Event reports and photos – many thanks to all who turned out
Read more and view pictures of three tremendous events. From tree planting to chain sawing to a unique tug-of-war … see how SWTU and its members are making a difference!
April 10 along Black Earth Creek
Topf Wells tells the story …
Jim Hess organized and led a wonderful return to workdays with the most able assistance of Dan Oele and Vince Schmitz.
The goal was to plant a selection of native hardwoods and shrubs on the east bank of Dan’s Black Earth Creek restoration of two years ago on a DNR property surrounding BEC upstream and fairly close to the confluence of Garfoot Creek. The property is most easily accessed from a marked corridor on CTH KP.
The trees will provide shade to the creek and a bounty of terrestrial insects to the waiting trout. And birds and other creatures will enjoy them too. Aesthetically, the area will improve and fishing will be more comfortable and productive during the summer months. Please note: this is not an easement but a small DNR holding. That means it’s open for hiking, birding, foraging, and hunting as well as fishing. It’s one of the poster children illustrating why the DNR and Dane County should be permitted and encouraged to buy small parcels of land along trout streams.
Back to the work: Dan and Vince had the holes pre-dug, which turned out to surpass helpful and became essential. The trees, from the DNR’s Boscobel Nursery, another thanks to Dan, were large with well developed roots. Had we had to dig all those holes, we’d still be there. As it was, a lot of the holes had to be enlarged, which gave many of us another reason to hate reed canary grass as we dug through that sod. We also confronted the central mystery of planting: when you shovel the dirt back, why is there never quite enough? Where did it all go? Is some translated to Dirt Heaven?
About 20 great volunteers surmounted all these difficulties and had all 188 trees planted in 2.5 hours. Some workday veterans returned and were joined by some wonderful newcomers. Everyone was happy to be out and around other people. All the participants were conscientious in observing all the COVID protocols. While the ensuing rain might have spoiled some fishing trips this weekend, a consoling thought is the rain is exactly what the newly planted trees need.
A final note of thanks to Dan: While this was the perfect time to plant the trees in terms of the time of year and availability from the nursery, it came as Dan is running double shifts for his lake surveys. He always works hard for our fisheries but never more so than this time of year.
April 24 Tree Planting
Jim Beecher‘s photos tell the story …
See the rest of Jim’s online album from the event … including a sharper view of the Sandhill Crane.
Ed note. Boy did it do the heart good to see some event photos from Jim after such a long spell! He has quite a talent.
May 8 on Mount Vernon
Brief writeup and photos by Jim Hess …
We had 27 people at the workday, including 12 scouts from Troop 104, located on the west side of Madison at Midvale Lutheran on Tokay Blvd. Cool pictures of the Scouts winning at tug-of-war with a large tree limb.
Who’s got workdays? We’ve got workdays!
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Last Updated: July 27, 2021 by Drew Kasel
Event reports and photos – many thanks to all who turned out
Read more and view pictures of three tremendous events. From tree planting to chain sawing to a unique tug-of-war … see how SWTU and its members are making a difference!
April 10 along Black Earth Creek
Topf Wells tells the story …
Jim Hess organized and led a wonderful return to workdays with the most able assistance of Dan Oele and Vince Schmitz.
The goal was to plant a selection of native hardwoods and shrubs on the east bank of Dan’s Black Earth Creek restoration of two years ago on a DNR property surrounding BEC upstream and fairly close to the confluence of Garfoot Creek. The property is most easily accessed from a marked corridor on CTH KP.
The trees will provide shade to the creek and a bounty of terrestrial insects to the waiting trout. And birds and other creatures will enjoy them too. Aesthetically, the area will improve and fishing will be more comfortable and productive during the summer months. Please note: this is not an easement but a small DNR holding. That means it’s open for hiking, birding, foraging, and hunting as well as fishing. It’s one of the poster children illustrating why the DNR and Dane County should be permitted and encouraged to buy small parcels of land along trout streams.
Back to the work: Dan and Vince had the holes pre-dug, which turned out to surpass helpful and became essential. The trees, from the DNR’s Boscobel Nursery, another thanks to Dan, were large with well developed roots. Had we had to dig all those holes, we’d still be there. As it was, a lot of the holes had to be enlarged, which gave many of us another reason to hate reed canary grass as we dug through that sod. We also confronted the central mystery of planting: when you shovel the dirt back, why is there never quite enough? Where did it all go? Is some translated to Dirt Heaven?
About 20 great volunteers surmounted all these difficulties and had all 188 trees planted in 2.5 hours. Some workday veterans returned and were joined by some wonderful newcomers. Everyone was happy to be out and around other people. All the participants were conscientious in observing all the COVID protocols. While the ensuing rain might have spoiled some fishing trips this weekend, a consoling thought is the rain is exactly what the newly planted trees need.
A final note of thanks to Dan: While this was the perfect time to plant the trees in terms of the time of year and availability from the nursery, it came as Dan is running double shifts for his lake surveys. He always works hard for our fisheries but never more so than this time of year.
April 24 Tree Planting
Jim Beecher‘s photos tell the story …
See the rest of Jim’s online album from the event … including a sharper view of the Sandhill Crane.
Ed note. Boy did it do the heart good to see some event photos from Jim after such a long spell! He has quite a talent.
May 8 on Mount Vernon
Brief writeup and photos by Jim Hess …
We had 27 people at the workday, including 12 scouts from Troop 104, located on the west side of Madison at Midvale Lutheran on Tokay Blvd. Cool pictures of the Scouts winning at tug-of-war with a large tree limb.
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