A future forest was put into place on Saturday during the first of two tree-planting work days at the Seminary Hill Natural Area in Centralia.
More than a dozen volunteers helped dig holes with shovels and an auger in particularly hard-packed areas. They mixed 125 potted and bare-root plants with compost, then carefully tucked them into place in their new home.
The seedling planting area is alongside an accessible trail running up through a narrow valley in the city-owned forest just east of downtown Centralia.
The trees were a mix of native species suited to that environment, including western red cedars that thrive in damp soil, as well as other trees and shrubs. The Lewis County Master Gardeners also donated six sequoia trees.
The area has long been covered with invasive reed canarygrass and blackberries after being deluged with mud during the October 1991 rupture of the city’s reservoir a few hundred yards up the hill. That collapse filled the valley with mud and clay, and this area of the natural area has struggled to fully recover.
A multi-year replanting effort aims to jump-start that long-stalled environmental restoration. The first stage was mowing the grass and blackberries, then covering that area for a year with cardboard and black plastic to shade out the weeds and create an open area for these seedlings to grow.
The work will continue this coming Saturday, Oct. 24. Volunteers are welcome and asked to join the work. Anyone can come — volunteers of all ages and skill levels are invited to join in the second half of the tree-planting project.
No prior knowledge about trees or plants is required. Tree experts Lisa Carlson and Justin Zenkner will teach attendees all that they need to know for the day’s work.
The Friends of the Seminary Hill Natural Area will provide refreshments and lunch for workers.
