EDMONDS — A group dedicated to restoring and improving aquatic habitat, Puget Sound Stewards, is forming in Edmonds.
Volunteers won’t have to look far to see the work site of one of their projects — Edmonds Marsh.
A meeting is scheduled from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. March 19 at the Frances Anderson Center in Edmonds for people interested in joining the work of Puget Sound Stewards.
“There’s a whole area around the marsh, the buffer or riparian area with some native plants, but a lot of non-native, invasive plants,” said Dhira Brown, a project manager for EarthCorps, the Seattle-based nonprofit organization which is forming the teams of Puget Sound Stewards.
That project will get under way as a larger project to open Willow Creek, currently flowing in an underground pipe, from Edmonds Marsh to Puget Sound. “We want to go and start taking care of the available area, the area around the marsh, while this larger restoration project is in the works,” she said.
Native plants help provide food for the birds that use the marsh as well as habitat for the salmon that eventually will come to the area during high tide when the Willow Creek project is completed, Brown said.
Puget Sound Stewards will be able to learn about habitat restoration, native plant identification and how to manage habitat restoration sites, she said.
They will help educate the public on why it’s important to have these healthy habitats. “We give them the resources and training to run their own volunteer events,” Brown said.
About 20 hours of additional training will be provided to volunteers interested in joining the Puget Sound Steward program. Volunteers are asked to donate about 25 hours a year to the program.
Volunteers have to be able to lift about 15 pounds, be able to wield a shovel and “be willing to work in all kinds of weather,” Brown said. Work parties for restoration projects typically last about four hours. Work by the Stewards in the Edmonds Marsh is expected to begin in May.
The formation of an Edmonds group of Puget Sound Stewards was made possible by a $17,145 grant from the Hazel Miller Foundation in Edmonds to be used during the group’s first year.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com
A meeting for people interested in learning more about volunteering as a Puget Sound Steward is scheduled from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. March 19 at the Frances Anderson Center, 700 Main St. in Edmonds. Contact dhira@earthcorps.org 206-322-9296 ext.204 for more information.
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