By James Day
Sustainable Silverton will be hosting Earth Day Projects on Saturday, April 22 and volunteers are welcome.
The day will start with a 9 a.m. effort to remove invasive species at Old Mill Park near Salamander Island at the end of Cowing Street. In the afternoon two oak sapling protection projects are set, at 2 p.m. at the new grove at Mark Twain Elementary School and at 3 p.m. just south of the skatepark by the Silverton Senior Center.
Eric Hammond, board member with Sustainable Silverton, noted that the Salamander Island area “is overrun with ivy, blackberries, holly and hawthorn. These plants in particular pose very serious dangers to native plants. This site, which a lot of people probably don’t even realize is in the park, is small but ecologically very rich.
“Right now the fawn lily is blooming there but is being smothered by ivy. Camas is scattered across the site, too, but is unable to reseed because of the ivy. Holly grows with dense foliage and casts heavy shade that kills plants below it. Removing these invasive plants will free up the native plants to thrive.”
Those who want to help, Hammond said, are asked to come with thick gloves, long sleeves, pruning shears “and a willingness to help and learn.”
After the 2021 ice storm 300 white oak seedlings were planted, 200 next to the grove at the north end of Mark Twain Elementary School and 100 more near the skatepark. The Mark Twain plantings replaced those trees lost in the ice storm. The skatepark trees are designed to serve as an oak reserve. The trees will be moved to locations in Silverton where needed.
The volunteer work will be aimed, Hammond said, at “securing protection tubes around the young oak trees so they grow without deer browsing them.”
“This is a very easy project, but a great one for young kids to help with,” Hammond said. “They can learn about the role the oaks traditionally filled in Silverton and how these saplings will do that into the future.”
