Stream restoration work in the COVID era has presented many challenges, not least of which have been the strict limitations on the number, scope, and size of volunteer events. Thankfully, AmeriCorps’s National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) program has been able to continue through the pandemic, and JCWC was fortunate enough to have the services of the Blue 2 team this winter to fill in the hole left by our sorely-missed volunteers!
The team arrived in mid-January, and lived at Camp Namanu (a Camp Fire camp outside of Sandy), where they did part of their service. Most of their time here, which concluded at the end of March, was spent helping JCWC’s riparian efforts, including removing ivy, blackberry, and other local botanical troublemakers from over 3.75 acres and installing more than 3,500 native plants, including 750 willow stakes that they harvested! They also helped with preparations for Watershed Wide Event, assisted Portland Parks & Recreation staff with plantings on two of their sites, and worked on several important office/data entry tasks to keep JCWC’s records up to date.
The team is off to the Palm Springs, CA area for their next service project; they leave with our sincere gratitude and appreciation, and–I hope–good memories and a sense of a job well done. Best wishes, Blue 2!
