We appreciate those who came out to volunteer with us on Saturday, September 26th. This is how we celebrate National Trails Day (American Hiking Society) here in Bellingham. 

Our work is supported by The Trails Capacity Program, administered by American Trails. Details at end of this post…

Our first work party on the Bay to Baker Trail was a partnership with our friends at Bellingham Parks Volunteer Program. The goal of the work party was to remove invasive species along the sides of the Bay to Baker Trail near Bakerview Park and Squalicum Creek Park in Bellingham and install native plants where appropriate. 

Below is the fresh crew of interns with Bellingham Parks. This was their first experience in working in their new capacity with us and the public volunteers. They dove right in with expected collegiate enthusiasm! 

There was such a strong showing of volunteers, the group was divided into two work parties, tackling invasives in two selected spots. Below, “group one” gets their introduction to the days work ahead and how to “get ‘er done”. 

There were a lot of familiar faces in the crowd- essentially people who live in the adjacent neighborhoods who care enough to show up and lend a hand for the day! Thanks folks. 

Adorned in bright safety vests, the interns outlined the work at hand, reviewing invasive species identification, proper tool handling, and other important details for the day’s activities. 

Group Two was getting the same spiel (or schpeel, if you prefer) on what was in store for the hours ahead. 

The attentive crowd listened intently as the directions were shared with the group. 

Below, an intern shows off English Ivy while describing it’s identification properties and then correct procedures for removal and disposal. 

Armed with information and tools, the volunteers got to work! 

“Many hands make light work!” * Below, volunteers are anxious to get after it and remove those bad invaders! Volunteers would pick a space and take out identified invasives, put the weeds in buckets or larger trash cans and deliver them to the big truck. *English speakers first recorded this phrase in the early 1300s inside a knightly romance story called Sir Bevis of Hampton. 

Bellingham Parks does a great job of taking care of it’s volunteers. Their tent is chock full of information and SNACKS! A regular volunteer also shows up with homemade cookies and brownies! 

A proud Parks employee overseeing the work being done by volunteers. Mackenzie Kilroy, Stewardship Coordinator 🙂 

There’s always (at least one) in every crowd that loves to dive in head first into the Himalayan Blackberry brambles. You can tell who the experienced ones are- they bring their OWN gloves!  

Here’s Freya… Bellingham Park Stewardship Supervisor stamping down the load of invasives. Since there are bad seeds in this pile, these weeds are brought to Cascade Compost where they experience a HIGH HEAT process to kill the evil inside. 

Watch Freya at the end of this video describing how to tackle removing invasive species. See on Instagram 

When we started this patch was covered in blackberry and ivy. All gone and ready for native plant installation. 

We met Tim a couple weeks ago at our first Salish Coast Trail work party. He’s new to town and used this as an opportunity to get to know the locals and get his hands dirty! Thanks for coming back Tim! 

Progress on the Bay to Baker Trail!! 

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It’s difficult to tell how much work has been done just by showing pics. Come out for our next work party to see for yourself. 

Satisfaction in invasive removal! 

The interns at work! 

Getting ready for planting…

With this space cleared, it will be ready for planting in the near future. 

Look at that BIG root ball! Blackberries are monsters. 

The classic GROUP PIC! Thank you for all that came out to join us for National Trails Day. 

We have a history of hosting work parties with our Fairhaven Park Trail and wetland boardwalk. Work parties that essentially led to the creation of the Hundred Acre Wood Outdoor Classroom. In a highly competitive grant funding ecosystem, Recreation Northwest Trails Coalition were selected to receive funding from American Trails. The grant supports stewardship work and volunteer training on the Bay to Baker & Salish Coast Trails in the City of Bellingham. We will be hosting public volunteer work parties, working with Bellingham Parks Steward program staff.

The Trails Capacity Program is administered by American Trails and primarily funded by Bronco Wild Fund, a Ford Motor Company program dedicated to connecting people to the outdoors, responsibly. The goal of the Trails Capacity Program is to invest in building trails community capacity nationwide through research, education and stewardship.

Stay tuned to our Volunteers page for our next work parties.