Stafford Lake Writeup
Questions:
1. Describe the ecological problems of the stream at Stafford Lake.
2. Describe the components of the Marin County Parks Project that are addressing these problems.
3. What part of the project did we work on yesterday?
4. Was your work part of an Integrated Pest Movement Approach?
5. Reflect on what you liked about this field trip and the importance of volunteer work in restoring local watersheds/habitats.
Answers:
1. The streams at Stafford Lake are being affected by erosion. The eroded material filled the streams and made it harder to clean the water. The invasive species were competing with the native plants and disrupting the natural ecosystem.
2. Components that are addressing these problems are creating meanders in the river to prevent erosion and using sheet mulching to prevent the growth of invasive plants.
3. Yesterday, we worked on covering the areas where invasive plants used to grow using hay, cardboard, and mulch, otherwise known as sheet mulching.
4. Yes, out work was part of IPM because we managed to get rid of the invasive species of plants without harming any of the native species of plants or animals.
5. I enjoyed this field trip! It was awesome to be in nature and with my friends. I also thought the location was awesome. Stafford lake is very beautiful and I'm glad that I was able to help out by sheet mulching.