A Puget SoundCorps crew will help improve the health and function of forests on the Capitol Campus during February with the goal of protecting water quality in Puget Sound.

Puget SoundCorps is a program that employs young adults and veterans to build their job skills and provide earnings for education while working on projects that help protect Puget Sound.

The six-person crew will begin work on Monday, Feb. 1, removing English ivy that is growing up native trees on the hillside east of Heritage Park. Once the ivy is removed, the crew will replant the exposed areas with native plants.

This work will help protect water quality by improving the capacity of trees to stabilize soil on sensitive slopes, reduce soil erosion and filter surface water runoff that often contains contaminants before it enters Capitol Lake and Puget Sound.

English ivy, Himalayan blackberry and other non-native, invasive plants harm trees by competing for water and nutrients. Ivy grows up the trunks of trees making them heavier and more susceptible to wind and storm damage, and may even kill trees by preventing sunlight from reaching their leaves.

Many of these undesirable plants grow in dense thickets that harbor rats and other pests, creating a public safety hazard. Healthy forested slopes also provide habitat for native species and plant pollinators.

Later in the month, the crew will remove invasive weeds that are starting to take over and smother a native plant demonstration garden on the grounds of the Governor's Mansion.

The crew will also spend time removing invasive species and replanting native plants at Centennial Park, which is located on the south side of Union Avenue between Washington and Franklin streets. They will work four, 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday.

Puget SoundCorps is part of the broader Washington Conservation Corps program administered by the Department of Ecology.

The Urban Forestry Restoration Project, which is administered by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Urban and Community Forestry Program, provides Puget SoundCorps crews to governments and organizations to conduct urban forest maintenance and restoration on public land.

For more information about the Urban Forestry Restoration Project, contact Micki McNaughton, DNR Urban Forestry Special Project Coordinator, at (360) 902-1637 or micki.mcnaughton@dnr.wa.gov.

Enterprise Services maintains the grounds of the 486-acre Capitol Campus, which includes Centennial Park.

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