holyoutlaw

As I study North Beach Park, I learn more and more how dynamic it is, and how much of an effect water flow has on it.

We’ve noticed a rill forming on a steep hillside. I think it might have started when some mountain beaver tunnels collapsed, but my theories usually only have a passing relationship to reality.

Here is a picture of the rill. The area of concern starts in the center of the picture and slants down to the left.

This was taken Saturday (9th), after Drexie and I had installed a few nootka rose live stakes. Nootka rose is supposed to live stake pretty well, and this area is too dry overall for salmonberry.

This is Drexie, in the process of putting the nootka rose into the ground.

The area we were working in was very steep and soft, in that the ground moved under our feet.

On Monday (11th) Tad and I went back to the rill and did some more work. We added a fence or dike made of branches from a fallen alder (there are enough of those around).

We staked the dike on both sides, then wedged some rolled-up burlap sacks at the base.

The burlap provides a finer barricade to the dirt than just the stakes and branches would, yet will still allow water to flow through if necessary. The branches were pushed back over the burlap. Just for belts and braces’ sake, we added some regular stakes on the uphill side of the entire structure.

Last but not least, we added some wood chips to the whole thing.

We could have added another couple buckets of wood chips, but it was time to go.

Still to come: More wood chips and a tree below the structure to buttress the whole thing.

Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.