the rig and dresses for the day: muck boots, rain jackets and gloves. Jesus Franco calls out directions, and the crew sorts through the large bags of trees and shrubs to get the right mix of plants: ash and spirea, cottonwood and salmonberry, Douglas-fir and snowberry; the mix depends on the physical characteristics of the land. Each of these guys has planted thousands of plants and knows the routine. Pull the plants from the bag, dip the roots in water, tuck into a planting bag, sling the bag around their hips with 200-plus plants, pick up the shovel and methodically dig, plant and tuck the soil around a seedling. Repeat.
By the end of the day, a formerly weed-dominated riparian area is full of twinberry, ninebark, willow and other native plants. It could seem like instant gratification when a field of native plants miraculously appears over the course of a day or two, except that I know how much time and hard work went into the preparation and planting. A healthy natural area doesn’t blossom overnight.