Restoring the River

Everyone can do something to help protect his/her local river!  This fall, we started a demonstration area at the newly conserved Upper La Platte River Natural Area to show visitors some easy steps they can take to ensure that their local rivers are as healthy as possible.  Our first step was to take a riverside area that had been cleared and plant it with Red Osier Dogwoods. 

Check out the transformation below:

Without strong vegetation holding its banks in place, this land was in danger of erosion and flood damage as the river rose, fell, iced over, and thawed.  Also, invasive species such as Poison Parsnip could take over without larger native plants to shade them out.

We chose Red Osiers because they are beautiful, native shrubs that prefer moist soils, and thus are often found growing on Vermont riverbanks.  In the next few years, these shrubs will fill up this area and provide habitat and food for wildlife!

Thanks to the volunteers who helped us plant and the Vermont Zen Center for their continued support of our restoration plans!  Volunteers, from left: Ti’an Callery, Louise Piche, intern Rory Shamlian, Cameron Edsun, Lake Champlain Land Trust Executive Director Chris Boget.  Photo by Assistant Director Sarah Koff.