Lots of Rotarians have shown up the last couple of months to bring the Wetland Peace Preserve closer to our vision. In February, volunteers planted riparian cuttings and wrapped trees, while March found Rotarians weeding and mulching the saplings we had planted last fall. On another track, the WPP advisory committee is preparing for the city approval process.
Lots of Rotarians have shown up the last couple of months to bring the Wetland Peace Preserve closer to our vision. For the 4th Saturday event on Feb. 26, more than 30 volunteers freed larger cottonwoods from protective mesh and wrapped younger trees to keep our beaver neighbors from damaging them. Cottonwoods are long-lived but require flooding to germinate. With the Boise River running through town, flooding isn’t something we want. So our cottonwoods aren’t continually repopulating and need all the help they can get to thrive!
Volunteers also used special tools to pound through frozen sand and rock along the river, and the holes were then planted with willow, dogwood and cottonwood cuttings. (Watch the video of our February fun!) Unfortunately, when we got together for our March 26 4th Saturday, we learned that someone had methodically pulled out all the twigs! The city will muster replacements, and an ad hoc of Rotary volunteers will meet to plant them in the same holes. We will likely mark them with mesh tubes, indicating that they’re part of a restoration project.
In the meantime, nearly 10 volunteers weeded around saplings that we planted last fall. The saplings are doing well, and we hope to have oakleaf sumac, golden currant, antelope bitterbrush and sage flourishing throughout the preserve. These saplings were also given a fertilizer tablet and then mulched to keep water in and bugs and weeds out.
Although these efforts are important, a major portion of our work is going into preparing for the “bureaucratic process” necessary for us to create the park on city land. Because the preserve will be a memorial park in honor of Pam Lodal, it follows a different process than usual. Committee chair John Lodal has been working for months with Trademark on design of the peace poles and with Toby Norton from the city of Boise. Now they’ve collaborated to develop a plan to present to the city. It’ll first go before the City Parks Commission for approval, possibly this summer, after which a public meeting will be held to share plans, designs and commission approval.
Until then, members of the advisory committee are finalizing peace pole content, reviewing Trademark mockups of signage, and addressing a vast number of details. We’re also collecting donations to purchase a few rolls of mesh wire to wrap around trees. Any donation amount is appreciated, and checks can be sent to Boise Metro Rotary, c/o John Biggs, 8940 W Ben St, Boise, ID 83714. Please write “WPP mesh fencing” or something similar in the memo field.
