Project Log

Anastarr Ricketts

Project Log
Date: Jan. 19
Time: 2 hrs.
Activities: Met with Meg at our site. We walked around, exploring different parts and areas of our site. She showed and educated me on different plants such as Herb Robert, which aids with cancer, the Red Alder, the Western Red Cedar, Nootka Rose, Salal, Sword Fern, and Lady Fern. We also discussed what plants are necessary and unnecessary in the garden, and what changes we could make with transplanting or weeding, and what new and exciting plants we could add to the site.
Learning: I wasn't very clear on what exactly we would be doing for the winter quarter, and where we would be working and with what. I did not know any plant native to the Northwest region. Meg was kind enough to show me some and with her introduction, she included some of her brief knowledge of some of the plants and trees. She also filled me in on the class that I missed on Wed.
Cumulative Hours: 2 hrs.
Date: Jan. 28
Time: 3 hrs.
Activities: Met with Meg and Michelle in the Library. We went into the computer lab and they showed me how to use Droople. We then went over to our site and discussed together everything that we maybe want to get done and what we could do to improve the site. We started to uncover some leaves and weed out dead plants such as Fern. We uncovered some big rocks that outline the pathway, and placed them in line with the others.
Learning: I learned how to use Droople.
Date: Jan. 29
Time: 3 hrs.
Activities: Went to the site at the Long House garden and began to weed out dead plants such as ferns, and throw all of the dead fallen leaves on the ground into the barrel. I did this on the hillside, near the maple tree, a little below the handicap parking area.
Learning: I uncovered a lot of the Trailing Blackberry that was cover the ground, I didn't know that this was part of our site, there is so much of it! I also uncovered a lot of trash. There is a big layer of dead, fallen leaves covering the ground, and I think it would be useful to uncover it all to see what else there is and ground coverage we can work with.
Cumulative hours: 8 hrs.
Date: Feb. 3
Time: 2 hrs.
Activities: Today I spent more time on the slanting hillside of our site. I was told that the trailing blackberry is considered a weed in our site and that it should be taken out. So I spent more time weeding these beautiful plants out and raking and getting rid of more excess leaves from the fall. I also started to rake the leaves on the top of our site, above the hill, next to the handicap parking.
Learning: Because there is so much trailing blackberry covering the ground of our site, I was curious about the plant, so I looked it up, and uncovered some very interesting information about it. I found that the myth about the trailing black berry is very interesting: An angry husband chased a woman up a tree and the blood of the woman fell to the ground and turned into blackberry. It is also very good to know that the leaves were made into tea's to help with such cases as diahrea, a sore mouth, or excessive menstruation. I also learned that there is a lot of trash buried under the leaves on the upper hill, next to the handicap parking area.
Cumulative Hours: 10 hrs.
Date: Feb. 9
Time: 3 hours
Activities: I went over to Michelles house and we discussed our project sight 'theme' and 'introduction'. We went on the computer and looked at some photos and information about different plants in our forest section. With the map of our site made from last quarter, we added pictures on the same page and showed where each picture of the plant is located by circling the area then drawing a line to the picture from the circle.
Learning: Michelle showed me some plants some pictures she took of our site in the beginning of the quarter. She took some pictures of some plants that I did not know such as the Colts Foot, which have basil leaves, heart or kidney shaped, and Michelle told me that they flower in the spring into creamy whitish, pinkish colors. It grows in moist to wet forest, thickets, swamps, openings, or clearings. It has been cultivated by Japanese immigrants as an early spring vegetable. The Quinault Indians in Washington State used the leaves  to cover berries in steam-cooking pits. The flowering stems come up before leaves. Cumulative Hours: 13
Date: Feb. 10
Time: 1 hr
Activities: I was curious about the Quinault Indians, so I researched a little about them. I also researched about the Western Red Cedar which is the heart, or theme of our site. I also researched a little more on the Colts Foot.
Learning: Quinault Indians: I learned that the Quinault Indians are a Salishan tribe who inhabited what is now the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. They lived along the coast, where they hunted fish in dugout cedar canoes. Salmon and steelhead fishing was the major economic activity of the Quinault people. In addition, the rich supply of timber played an important part in their lifestyle. They lived a rich existence with hunting, fishing, and ample supplies of timber for building and firewood.Fifty years after the arrival of Lewis and Clark, under pressure from the U.S. government, the Quinault signed the Quinault River Treaty. This treaty obliged them to cede their land to the U.S. and move to a reservation. Some of the people refused to move to the reservation set up by the treaty, however, and today many of the Quinault live in or around their traditional homeland. Western Red Cedar:  We chose the Western Red Cedar as the theme of our forest. We all agreed that this tree was the heart of our site. It was and still is often referred to as 'the tree of life', which comes from the Kwakwaka'wakw group. In this tribe, as well as others, it was used to make important cultural items such as dugout canoes, house planks and posts, totem and mortuary poles, bentwood boxes, baskets clothing and hats, and a variety of tools and implements such as dishes, arrow shafts, harpoon shafts, spear poles, barbecue sticks, fish spreaders and hangers, dip-net hooks, fish clubs, masks, rattles, benches, cradles, coffins, herring rakes, canoe bailers, ceremonial drum logs, combs, fishing floats, berry-drying racks, fish weirs, spirit whistles, and paddles. It was also used to drill and hearth for starting friction fires, and was considered to be an excellent fuel, especially for drying fish, because it burns with little smoke. It is still held with the highest respect by all northwest coast peoples for its healing and spiritual powers. There is a Coast Salish myth that says the Great Spirit created the Red Cedar in honor of a man who was always helping others. 'When he dies and where he is buried, a cedar tree will grow and be useful to the people - the roots for baskets, the bark for clothing, the wood for shelter'.Coltsfoot:It has been used medicinally as a cough suppressant. The plant has been used since at least historical times to treat lung ailments such as asthma as well as various coughs by way of smoking. Crushed flowers supposedly cured skin conditions, and the plant has been consumed as a food item. They resemble dandalions, but they appear in early spring before dandalions. The plant is often found in waste and disturbed places and along roadsides and paths.  
Cumulative Hours: 14 hours 
Date: Feb. 12 
Time: 1 hr. 
Activities: I met with Michelle and Meg and we discussed the theme of our Forest site. We looked through the binder for our section and looked at everything there, and we discussed why the Western Red Cedar is the theme of our site. We organizeed the way we are going to submit our introduction and theme paper. We decided that I would write about the Western Red Cedar, Michelle would include some other plants that are related to helping women, and Meg would put everything together and include the main site introduction which we had previously worked on. I also spent the remaining time after our meeting writing about the 'heart' or 'theme' (the Western Red Cedar) of our site.  
Learning: This was just a quick meeting, and I had previously already done some research on the Western Red Cedar.  
Cumulative Hours: 15 hours 
Date: Feb. 17
Time: 3 hrs.
Activities: I went to the site at the Long House and Michelle had already been working there. I spent my time on the upper area of our site, working with the area surrounding the Big Leaf Maple. I spent time clearing the leaves and weeding any trailing blackberry, and discarding trash. There were a lot of fallen branches and twigs that were lying around, which I placed on the side of the concrete pathways. As I was picking up some of the fallen leaves, I uncovered a big beetle which had a shiny bronze/copper color to it. Meg and Adam came after Michelle had left, and Meg and I worked on the site together.
Learning: I have never seen a beetle as big and as shinny as the one I saw then. Adam told me that the sound of the frogs was a month late this winter at getting started. Adam also showed me a drawing technique at holding the pencil differently.
Cumulative Hours: 18 

