Frank Ney "gulley" invasive removal

It was exciting to begin work at Frank Ney Elementary school this summer, near the headwaters of Wally Creek. Staff at the school will be working with the NALT school water stewards program to begin restoration of an area used as an outdoor classroom.  Access to the "gulley" is steep, and students love sliding down the muddy banks.  On rainy days they play like otters, climbing and sliding on the slope.  Unfortunately, this compacted the soil and prevented anything but Himalayan blackberry and Scotch broom from growing.  This area was identified as an ideal opportunity for restoration - as an educational value, and to improve biodiversity beside the creek.

Frank Ney school was built in 2000.  The area around Frank Ney and to the north used to be boggy wetland, and we believe the stream was dug out to drain water away from where the school was built.   When the school was expanded in 2018, engineers designed rammed earth pillars to support the addition that would withstand subsidence in the event of an earthquake. 

The outdoor classroom area, or "gully" has soft, silty soil that gets very wet in the winter months, and blooms with skunk cabbage in the spring.    Unfortunately, reed canary grass has also taken over in this soggy area.  We know reed canary grass seeds can survive for many years, and is very challenging to suppress.  In Burnaby, there is a test area where thick black plastic is being used to smother the reed canary grass before attempting to replant with native species.  We're going to use thick layers of cardboard around our native planting, covered with dense layers of wood chips, to suppress invasives.

We started with a late summer work party to involve students and families in removing invasives and getting to know the purpose of this work, and connecting with each other! Besides doing some important work to reverse the damage done by human activity, we want people to have fun and spend time together in nature.  It was a satisfying start to this part of our restoration efforts.