Sun Lake Stewardship, January 2002 !
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Arrival
Facing NW, at the central E area of Sun Lake FP.
This surviving grove of trees was disturbed last year by kids digging up dirt ramps for motocross.
Ken brought this left-over 50 lb of woodland mix seeds, and we carried it across two plowed fields to this grove.
Lydia, John, Scott, (Mike) and Ken. Evan doing the clicking.
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Leveled
Looking N, down the slope.
The digging damaged the sensitive roots of these oaks. The FPD leveled the ramps, but the soil was left exposed. Besides being prone to erosion, it was also prone to infestation by exotic plants.
This big tree is a white oak, characterized by shallow fissured bark, and lobed (dead) leaves. Other big trees in the grove included bur oaks (deep fissured corky bark), black oaks (dark bark, short, big-capped acorns), and shag bark hickory.
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Clean-up
Looking NW again.
There was still some litter lying around, which the team quickly gathered up. |
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Ground to Cover
Looking N again.
We divided the area into 3 zones, with a team of 2 for each. |
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Surviving Savanna
Facing NE.
The denser trees refused the bikers.
The white bags were used to divide up the seeds.
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Raking and Sowing
The motorcycles and earthmoving equipment left the sandy soil packed. Garden rakes made shallow furrows to hold the seeds against the wind.
A sparse covering of a few dozen seeds per square foot should be enough to get things started again.
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More Raking and Sowing ...
A little soil on top of the seeds would hold moisture and conceal them from birds.
These seeds should grow into plants that will propagate here for thousands of years. Planting them and thinking about it was exciting. |
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... and More Raking
Would the hard work make a difference?
The rye should sprout and grow right away. The woodland savanna plants will establish for 2 or 3 years before flowering. |
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Hey, Hay!
No, straw, we hope.
Hay has more hay seeds. There were some alfalfa seeds, but not many. The mix contains rye to provide a matrix for the wildflowers to root. The rye and the alfalfa can't compete with the deep rooted savanna grasses also in the mix. In the mean time, the cranes that nest here like alfalfa.
We found a couple of old rotting bales left by the farmer. Lydia carries a matt to spread.
Easier than raking. |
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Why Carry ...
It was ok to carry the straw to the closer areas, but then we had an idea. |
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... when it Rolls?!
This was as much fun as rolling snow balls in Buffalo! |
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Spread Out
There was enough straw to thinly cover the area. |
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Clearing Out
A seventh team member had started out the day cutting buckthorn, and we headed out to that area to share a snack. |
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Lousy Pic, Good Plants
The hillside SW of the grove escaped plowing, and retains a few native species. They're in this picture. Really. Most of the grass in the frame is exotic.
What are they again, Ken? |
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Buckthorn
Facing W, at the NW edge of Sun Lake, just E of Sequoit Creek.
The previous four stewardship outings have cleared most of this area.
George cut more buckthorn while we spread seeds. We piled it onto the heaps, then climbed on top and jumped on them to pack them down. |
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View
The rest of the clearing, now revealing the willows in the distance. It's always more work than it looks, but it's rewarding to complete an area. |
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Rewards
Cookies! This will be the site for a bonfire during our March stewardship outing. |
Saturday,
