Regular readers of this column may recall an article written late last summer about our ongoing project with Oregon Watershed to enhance the stream bank and health of Pringle Creek.

The ongoing saga of our portion of this delightful little waterway had a new chapter written recently when a group of students from Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School came out to our grounds and planted a number of native plants along the creek side to help provide natural habitat and erosion control.

Last fall, working with the Oregon Watershed group, we were able to widen the channel for the creek and provide a lower bank area so that during heavy rains the water could spread out, slow down and not be a rushing torrent spilling through a straight channel. The project also had the added benefit of providing hiding places for the small fish living in the creek and the crawdads that scurried along the stream’s bottom.

Last summer, after the dredging and digging, it was too late in the season to plant, so the raw earth was covered up with a natural jute netting to help keep the bank stable. Immediately after anchoring the netting down, we had a convention of garter snakes arrive on the scene and weave themselves in and out of the netting — really a bizarre and strange sight.

Even with all the rain that we had this winter and the creek rising up almost to the bottom of the bridge, the new bank held its shape, the stream slowed down where it should and everything worked out even better than planned.

As the warm weather began to arrive, it was time to think about getting the new bank planted with something that would stabilize it permanently.

With support from Oregon Watershed, about eight students, along with their teacher, arrived in the late afternoon to begin work on the bank enhancement. The plant material had been delivered earlier by Oregon Watershed personnel and consisted of sedges, rushes, wild roses and native dogwood. The selection of plant material ensured that there would be a variety of texture, height and color along the bank.

This experiment has been a great example of environmental interests, government involvement and private ownership working together to create something that works for all. It gives us here at loose ends a beautiful little stream that everyone who comes here can enjoy — truly a win-win-win situation.

June 9, 2006