The stream that we worked on at Stafford Lake had the problem of soil falling into the stream and being carried into the lake which is our reservoir for clean water, and making it dirty. Invasive plants were also taking over the banks and stealing nutrients from the native plants. The Marin County Parks Project was putting in new mulch and soil that would only support native plants, would block pests from attacking the plants, and would hold the soil to the edges of the stream. I worked on most of the different parts of the project which were: putting down hay, rolling out cardboard sheets, putting down more hay, filling mulch buckets, and spreading out the mulch over the hay. My work was part of the Integrated Pest Management approach because we put out cardboard so pests could not get through to or from the soil to the plants. Then we put down mulch so plants could still grow without the pests touching them and without pesticides. I liked rolling out the cardboard sheets because it was fun to run and unroll it. Volunteer work is important because most of the time the organizations that want to help the most have the least amount of money, and need volunteers in order to make the change that they hope to make. It makes people feel good to contribute and help the environment because they know that they have done their part.
STEM Marin | Stafford Lake Service Learning Project Reflection |