Riparian Features
Project Goals
Enhancing Biodiversity
Promoting healthy conditions for plants, insects, birds and animals to thrive
Restoration and Conservation
Protecting the local ecosystem and habitats
Stewarding Salmon
Monitoring hatchery reports, volunteer as Stream Team Salmon Steward
Wildlife Coexistence
Honoring the role of the urban wildlife boundary this is a major influence on this project.
Passive Recreation
Human activities that are highly compatible with protecting the ecosystem
Master Gardener Project
Engaging the MG Community and fulfilling Internship Project requirements
Habitat Project Activities
Sourcing Native Plants
Native Plant Salvage, Thurston County Conservation District Grant, Master Gardener Foundation, Wild Thyme Tree Farm Bare Root Cedars (from a friend)
Invasive Removal
Himalayan blackberry, tansy ragwort, scotchbroom Rubus armeniacus Himalayan Blackberry Weed Class C (Native to Asia) NWCB listing Senecio jacobaea Tansy ragwort Primary Invasive, there’s just tons of it
Nesting Boxes
Birdhouses, bat boxes, insect habitat stacks
Plant Propogation
Seeds, bulbs, software and hardwood cuttings
Busy Beaver
Plant Inventories
Woody Plants
Trees and Shrubs are both
woody perennials and can be evergreen or deciduous.
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Trees typically having a single stem or trunk, Shrubs typically have multiple stems.
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Trees grow to considerable heights, shrubs are small to medium size.
Vascular Plants
Herbaceous plants are a broad category of vascular plants, and include broad-leafed plants, grasses, sedges and rushes.
Herbaceous plants most often are low-growing, tend to have soft stems, and above ground are seasonal in duration.
Aquatic Plants
Aquatic plants are adapted to grown in or near water or saturated soil, with special adaptations for growth and reproduction.
Aquatic plants living in water are either emergent, submergent, or floating.
Benefits of Riparian Zones
Increase Water Quality
Riparian zones help filter storm water runoff by slowing down and trapping pollutants. Pollutants can then infiltrate the soil and be broken down by microbes which can be absorbed by the buffer's plants which increases water quality.
Healthy Riparian Zones
Prevent Flooding
Riparian zones create spaces to store excess water from heavy rains and help prevent flooding.