Planting for the future
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By Tamara Fudge | Sunday, October 29, 2006 |
Photos by Nick Loomis/QUAD-CITY TIMES Trees R Us committee member Steve Gustafson, left, and Rocky High School student Emily Young fill buckets with mulch for volunteers to spread on newly planted trees at the Field Sike Greenway Project area in Bettendorf on Saturday morning during a tree-planting effort.
Stacy West of Pleasant Valley, left, and her son, Bryan, plant a tree at the Field Sike Greenway Project area in Bettendorf on Saturday morning during a tree-planting hosted by Living Lands & Waters.
A tree’s roots help hold in soil and reduce erosion from rain and wind.
This very basic plant and environmental science lesson was put into action on Saturday as the Field Sike Greenway and Park Development Initiative saw the planting of about 120 trees in Bettendorf’s new park centered around Field Sike Creek.
“The city invited us to come and plant trees,” explained Kristen Ellis, the riverbottom restoration coordinator for Living Lands & Waters. “The project has been going on for a few years now, and this is one of the final phases. These trees will be flood-tolerant and of course the root systems will help fight erosion.”
According to materials provided by the City of Bettendorf, the initiative has regraded parts of this area just northwest of 53rd Street and Devils Glen Road. They have removed invasive plants and designed erosion control measures, including riffle pools, which are shallower areas where the water runs over gravel or small rocks. By next summer, a five-acre park and recreation trail are scheduled to be completed.
Parts of the creek were redirected as part of the plan, according to several volunteers. This redefinition required some careful landscaping, which is credited to Stu Smith and Steve Grimes of the parks department.
“Any time we are out and do a tree planting, it’s a great thing for the environment,” said Beth Irving of Living Lands & Waters. “We’ve built a community here,” she said, while looking around during the planting, “and it’s nice to bring the land back to what it probably once was.”
Twenty Red maple and European alder trees provided by Trees R Us were planted in the higher elevation while about 100 native hardwood trees — sycamore, black walnut and pecan — were planted near the creek itself.
“The main thing we do is plant trees in public areas to help the visual effects and the environment,” said Terry Jay of Trees Are Us.
Wayne Hannel of Trees Are Us kept track of volunteers and gave them instructions on how to properly plant the trees. About 40 volunteers from Scott County Master Gardeners, Bettendorf Parks Department, the Scott County Courthouse, Pleasant Valley and Rock Island high schools, Living Lands & Waters and Trees-R-Us participated.
Living Lands & Waters, formed by Chad Pregracke and known more for river cleanups, has an objective to “to aid in the protection, preservation and restoration of the natural environment of the nation’s major rivers and their watersheds.”
Pre-drilled and flagged holes greeted the volunteers, who worked quickly in the cold morning temperatures. The city provided personnel and trucks with water and mulch to complete the process.
“I wanted to do something for the community,” said volunteer Allison Fullenkamp, a freshman at Pleasant Valley High School, who worked alongside her mother, Cheryl Traum. Fullenkamp helped plant trees and then carried the empty plastic buckets up the embankment to keep the area free of litter.
Master gardener Ed Sharkness helped “because it’s a very beneficial community project.” In keeping with environmental concerns, he rode his bicycle to the area in order to participate. “We are restoring some of the environment to the way it was,” he said. “It’s hard to do, but nature will adjust.”
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.
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