Date: Feb. 18

 

Time:  4 hrs.

 

Activities: I was curious about the beetle I saw, so I searched online for the beetle. I could not find the name of the beetle that I found, but I found a lot of very interesting information about beetles in general and what they contribute to our society.

 

Learning: As I was searching, I found a lot of information of the damage that beetles cause. I found a lot about the risk with corn. Many beetles are very attracted to corn. Infact there is a family of beetles named The Corn Rootworm Beetle. The flea beetle has a similar color to the one that I saw in the longhouse garden. As I researched more about this beetle, I found that it can cause great damage to humans by way of corn. During the winter, these tiny beetles thrive on corn, carrying a bacterium Pantoea (Erwinia) stewartii, which causes Stewarts disease.

I also found some interesting information about the spruce beetle in Anchorage Alaska:  January 20, 2004. About 4 million acres of spruce forests were infested and killed by the spruce beetle in south-central Alaska in the past decade—more than twice the amount affected from 1919 to 1989. Fire, of course, spreads rapidly through these dead forests causing catastrophic damage to life and property.

Several state and federal agencies are presenting a symposium to address this issue and to share research findings about the spruce beetle and its effect on forested ecosystems in south-central Alaska. The symposium, “A Changing Alaska Forest Ecosystem: Effects of Spruce Beetle Outbreaks and Associated Management Practices on Forest Ecosystems in South-Central Alaska.

“ The spruce beetle outbreak peaked in 1996 when about 30 million trees were killed,” said Holsten, a Forest Service research entomologist. “Much of the damage occurred on the Kenai Peninsula. (http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/news/2004/01/spruce-beetle.shtml)

I thought that this story was very interesting, pointing out how foresters, land managers, and entomologists reacted to an insect outbreak not only in Crater Lake National Park, but also in many different National Parks during the early 1900’s. In 1923, the Superintendent of Crater Lake National Park requested help from the Bureau of Entomology because groups of lodgepole pine in the northern portion of the park were being killed by the mountain pine beetle. Because the dominant tree within the park was lodgepole pine, Park Superintendent Colonel C.G. Thomson visualized the park would become a "windblown, sandy desert without the lodgepole pines.” During that summer, John E. Patterson responded for the Bureau from its Ashland, Oregon, field station and made a first examination of the outbreak. Because the Park Service had no funding for insect control in 1924, plans were made to do a more extensive survey in summer 1924 and to request funds to start control operations in 1925. The epidemic apparently started 10 years earlier in National Forest stands northeast of the park near Diamond Lake and spread slowly southward killing from 50 to 90 percent of the stand as it progressed. In the 1924 survey report, Patterson recommended that the large, intense outbreak north of the lake be ignored... He pointed out that almost 80 percent of the trees had already been killed so efforts to protect stands from future losses should be centered south of the lake in the following areas: south of Wheeler Creek near the east entrance, between Sand and Wheeler Creeks, in the Pinnacles, south of Wheeler between Lost Creek Ranger Station and Kerr Notch, in Munson Valley, and in Anna Springs.These areas totaled about 1,920 acres (see footnote 3). Control crews moved into the park on May 25, 1925. The first camp was established at the Ranger Station at the east entrance (no longer inexistence). It was difficult to move the crews and equipment into this area because of late persistence of snow 3 to 6 feet deep. Consequently the first few days were spent opening the roads so that trucks could bring in the crews and supplies. Camps were later established at the Lost Creek Ranger Station on May 27 and at Government Camp near Munson Valley on June 24. Control work was completed by July 11 with 4,291 trees treated. Average diameter at breast height of the treated trees was 14 inches. All infested trees were felled before being treated. The smaller trees were felled with axes while those above 8 inches in diameter were felled with saws.The Park Service spent $4,954.15 of their $5,000.00 allotment. Wages represented$3,131.75 of the total with the rest going for provisions, equipment, and various supplies. Not a bad cost accounting considering the remote area, poor transportation, deep snow, and lack of roads.Thus began a series of rosy proclamations about winning the war against the beetles. The amount of infested trees spread throughout the forest. Their plan was to do Intensive control work on all the areas infested at the present time, with the idea of eliminating the beetles from the Park areas and saving the remaining lodgepole forests. The plan would represent a commendable effort on the part of the Park Service to preserve the lodgepole forests but is doomed to defeat; for it is impossible to eliminate the beetles from such a large area, and sooner or later these stands are due to die and be replaced by other types. The plan is not only futile but would be tremendously expensive. 

Cumulative Hours: 22

Date: 2/22/07

Time: 3 hours

Activities: Went to site and cleared more, trimmed, and weeded out dead debris on the corner of our site, next to the trails, on the other side of the Big Leaf Maple.

Learning: I was so excited on this day! When I got to the site, it was as if it was untouched by any human existence. It was so happy to see me, and couldn’t wait to share its many new gifts with me. As the birds were dancing from tree to tree with their friendly songs, I proceeded to clear away the dead fallen leaves, and discard the dead leaves of the friendly lady ferns. I lifted up the leaves to find many new surprises! There were tiny little bright green leaves popping up through the soil, they looked a lot like sunflower sprouts. They were so bright green, vibrating with life, and they were so cute! I tried to look for them in Pojars book, Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, and then online a little, but I could not find them. Also, as I moved around a lady fern, facing more inward towards our site, I found, to my surprise, another plant was coming up the greet us. It is located near the big log laid down in our site, above the slanted hill. It was so cute. It came up out of nowhere. It looks almost like a young, beautiful lily plant. It is such a bright green color. It looks like someone must have planted a seed there a long time ago, and now it is just starting to sprout. I was so excited; I couldn’t wait to share this with my group!

Cumulative hours: 25

Date: 2/25/07

Time: 2.5 hours

Activity: Further research on the Western Red Cedar for our group site and theme.

