Sycamore Invasives

Restoration Project Information

Thanks for signing up for the Issaquah Creek Invasive Plant Removal event on Saturday, June 28th.  We will work from 9:00a.m. and work until 3:00 p.m.

At this point, formal registration has closed, but you're still more than welcome to join us!  Check out the information below for directions and detailed project information.  [If you're interested in the Swamp Trail on Tiger Mountain event, please click here]

Please be on time to the project.  We'll cover a lot of important information before hiking away from the meeting area and it may be hard to find us!

*Participants under the age of 18 must have a waiver form signed by a legal guardian to participate.  If you need a waiver form, download one from our web site, http://www.mtsgreenway.org/volunteer/downloads/youthwaiver.pdf, and bring it to the project with the signature.  Children under age 11 may not attend a project without a supervising adult.  Parents: please pick up your child on time at the end of the project, no later than 3 PM, if not earlier.  Additionally, the parent or guardian must be reachable by phone for the ENTIRE DAY and must be able to pick up the youth volunteer within a half hour of a phone call.  This is especially important in the case of an emergency.*  

PROJECT INFORMATION:
Trees along Issaquah streams (and in our yards and gardens) are critical to healthy salmon runs and clean water. Native vegetation shades and cleans the water, and provides important habitat for fish and wildlife large and small. The Issaquah Creek Basin is surrounded by Tiger, Squak, and Cougar Mountains. Even though the Basin has many acres of good habitat and abundant wildlife, existing streamside areas are filled with many non-native plants.  Mountains to Sound has been working on restoring this park for several years including invasive removal and tree planting.  Invasive plants don't provide shelter for wildlife and fish and are competition for the health of native vegetation. Volunteers will help remove these invasive plants to give young native plants a better chance at survival and allow Issaquah Creek to thrive.  

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Participants should be ready to work hard, walk a short distance, get dirty, and have fun! Pay special attention to the packing list below; even though it is sunny where you live, it can be rainy and cold at the project site.

WHAT TO BRING, WEAR:
These items will help protect your body from injuries, cold, bug bites, dehydration, fatigue and other hazards.  Removing invasive plants is only fun when it’s safe!  Volunteers must have the following:

* Long pants (we’ll be working with tools, so no shorts!)
* Layers, including a t-shirt and long sleeve shirt (no tank tops)
* Sturdy shoes (preferably rubber or hiking boots, no sandals or thin, canvas shoes)
* Gloves (plastic dishwashing gloves over warm glove liners are ideal for tree planting)
* Rain gear
* Big sack lunch (you'll be working hard, so bring more than you usually eat)
* Full water bottle (or two!)
* Refillable plastic mug (we sometimes have hot drinks at the projects)
* Small daypack for lunch, extra layers, etc. 

We'll provide tools, project materials, some extra gloves and rain gear, and a small amount of water/drink.

DIRECTIONS:
From I-90, take exit 17. Go south on Front St. all the way through downtown Issaquah.  Turn right on Sycamore Drive SE.  Take the first right onto SE Sycamore Creek Lane.  Look for event signs and park in the dead-end.  If you get lost or have questions on the day of the event, please call Oliver on his work cell phone: 206-427-7504, we will not pick up the office phone after 5pm on Friday afternoon.  

GREENWAY BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Mountains to Sound Greenway is a scenic, historic and recreation landscape stretching along Interstate 90. This corridor extends from the bike and pedestrian trails on the Seattle waterfront through the forests and rugged peaks of the Cascades and down to the edge of desert grasslands of Central Washington. The Greenway includes trails of all kinds, wildlife habitat, parks and camping areas, working farms and forests, lands set aside to sustain clean air and water and plans for urban development that keep green and open spaces accessible to all. With the increasing population pressures in the greater Puget Sound region, this landscape could easily become a long strip of shopping malls, business parks and housing developments. The MTS Greenway Trust is the organization that works to help this landscape keep its character to retain the benefits of recreation opportunities and clean air and water. 

Thanks again for joining us, we couldn't do this work without you!

Tiger Mountain, Swamp Trail

Trails Project Information

Thanks for signing up for the Tiger Mountain Trails Event on June 28th!  We will work from 9:00a.m. until 3:00 p.m.  Please be on time for project orientation, latecomers will not be able to find us as we will be hiking a mile or more up the trail to our work site.

*Participants under the age of 18 must have a waiver form signed by a legal guardian to participate.  If you need a waiver form, download one from our web site, http://www.mtsgreenway.org/volunteer/downloads/youthwaiver.pdf, and bring it to the project with the signature.  Children under age 14 may not attend trails events.  Parents: please pick up your child on time at the end of the project.* 

PROJECT INFORMATION:
The popular Swamp and Big Tree Trails are located near Highpoint on Tiger Mountain, on the west side of the Tradition Plateau Natural Resource Conservation Area.  These trails pass through a wooded wetland of alder, cedar, hemlock and spruce and bring you to the site of the last remaining trees of an ancient forest that once graced all of Tiger Mountain.  Now, the few remaining enormous Doug Firs and old stumps (some with younger trees growing from them) give testimony to the logging activities that occurred in these woods decades ago.  Interpretive signage tells the fanciful tale of a swamp monster and of the history and ecology of the area.  The trails are popular with families, education groups, runners and other hikers.  However, aging boardwalks, which have become significantly deteriorated, lead to a decision by the City of Issaquah to partially relocate the trail.  Volunteers will be helping Mountains to Sound Crews to complete this work and improve this popular trail!

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Participants should be ready to be outdoors and on their feet all day, work hard, get dirty, and have fun! Pay special attention to the packing list below; even if it is nice out where you live, the weather can be very different at the project site. Volunteers must provide their own transportation; unfortunately we cannot arrange carpools.  For other general questions, please see our website: www.mtsgreenway.org/volunteers/FAQs or email us.

WHAT TO BRING/WEAR:

DURING TRAILS EVENTS YOU WILL BE WORKING HARD AND GETTING DIRTY, BOOTS ARE REQUIRED!
These items will help protect your body from injuries, cold, sunburn, bug bites, dehydration, fatigue and other hazards.  Trails events are only fun when it’s safe!  Volunteers must have the following:

* Long pants (we’ll be working with tools, so no shorts!)
* Layers, including a t-shirt and long sleeve shirt (no tank tops)
* Sturdy shoes (preferably boots, no sandals or thin, canvas shoes)
* Gloves (gloves are provided but we do not have children’s sizes)
* Rain gear
* Big sack lunch (you'll be working hard, so bring more than you usually eat)
* At least one full water bottle
* Small daypack for lunch, extra layers, etc.

 We'll provide tools, project materials, some extra gloves, rain gear, rubber boots (if you do not have any), and a small amount of water/drink.

DIRECTIONS:
From I-90, take exit 20.  Go south (turn right from I-90 eastbound, left from I-90 westbound).  Take an immediate right onto SE 79th.  Follow the road through the gates as the road turns to gravel.  Go .25 miles on the gravel road and park at the upper trailhead.

If you get lost or have questions on the day of the event, please call Margaret Ullman on her work cell phone at: 206-724-5788.  We will not pick up the office phone after 5pm on Friday!

GREENWAY BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Mountains to Sound Greenway is a scenic, historic and recreation landscape stretching along Interstate 90. This corridor extends from the bike and pedestrian trails on the Seattle waterfront through the forests and rugged peaks of the Cascades and down to the edge of desert grasslands of Central Washington. The Greenway includes trails of all kinds, wildlife habitat, parks and camping areas, working farms and forests, lands set aside to sustain clean air and water and plans for urban development that keep green and open spaces accessible to all. With the increasing population pressures in the greater Puget Sound region, this landscape could easily become a long strip of shopping malls, business parks and housing developments. The MTS Greenway Trust is the organization that works to help this landscape keep its character to retain the benefits of recreation opportunities and clean air and water.

Thanks again for joining us, we couldn't do this work without you!