2015-Mother's Day Planting and Habitat Restoration at East Plum Creek

Start Date-End Date: 05/09/2015-05/09/2015 Land Manager Office: Douglas County Open Lands Land Manager Contact: Jackie Sanderson Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Spend a day planting and giving back to Colorado's outdoors with the whole family! Description: ABOUT THE STEWARDSHIP SITE Tucked off of I-25 along Douglas County's East Plum Creek, amidst scenic mesas and buttes, this project site is just a short walk from the parking area and will be a first step in the natural and aesthetic restoration of an area slated for further open space and trail development in the coming years. This includes construction of a portion of the Colorado Front Range Trail, an easily accessible location just north of Larkspur. ABOUT THE VOLUNTEER WORK Volunteers will plant 1,000-1,500 native riparian plants and upper stream bank shrubs, trees, and forbs. These planting efforts will restore the riparian habitat and create three acres of new wetlands along East Plum Creek near Larkspur. As a key component of restoring the channelized East Plum Creek, this project will serve to improve wildlife habitat and water quality, as well as enhance the aesthetic appeal. A light breakfast and lunch will be provided. OTHER WAYS TO HELP It's not all sweat and toil! There are lots of ways you can participate on project days, including as an assistant crew chef. Assistant crew chefs have a fun, vital, and very appreciated role on the project team - keeping volunteers happy and well-fed! Please emailSteve Wallfor more information. PARTNERS Douglas County Open Space Latitude/Longitude: 39.296799, -104.890884 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 100 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 60 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 8 Total Volunteer Days: 67 Total Unique Volunteers: 68 Total Volunteer Hours: 487 Staff Hours: 40 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: On Saturday, May 9th, 67 volunteers came out to Douglas County to complete riparian restoration work in very soggy conditions. Douglas County recently acquired the property we were working on, and they had graded the land to have 3 distinct riparian zones. Each crew leader was assigned to a zone, and therefore, a few specific plants that their crews were responsible for. The rain let up right as volunteers got to work, and picked up again mid-afternoon, cutting the day a little short. Douglas County bought Subway sandwiches for lunch, and VOC provided sides and breakfast.For the amount of volunteers that turned out, and the wet conditions, the volunteers got a staggering amount of work done, with over 1,400 plants getting in the ground, and many of the plants were equipped with beaver cages and/or mulch. Successes and Challenges: Heavy rain every day the week leading up to the project led to a high number of last-minute cancellations. Despite this fact, the volunteers that did show up were ready to work, and they busted through all of the planting that Douglas County had lined out! Lessons Learned: Wet conditions made for a fun experience for the volunteers, and the ones that showed up really enjoyed the day. Special Notes: Heavy rain every day the week leading up to the project led to a high number of last-minute cancellations. Stewardship Education: Provided by Andy Hough, the Environmental Resources Coordinator for DC, and Jackie Sanderson, the Natural Resources Specialist for DC. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Douglas County was really thrilled with the work that got done. They were skeptical at first of what the volunteers could accomplish, but they were ecstatic by the end of the day. Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: