Healing Gardens

Body:

Date: April 15, 2007

Time Spent: 2 hours

Activities: I spent some time in the site sitting, identifying plants, and picking up trash. I noticed how muddy it is everywhere, reaching back to the Alder. There are Skunk Cabbages growing out from the mud and water, and someone graciously placed another Skunk Cabbage in a pot that is asking to be planted. I noticed a lot of Colts foot in the front of the site, next to the main paved pathway. I picked up trash, and threw it away, along with some obvious unneeded leaves or branches that needed to be picked up. As soon as I witnessed the baby Western Red Cedar sitting in the back of our site, I sat next to it for a long time listening and observing.

Learning: As I picked up a lot of trash all around the site, I noticed some things I would like to change or add to the site. There are many dead ferns all around the site that need to be trimmed back. There is also a lot of dead Salal twigs that should be removed. A lot of leaves are scattered all around the place too that should be removed. I also noticed a lot of rocks all over the place in the mud. I would like to collect some of the rocks and create a little pathway where the muddy water meets the dry ground up to the little horse shoe pathway in Mixed Forest C.

Cummulative Hours: 2 hrs.

Date: April 20, 2007

Time: 2 hours

Activities: I met with Jamie at our site and as we observed our site, we discussed together some of the changes we would like to make. We went over to the library to the computer to see the previous groups contributions to the site. We recognized most of the plants listed on the list, but had trouble identifying some such as the jewelweed (touch-me-not). We then went back to the site to work with it. While Jamie spent his time trimming back the ferns on the left side of the creek (next to the Long House), I spent my time getting rid of leaves in the mud, and collecting rocks and created a little pathway.

Learning: After looking at the map of our site more thoroughly and at all of the plants, I have a better understanding of the setup of our site.

Cummulative Hours: 4 hrs.

Date: April 21, 2007 (Class time)

Time: 2.5 hours

Activities: I spent the afternoon class in our Long House garden site, cleaning it up. I first raked up more leaves around the site, near the baby Cedar, then moved over to the opposite side around the Salal and Ferns next to the horse shoe pathway in Mixed Forest C. That area really needed some work, I cut back most of the ferns, raked up the fallen leaves from Fall, and cut back some of the dead twigs on the Salal plants. With some help from Derek and Allyson, we planted the Skunk Cabbage in the muddy water, where we found more rocks.

Learning: As I uncovered the area of the Salal and the ferns, i found some horsetail growing underneath all of it. Knowing how invasive it is, I was very surprised to find it all there! It is small and there are about 3 or 4 growing up through the fern and Salal. I aslo found the Jewelweed, touch-me-not growing in that area. I now know what it looks like and where it is in our site. There was a lot of trash that I uncovered in there as well. I learned how to plant something in the muddy water, and i learned that it is hard and messy, but so much fun.

Week 4

Date: April 22, 2007

Time: 2 hours

Activities: As my partner, Jamie, and I discussed, I looked in the Forest by my house for any wood that we might be able to use for making the bridge for our site. I spent a long time looking around and getting to know my friendly neighbors of the forest. Most of the wood that I found was fallen tree from the winter storms that had already started to decay and turn into mulch. Unfortunately I didn't find anything promising, but I am grateful that I was able to explore the forest next to my house and developed a more intimate relationship with it.

Learning: I discovered a lot of new, unbelievable forms of life that I did not know was there. There are no trails in the forest, which made me feel more like an explorer and a discoverer. I followed the sound of running water, which lead me to a tiny little flowing creek. I met many new trees and came to an open prarie full of bleeding heart. I took my Pojar book with me, hoping to identify some plants. I was very curious about learning more on the moss that grows on the trees. I found a lot of moss that the book identifies as Cat-Tail Moss, or Isothecium myosuroides. I learned that it is the most common species of the coastal rainforest, starting from sea level to the middle elevations. It not only covers trees and logs but boulders as well. I also identified some as Yellow Moss, or Homalothecium fulgescens. I mainly found this on the Big Leaf Maple trees, and learned that they also form on other trees such as cotoon wood, alder and oak in coastal areas, and is also found on logs, cliffs, and boulders. I found it interesting that when wet, its branches are spreading, but they become upturned when dry. The Pojar book told me that there are six species of the genus, which are hard to tell apart, but the H. fulgescens is more irregularly branched and coarser than the others, and is the most common in low elevations.

