Restore Saint Paul: Conservation Corps Update, August 7th-10th

Friday, August 10, 2012

Conservation Corps Update, August 7th-10th

Post contributed by Conservation Corps Youth Outdoors Crew 2:

Tuesday, August 7th

The Conservation Corps crew is glad to be back to work for St. Paul after spending the majority of the summer leading Summer Youth Outdoors crews. We started the week by installing posts for fencing along an area of newly planted shoreline at Como Lake. We also removed old fencing at the Victoria rain garden. Finally, we spent some time in the Como Woodland Outdoor Classroom (CWOC) removing buckthorn.

Wednesday, August 8th

Wednesday began with finishing the fencing project along Como Lakeshore. We then removed the seed heads of burdock in CWOC. We have been working diligently to keep this pesky invasive species out of the park and have noticed that our efforts have been helping.

Katie showing the burdock seed heads that we removed

Thursday, August 9th

On Thursday, we visited the rain gardens in the Como neighborhood and did maintenance on them. We removed some invasive plants and thinned out other crowded plants. The gardens are looking very nice and functioning well to filter storm water after rain events rather than allowing it to run right into the storm drains and flow, unfiltered, into local bodies of water. Beautiful and great for the environment!

Friday, August 10th

To conclude the week, we worked at CWOC again removing buckthorn and clearing an area of all plant life in preparation for the beginning of a new project.

Contributing Authors

Saint Paul Parks and Recreation--Natural Resources Division:

It would be impossible for us to maintain and improve Saint Paul's natural areas to the high standards that we are used to without the coordinated efforts of our many partner organizations and volunteers. In addition to Saint Paul's Natural Resources employees, the following groups will be contributing to the content of this blog as they work hard to keep Saint Paul "the most livable city in America."

Conservation Corps of Minnesota:

The Conservation Corps provides meaningful work for young people in conserving energy, managing natural resources, responding to disasters and leading volunteers. Not only do they provide training in resource management, safety, job-readiness and technical skills, they help young people develop personal responsibility, a strong work ethic and greater awareness of environmental stewardship. CCM has been a valuable partner in maintaining Saint Paul Parks natural areas for years.

Eco Ranger Acadamy:

The Environmental Services EcoRanger Academy is an educational summer job program for youth interested in plants, wildlife and the natural environment. Youth work throughout the City in forests, lakes and prairies on restoration projects. They perform tasks such as invasive species removal, planting and mulching. The program covers plant anatomy and identification, trees, entomology, water, soils and ecology. Youth that successfully complete the summer program graduate with a certificate and references from their crew leaders.