Service Learning Project: We held our second workday on November 16th at the Oscar Lee easement on the upper Kinni doing preparation work for a Greenwood Elementary fourth-grade service learning project. Students will be helping out with a brushing project by dragging, stacking and burning the slash from buckthorn and box elder trees which we have cut. Eight volunteers turned out on November 14th and another eight volunteers turned out on November 16th. Those who have helped with this project include Dave Gregg, Dan Wilcox, John Skelton, Tom Anderson, Jim Tatzel, Dennis Anderson, Matt and Rown Janquart, Judie Babcock, Ed Constantini, and Dustin Wing. Thanks go out to them for their dedication and help.
The actual student workday will be in early December or January when the 66 kids will take an afternoon off from their regular classes. Twenty parent chaperones and the fourth-grade teachers led by Steve Papp— who was the driving force behind making this event happen—will accompany the kids.
Kiap volunteers will be needed on the day of the actual event to supervise the work of this group. A notice seeking volunteers will go out via MailChimp. Because all of the trees and brush have been cut ahead of time, I am hopeful that we can stage the event without the need for dangerous chainsaws or other power equipment around the students.
Kasey Yallaly is also planning to participate in this event and talk about the importance of maintaining a healthy riparian corridor. I am hoping that the event can conclude with the students participating in roasting some hot dogs and sharing some hot cocoa and cookies around the bonfire before heading back to school. I will hold subsequent Kiap workdays at the site to burn up any of the brush which the students are not able to handle during
the event.
Plum Creek: Look for work to begin on Plum Creek again in early December as Nate Anderson is hopeful that he can complete the restoration on the remainder of the Von Holtum easement this coming summer rather than stretching the project out over a third year. Several of us from the Chapter—including Scott Wagner, Loren Haas and myself—will be attending a meeting with the WIDNR at their Baldwin office on December 10th to hammer out a plan for the Chapter’s role in the long term maintenance of restoration sites.
Watch for upcoming emails!—Randy Arnold
Kiap-TU-Wish Email List
To receive general announcements or information about upcoming workdays on stream restoration projects, send your name and email address to Randy Arnold, our chapter’s volunteer coordinator: randyca999@gmail.com
