SPAWN volunteer Ryland Lewis completed his final Eagle Scout project by leading a volunteer group at SPAWN’s Tocaloma floodplain restoration site on Saturday, March 13.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, SPAWN volunteer Ryland Lewis completed his final Eagle Scout project by leading a volunteer group of Scout friends and their families to help SPAWN remove hemlock, Himalayan blackberry, and other invasive plants on a section of the upstream portion of our Tocaloma floodplain restoration project along Lagunitas Creek.
Following removal of the invasive plants, the crew planted native plants which are good at quickly covering ground and forming thick root systems such as Santa Barbara sedge, creeping wildrye, and coyote brush.
SPAWN would like to thank Ryland and his family and friends for helping to transform this section of invasive plants into a native plant oasis for wildlife! The following pictures show what a dedicated crew of people can do to transform an area in just a few hours of focused team work.
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- Volunteers remove hemlock and other invasive plants from a 1,500 square foot area at SPAWN’s Tocaloma floodplain restoration project along Lagunitas Creek in Marin County, California.
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- Following two hours of solid work removing invasive plants, the group begins to plant native plants which will quickly cover the ground, help prevent the regrowth of invasives, and will provide good habitat for wildlife.
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- Volunteers continue to remove residual invasive plants and plant out native grasses, sedges, and other plants including mugwort and beeplant, coyote brush, and box elder trees.
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- Thanks to the efforts of the volunteer group led by Ryland Lewis, the weediest section of SPAWN’s Tocaloma floodplain restoration site has been transformed into a habitat oasis for amphibians, birds, and other wildlife.