Cummulative Hours: 6 hrs.

Week 5

Date: April 27, 2007

Time: 3 hours

Activities: I spent time in our site, cleaning it up. I previously started to clear our the leaves and from fall in the area next to the path, near Mixed Forest C, near the Big Leaf Maple and all of the Salal. There was a huge mess in there, with a lot of dead fern and a lot of dead leaves and some weeds. I spent more time in this area, cleaning it up and getting rid of a lot of unneccessary leaves and dead ferns. I cut back a lot of the ferns in that area. It was difficult being so close to the muddy water, I got very dirty.

Learning: Because there is so much fern in our area and in the everywhere in the long house garden, I wanted to know more about it. I already knew the physical difference between the Pleridium aquilinum (Bracken fern) and the Polystichum munitum (Sword Fern), butI was curious to know more, so I looked in the Pojar book. The Polystichum munitum is what I found the most of in our area, which I cut back the most of. I found the reason for this is because this fern is found most in the moist forest at low to middle elevations, which is the ecology of our site. Sword fern leaves have been used traditionally in pit ovens, or drying racks for berries, or between food in storage boxes for the winter. The leaves were also used as beddding and flooring. The large rhizomes were eaten in the spring as a starvation food, prepared by roasting over a fire and then steamed in a traditional pit oven and then peeled and eaten. It is used to cure diarrhea. This plant has also been used as toys in games played by children by northwest coast peoples.

Cummulative Hours: 9 hrs.

Date: May 3, 2007

Time: 2 hours

Partner: Jamie

Activities: Jamie was there before I arrived, attending to the garden. When I arrived, he had to leave for class, and I stayed after and continued to straighten up the garden. We both showed each other some things we had been working on in the garden. Jamie showed me some stream beds he had created with rocks and Oyster shells. We discussed some ideas we both had in contributing to the garden. We discussed the bridge and the placement of it. We agreed that we would have to transplant some of the Skunk Cabbage to make room for the bridge. We also both want to define the water ways a little better. There is so much mud everywhere, the water does not flow very well, it would be nice to pile the mud in certain places and lay some mulch on it, in order to make more room for the water. We also discussed where the Devils Club is going to go, which was an area that needed to be cleaned up and ready for the Devils club. We basically want to clean it up a little more! We aslo spent time trying to identify which willow was in our site, using the Pojar book. We think it might be the Pacific Willow (Salix Lucida), or the Sitka Willow (Salix sitchensis). After Jamie left, I spent more time cleaning up the site around the Big Leaf Maple, picking up the leaves and weeding out some unnecsessary weeds. 

Learning: The Pacific Willow (Salix Lucida): It is a tall and slender tree, its leaves are alternate and deciduous and finely toothed. It is found in River banks, floodplains, lakeshores, and wet meadows, which makes sense why it is living in our site. However, the Sitka Willow is also found near streamside thickets and wetland margins, and it is very common and abundant near water in the northwest. The flexible branches and bark have been used traditionally to make ropes for nets, for binding and tying. They are a source of the natural precursor to aspirin, salicylic acid, which are found in the leaves and the bark.

Cummulative Hours: 11 hrs.

Date: May 4, 2007

Time: 1 hour

Activities: I spent more time picking up the dead leaves surrounding our site, mainly around and behind the baby Western Red Cedar tree as well as the Big Leaf maple. I saw Laura there, who attends to the Mixed Forest C site, and she showed me that she planted to Trillium in scattered places, including some places in our site. Although they are beautiful plants and I was extremely grateful that she planted them, they were difficult to get around. There is a place in our site, where there has been a huge log of wood that has been decaying. It is so moist that the wood has now turned into mulch. There is a beautiful trillium planted near this wood right now, which is difficult, because there is so much of this decayed wood scattered all around. The trillium might have to be moved elsewhere, as Jamie and I are planning on planting Devils club nearby. Laura also educated me on the Vanilla Leaf and the inside out flower. 

