Matthews Avenue Triangle Landscape Rehabilitation

A Project by EHUF 481
(Field Practicum in Plant Management and Selection) Students, Fall, 2001

This quarter, our students are working on a triangular property at the south intersection of Matthews Ave NE and Sand Point Way. This land started out covered with weeds, including Rubus discolor (Himalayan blackberry), Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass), and Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed or morning glory), along with a few native Typha latifolia (cattail). A drainage ditch runs through the site, carrying water from Thorton Creek and surrounding neighborhoods to nearby Lake Washington. In the past, the site was mowed once or twice a year, but otherwise left alone. Neighbors had planted and maintained trees, but these were mowed down earlier this year by an inexperienced city employee. The neighbors requested our help in creating a more sustainable site. Our students decided to remove the weeds from the waterway, then plant the site with a variety of species native to the Puget Sound region and adapted to site conditions. By increasing plant diversity, the students hoped to create a more functional wetland.

Below are pictures of our weekly work parties. Click on any picture to see a larger version of the image.

The proposed site design

The site prior to renovation

Removing weeds from the site

The stream that emerged from beneath the weeds

Spreading mulch

Discussing the project with a community member

Laying jute for erosion control

Planting whips

Hand seeding to stabilize the slope

Planting trees

Spreading roots evenly throughout the planting hole to improve plant establishment

Newly installed plants

The finished product

The students who worked on this project

In spring 2003, we revisited the site because the weedy invaders were again taking over the site. We re-assessed our strategy and brainstormed ways to keep the weeds down better. We noticed that the majority of the upland plants had survived, and the wetland plants did far better on the south side of the stream than on the north. After analyzing the situation, we decided to again remove the weeds, install more plants (planting more densely this time), and add a thicker layer of mulch. We will continue to monitor the site and adjust our management strategies as needed. Pictures of the 2003 work parties are below.

Weeding the upland part of the site

Pulling weeds from the stream

Testing the water's depth

Raking new mulch onto the site

A large blackberry root pulled from the site

The weed pile - evidence of a hard day's work

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the following people or organizations for their assistance:

• Valorie Yamasaki and her crew from SeaTran
• John Hushagen and the Seattle Tree Preservation staff
• Win Abelsen and his crew from SeaTran
• Sky Nursery (especially Mary Heide)
• Sound Native Plants
• Student volunteers from ESC110 - spring 2003
• Lorena Taylor and her CoHorts crew - summer 2003