We invite you to join us on Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service as we support a large hedgerows ecological restoration project on a local farm. We will focus on laying weed-blocking cardboard and woodchip mulch around the native shrubs and trees to enhance their long-term growth by conserving water, preventing weeds, and improving soil health.
By participating, you will learn and volunteer at an ecological restoration project that supports native wildlife habitat, protects water resources, and provides agricultural benefits for a local Thurston County farm. This is also an opportunity to learn more about hedgerows and their positive roles on any site.
This is an all-day event, but you can choose the shift option that works best for your schedule, and/or come and go as you please.
Already registered? Here is all the information you will need to prepare.
Location and where to park: 5047 Gifford Rd SW, Olympia, WA 98501. Here is a maplink.
Note that you will need to walk out to our location, but we will have signs placed to guide you past the mulch and along the fences towards the planting zone.
What to bring/how to dress: We will have snacks of all types, hot drinks, and cold water on hand.
If you are staying all day, please bring a lunch to keep yourself fueled!
Dress in layers to adjust for the weather. We recommend wearing rain pants to keep you cleaner (or dry if you end up kneeling for some of the work).
Wear supportive boots or light hikers that can get a little wet, as the pasture grasses are likely to be wet even if it’s not raining, and the pastures may be uneven.
Bring your own work gloves if you can. We will have some to loan, but you will likely prefer your own.
Time: The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. and end around 3:30 p.m. (or so!). Please arrive a bit early so you have time to walk out to the hedgerow site from the parking area and get checked in. Feel free to come and go as you need, but if you arrive midway through the event, please find one of the leaders so we can check you in and get you oriented to the tasks for the day!
What we’ll be doing: We will be using a sheet-mulching method to cover the soil between the newly planted shrubs and trees to reduce first-year maintenance stress and give the plants the best possible chance to thrive right from the start!
There will be different tasks available, with variable levels of physical effort. We will ensure that you are set up with a task that aligns with your physical ability. Some of those tasks may include the following:
Using utility knives to cut strips of about 10 ft. of cardboard
Cutting “X”s into the cardboard to slip them over the tops of the plants
Holding the cardboard with teammates as we roll it out in the 10-ft. strips
Loading mulch into wheelbarrows or buckets with pitchforks
Dumping the wheelbarrows/buckets
Gently raking the mulch out
Doing QC to ensure the mulch is just the right depth around the stem of each plant
Staffing the check-in booth and taking photos. (This is a great task if you need to take a break from one of the tasks above, or you can be within this role all day if you’re like as well - just let us know!).
Reminder: All participants must sign our WSU/NPSF liability waiver. Guardians must sign these waivers on behalf of any minor present. We will have waivers available when you arrive, but participants under 18 being dropped off by parents/guardians may find it more convenient to print out the waiver from this link and have it signed in advance.
Want to learn more about hedgerows? Read below!
Since the launch of our “Hedgerows Toolkit” in 2023, we’ve partnered with local farmers, Thurston Conservation District, and many other regional and federal funders to implement various demonstration hedgerows. This is combined with learning opportunities for community members, regardless of their interest in the power of hedgerows, to solve many big problems in a comparatively small space.
This project is a 1,500-foot-long planting strip with over 2,500 native trees & shrubs recently planted to enhance livestock health, protect waterways, and provide months of blooms, fruits, and cover for wildlife of all sizes.
If you’d like to learn more about Hedgerows, please navigate to our “Hedgerows Toolkit,” which was launched in 2023, with funding from Thurston County.
This project is being funded by Thurston County, the Washington Conservation Commission, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The image shows volunteers spreading woodchip mulch evenly on top of the cardboard.