On October 31st 7 folks worked on installing the crocheted bionetting as an anti-erosion experiment. A slope at a fairly steep grade was chosen west of our restoration site, a place where ivy has grown in the past and erosion had begun- the top meter of the bank was mostly mineral soil, not alot of organic soil, and lower down the slope was mushy from all of the recent rain, lots of fertile soil, a few swordferns and miners lettuce and other small plants were present. Our process went something like this:
Waddles were made with red dogwood, cottonwood and pacific crab apple.
biodegradable jute was used to bundle native cuttings into waddles.
Trenches were dug for the waddles to be buried 3/4 under ground, trenches were also used for walking the slope as we worked to minimize sliding and erosion damage from working on the slope. Waddles were buried with mulch and a few sprigs left unburied that will leaf next spring. The buried waddles will root and stabilize the hill with time.
binding branches
driving in cedar stakes to waddle
- waddle bundle in place in trench
twig ends pulled out from bundle for new growth, bundle underground will root.
cedar stakes hold waddles from sliding down hill.
Ivy netting was laid across the top of the slope, with the bottom staked first, the netting was held up and a layer of leaves, mulch and more leaves were laid down below netting, and cedar stakes at the top and sides to hold in place. Our hope is that the leaves will compost and with the mulch in place provide some organic soil for the plantings to assist growth and rooting.
walking a lower trench while staking ivy netting
ivy netting stretched out, the first waddle was about 1 meter longer each side
netting "catching" mulch and leaves for containment.
cedar stakes at top of netting along roadside.
netting in place!
plantings were placed along the restoration slope waddles, and planted in the netting
existing swordfern on site was carefully worked around and pulled through the netting.
the netting blends in and is only visible for those looking closely that know it is there- a quiet art intervention....
Inventory of plants added to site:
3 swordfern 1 nootka rose
2 pacific nine bark 5 kinnikinnick
1 vine maple 3 ocean spray
1 baldhip rose 2 salal
2 oregon grapes 2 spiny woodfern
2 red flowering current
1 thimbleberry
2 goatsbeard
2 salmonberry
2 cascara
1 elderberry
Wattle Berms installed:
#1 @ 1.7 meters
#2@ 3.2 meters
#3@2 meters
#4@ 6 meters
#5@ 2 meters
Ivy netting measured: 1.4meters X 4.7meters
total area of restoration = 4meters X 10.9 meters
