[May 01, 2017]      

On Thursday, April 6th, a group of local master naturalists gathered in the shed at Kickapoo Creek Park. The morning started out at below freezing temperatures and the workers were handling water sodden bundles of new shrub starts - a chilly task.

None seemed mind much as this was a long awaited day, a new phase, the beginning of reaching their intended goal.

The group had labored the past two years removing two types of invasive shrubs, and these new varieties of bushes, if they take, are intended to provide more diverse purposeful food and pollen sources for wildlife.

Everyone worked quickly separating mostly 25-count bundles of shrubs. Bundles were split, counted out, rebundled and labeled. The bundles were then set in numbered buckets to be planted by groups the next day in specific locations located around Kickapoo Creek Park.
On Friday morning, the group, plus a few other volunteers returned to plant. Heavy rains made some areas quite the challenge to access, and it was sloppy, wet, digging in low areas.

Jim Struebing coordinated the group sorting the shrubs on Thursday morning.
 

Pictures by Jan Youngquist

Vince Long separates Blackhaw Viburnum and labels bundle for planting in a specific numbered area.

 

Gary Struebing does the same.

 

Mark Tebrugge hands Jim Struebing a shrub bundle labeled by species to be placed in a bucket labeled for location.

 

Numbered buckets correlate to locations where shrubs would be planted along the parks primary paved roadway.

 

 

 

Mona Maas hands Jim Struebing another completed bundle

 

A volunteer, Elmer King, was also on hand this day to help, and many others came on Friday for the big planting day. Nearly all the shrubs were planted on Friday.