Learning: Trillium (Trillium ovatum): I learned that each seed has a little, oil-rich appendage, which ants are attracted to. They collect the seeds to their nests and feast on the appendages, or feed them to the larvae and discard the remaining seeds. I found this to be very interesting and useful to the environment because it is an effective mechanism for seed dispersal, especially for the plants belonging on the forest floor, such as the bleeding heart, the inside-out flower and wild ginger. Laura pointed out the inside-out flower and the Vanilla leaf to me in Mixed forest A. She isn't sure about this fact, but she thinks that the Vanilla leaf has been used as a deoderant, after rubbing the leaf, then applying as a deoderant. I thought it was interesting that after the Vanilla leaf leaves die and wither, the veins persist through much of the fall and winter as a lacy network. This plant has been used as an insect repellent, they were hung and dried in houses to rid insects, and also used to perfume the house with their sweet vanilla scent. 

Cummulative Hours: 12 hrs. 

Week 6

Date: May 6, 2007

Time: 3 hours

Activities: There is an area in our site, in between the Big Leaf Maple and the baby cedar tree, surrounding many ferns, where a decayed log is present. I spent time spreading this, what is now mulch, around evenly in this area. It was very frustrating because it is surrounding so many ferns, which made it difficult to work around. There is also a recently planted trillium in this area, which is also very difficult to get around. While spreading this mulch around the site, I also collected as much leaves and dead fern branches as I could and moved them from this area. it was a very frustrating and time consuming task because it is very near muddy water, where the wheel barrel is difficult to lug over. I made many trips, while trying to stay as balanced as I could to clean this area. I also came up with some new ideas for the bridge area. 

Learning: I definitely became more friendly with this site! I further learned the boundaries of the muddy water and what life is growing around them, especially in the area of the Big Leaf Maple. As I cleaned up the area, I made room for some good places where the Devils club could be planted. I picked up a lot of peices of fallen would that were buried by dead leaves or plants. It was a good day, and learned a lot from my frustration. I enjoyed the challenge. I guess this is how a dedicated and commited gardener works with nature. 

Cummulative Hours: 15 hrs. 

Week 7

Time: 5 hours

Activities: We started to think about the design of the bridge. I spent time in the mud, cleaning it up and making it look more pretty. I removed some unneeded leaves, twigs or branches from the mud. I also tried to create a better and more defined flow of water starting from the spring. I tried to move mud over to a specific area. It was messy, fun and frustrating all at once!

Learning: I learned a lot about working with mud! I learned that you cannot design it in any specific way or form, because it is so independent and wants to do what it wants to do! Every time I tried to pile it over, it only made the entire area more muddy and wet! It was difficult to create a water way path! But at least now I know better how mud works. I also learned from Jamie a little bit about the way to build a bridge especially the kind that we want to build.

Cummulative Hours: 20 hrs.

Week 8

Time: 4 hours

Activities: Jamie and I went to the hardware store to buy large pieces of wood for the base of the bridge, and screws to assemble the bridge. We went to two different hardware stores, Ace and Home Depot. At Home Depot we found two very long peices of wood, which we asked for them to cut in half, which would allow us 4 pieces. We then went back to campus and went to the woodshop to ask for any help or assistance, and if we could use the tools and equipment.

Learning: This was just time spent to collect our materials and prepare for our bridge making.

Cummulative Hours: 24 hrs.

Week 9

Time: 5 hrs.

Activities: WE BUILT THE BRIDGE! :)

Learing: I learned so much about using power tools and assembling a bridge! We had to make accurate measurements and then cut them with power tools and put it together using a screw driver. I have never built anything before, and it takes patience and commitment to get the job done! I had so much fun and am so glad I could add such a tremendous contribution to the Long House Garden that people can enjoy everyday! Yeay!

Cummulative Hours: 29 hrs.

Week 10

Time: 6 hours

Activities: Worked on presentation with Jamie. Put the bridges in place and we also built a platform to go ontop of the mud, inbetweeen the two bridges. I also put the grip tape on the bridges so that people will not slip when they are wet.

Learning: I was familiar with how to use Power Point, but Jamie taught me a little more about it, and how to use it, in a much faster and easier way!

Cummulative Hours: 35 hrs.