Here a mulch, there a mulch, everywhere a mulch, mulch. With June comes another Washington Arboretum Volunteer Day for the PRESENCE Northwest’s team now in it’s sixth year.
Under an almost perfect sunny Tuesday afternoon, our Arborist Shae, and us 12 hearty and hydrated souls took to The Pinetum area of our 230 acre urban green space. We started with a 40 acre mound of mulch, and with wheel barrels, pitch forks, and rakes, laid ground cover at the base of several evergreens. Pinetum spans the western boundary of the Arboretum, features 200 or so conifer species, from nearly every continent.
The reasons we mulch our trees: protects a tree’s shallow root system by retaining moisture, mimicking the natural, nutrient rich forest floor. It regulates temperature, suppresses weed growth and it just looks nice.
As always, among the huff and puffs, we were able to connect with each other, expend whatever energy we came with, and enjoy a few laughs and generally good conversation.
By the end of our session, we had nearly cleared out the mound of mulch, proud of our efforts to secure and beautify four conifer bases. By the end of session, we were shuffling our way to the parking lot, but grateful, once again, for an opportunity to brighten and tidy up the bustling haven of Washington Park Arboretum.
Those in attendance: Tonya Otey, Ayn Quan, Terri Steiner, Nia Sao, Ashley Knott, Trisha Hansen, Jeff Kotz, Cindy Sundvall, Jeny Throm, Andi Hendricks, Erik Forbes, Kari Dodson.
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