Learning: I found some very interesting information about the Western Red Cedar. I thought it was interesting that the Western Red Cedar tree contains a chemical called plicatic acid that causes an allergic reaction in some people. This research has been based off of some lumber workers who have, for years, been cutting down this beautiful ‘life giving’ tree. This sensitization has accumulated in these men, and has caused them to get asthma. I thought this was interesting because the Indigenous people conceived the tree as a sentient being with a ‘spirit’, and to cause harm to it in any way would mean that it would die and nearby trees would curse the perpetrator of this act. It looks like this belief is true! The surrounding trees of the Western Red Cedar cursed these lumber men with this sensitization.

            The people take great care with the harvesting of the bark of these trees. It requires some ceremony, and includes appeasing the tree’s spirits. It is out of this respect that one does not take more than one needs, and to always make sure to give back in an equal exchange. Even if the tree has fallen to the ground, it is important to first ask the tree’s permission, whether it is used for a canoe, or clothing, and to always offer prayers to the spirit in exchange. It really is the heart of the forest, still beating even after falling to the ground, providing cover for animals, and nourishment for new trees, a new generation, for the next 1000 years. 
Cumulative hours: 27.5 
Date: 3/1/07 
Time: 3.5 
Activity: Picking up trash around Olympia community. 
Learning: Now that the weather is getting warmer and nicer, I have been biking to school instead of driving. I have really gained much more appreciation for Olympia and it’s surrounding area, especially the route from my house to the school. Before taking this class, I would normally stressfully just zip by these areas without paying any attention to their beauty and life around them. Now that I bike to school I have really observed so much more about each area, especially right on the side of the road. It pained me to see how much trash there was that had been collected for days, months, even years it seemed. It puzzles me as to why people can disrespect their beautiful, life giving planet earth in this manner. I noticed how much of it there was. So I parked my bike, got off and started piling up trash in little piles on the side of the road. I noticed a nearby dumpster, so after piling trash, I brought each pile over to the dumpster and threw it away. Luckily I had my gardening gloves to pick up the trash. I just don’t understand why people find it so difficult to walk a few extra steps to put their trash in the dumpster, but instead they throw it out on the side of the road. It really pains me. There was so much trash, consisting of soda cans, candy wrappers, boxes of juice, glass bottles, etc. I feel so fortunate to be able to be on this beautiful planet earth to help her stay clean.  
Cumulative hours: 31 
Date: 3/8/07 
Time: 6.5 
Activity: The three of us met at Michelle’s house as we gathered and produced our information for our final project. We put together a hard copy of all our information, as well as discussing how we would present our final presentation. We all agreed that it would be nice to express our respect and honor for the Western Red Cedar in our site, so we designed a ceremony to include in our presentation.  
Learning: The three of us really felt more comfortable with each other, and we got to know each other better! I think this is so important when you are collaboratively working as a group to produce something for a final presentation! I’m so happy with the partners I had this quarter, it made my education that much more exciting and interesting!  
Cumulative hours: 37.5 
Date: 3/10/07 
Time: 3 hours 
Activity: During our last Saturday class for the quarter, my group, with the help of Adam and Laura, helped us to transplant the Nootka Rose to a different site. It was located on the corner of our site, where the trail from the parking lot meets with the main, big trail leading to the longhouse.  
Learning: I have transplanted once before with my friends when I was in High School, but sadly the plant died, so I knew I didn’t do it right. I am so grateful that I had this opportunity to learn how to transplant a beautiful plant without killing it. Laura told me that the Nootka Rose is the most cooperative plant when it comes to transplanting. I followed her example in forcing the shovel into the soil and slowly bringing the plant up with its roots. Some of the roots were so long and thick, spreading themselves out all through the ground. I learned that it was safe to trim some of these roots off. We discovered that some roots spread so far out that it connected to other, separate Nootka Rose plants growing, for example, in the middle of a bush of ferns. It was so amazing to be able to dig so deep into the earth and discover this network of roots beneath the surface. I also found a little red salamander resting with the soil next to the Nootka Rose; it was so adorable.

            I also learned about the Compost a little. I had never known how the compost really, truly worked. When I went over to help them replant the Nootka Rose in the other site, I saw that they were laying down the roots in the ground and placing soil and some of the compost on top of the soil. I couldn’t believe that it was compost! It was so smooth and soft, it didn’t smell bad at all, and it was such a beautiful dark brown color. I was amazed! I even went back to see Sherry and asked her a little bit about it! She said that the compost we had used for the Nootka Rose had been developing for probably 2 years or so!

Cumulative hours: 40.5 

Anastarr Ricketts
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