Oct 162016
 

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, western fence lizard, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, redwood, Cold Water Canyon rock, Carex nudada, torrent sedge, Meadowhawk dragonfly, Kathy Biggs, Amphibian AmphitheatreTorrent Critter Crag is a wildlife habitat installed next to Amphibian Amphitheatre at the Laguna Foundation’s headwater Irwin Creek property, the Laguna Environmental Center, or LEC, at 900 Sanford Road, Santa Rosa, California, 95401.  The installation was an outdoor classroom activity.  Date: October 13, 2016.  School: Orchard View School, Sebastopol, California.  Teacher: Sunny Galbraith.  Me: Tony McGuigan, from Spore Lore.

In a nutshell, this wildlife habitat installation is a deep clay-lined hole with a large hulk of redwood tree crown/trunk partially buried in it.  A large rock slab at ground surface snugs up to the tree crown/trunk.  Torrent sedge starts blanket the swale of the habitat.

1 Week Before Habitat Installation

Amphibian Amphitheatre at the Laguna Environmental CenterIn the pic above, Amphibian Amphitheatre BEFORE Torrent Critter Crag habitat installed.  The field behind Amphibian Amphitheatre Ravine‘s berm is lush with tall weeds.  Two months have gone by since the area has been weeded.  Today, I weed the area to restore dignity to the habitat installations AND to gather organic material for next week’s installation.

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, western fence lizard, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, redwood, Cold Water Canyon rock, Carex nudada, torrent sedge, Meadowhawk dragonfly, Kathy Biggs, Amphibian AmphitheatreNote the collected water — our berm (created during the Ravine installation) works!  Downside: the water is most likely the result of an irrigation line leak.  Upside: critters and plants have a swimhole.  The next three photos are close-ups from this area on that day of weeding.  The dragonfly was at the water’s edge on the tree limb surfacing from the water (far right of the pooled water).  The lizard was under the figwort plant in the foreground.  The California mantis, Stagmomantis californica, was discovered while weeding golden dry grasses — note how well the mantis is camouflaged.

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, western fence lizard, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, redwood, Cold Water Canyon rock, Carex nudada, torrent sedge, Meadowhawk dragonfly, Kathy Biggs, Amphibian AmphitheatreA dragonfly rests alongside the pooled water below Amphibian Amphitheatre Ravine’s berm.  Perhaps this is a female Meadowhawk (and there are many species).  Can you ID it?  Try Kathy Bigg’s, our local Sonoma County dragonfly expert, pages on dragonflies.

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, western fence lizard, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, redwood, Cold Water Canyon rock, Carex nudada, torrent sedge, Meadowhawk dragonfly, Kathy Biggs, Amphibian AmphitheatreA western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) is well camoflouged in the woodchips below this California figwort, or Scrophularia californica.

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, western fence lizard, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, redwood, Cold Water Canyon rock, Carex nudata, torrent sedge, Meadowhawk dragonfly, Kathy Biggs, Amphibian AmphitheatreYikes!  Almost weeded this California mantid Stagmomantis californica in Amphibian Amphitheatre.  Nice color match on the camo outfit.

juvenile California mantisClose-up of California mantid, which are typically 50-60 mm (about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches) long.

2 Days Before Habitat Installation

rock slabs make great critter homesShopping for rock.  These rock slabs make good critter homes.  The stack here is Cold Water Canyon rock, local to northern California.

walking a rock slabRock slab being “walked” to the habitat site on the other side of Heron Hall Logs.  View is north to Lower Stone Farm and Irwin Creek (line of trees beyond field in background).

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, western fence lizard, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, redwood, Cold Water Canyon rock, Carex nudata, torrent sedge, Meadowhawk dragonfly, Kathy Biggs, Amphibian AmphitheatreA pile of weeds, in right foreground, has been processing all week.  The weeds were pulled from inside Amphibian Amphitheatre and from the downslope meadow.  Soil clumps were not shaken from the weeds — many weed clumps had a good sized clump of fresh, healthy, alive topsoil attached to their roots.  Weeds (organic matter) and topsoil (soil) were used to make a compost pile (right foreground) that would have only one week to sit before being planted on as a berm.  The weeds were thickly covered with layers of woodchips and a scattering of compost.  Normally, woodchip mulch does not include compost soil, but this wildlife habitat installation is on the cheap.  Materials on hand are ALL the materials we will ever need!  The woodchips used were collected from the remnants of two piles — one woodchip pile and one compost/planting mix pile.  So, the woodchips have a high component of compost mixed in — perhaps the berm we create for the installation will be a perfect mix to propagate the wild spreading rye already thriving in Amphibian Amphitheatre.

sorting the compost pile The compost pile is pretty much sitting on top of where Torrent Critter Crag habitat will be installed.  The heavier soil and woodchips are pulled to the back of the pile, creating a berm that extends Amphibian Amphitheatre’s berm — more water will be trapped in Amphibian Amphitheatre when the rains come.  The lighter decaying weed pile is pulled to away/uphill from the berm; the weeds are moved uphill from the hole to be dug for the habitat.  After the habitat hole is dug and the habitat’s wood feature is installed, the weeds will be tucked into the remaining hole to create a cache of underground organic matter, AKA buried treasure!

prep before students workThe redwood tree crown-trunk is brought on site.  Note the two distinct piles sorted from the compost pile — soil and woodchips right (which will become a planted berm) and one-week-old dead weeds left (which will be buried alongside the crown-trunk).

mud!Digging produces heavy clay mud quickly.  Note how some of the mud was used to build up the berm in right foreground.  Note the black plastic landscaping tarp used to keep the hole’s mud separate (and movable) from the ground below the pile.

please stay to your leftStakes, string, and flags used to safely leave the hole overnight (left) and protect the rye grass that was planted last year (right).

 Installation Day

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, western fence lizard, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, redwood, Cold Water Canyon rock, Carex nudata, torrent sedge, Meadowhawk dragonfly, Kathy Biggs, Amphibian AmphitheatreWater in the hole!  Lucky me, there won’t be any more digging today.  The water has seeped in through the surrounding clay basin — note the pooled water in the background, which is water held uphill by Amphibian Amphitheatre’s berm.  Note the materials layout: left = organics (weeds) pile and redwood crown-trunk for burying; foreground = mud pile for surounding buried organics and crown-trunk; right = berm to receive torrent sedge planting; background left (out of view) = woodchip pile to mulch the new planting and suppress weeds over the habitat.  Time for the students to take over.

Carex nudata is torrent sedgeTorrent sedge Carex nudata plants for this habitat have been grown at the Laguna Foundation’s Native Plant Nursery.  Torrent sedge grows in mounds below the high-water mark in marshes and on river banks — perfect for this swale area that is expected to gather and hold water.

Come see at the LEC!A thriving clump of torrent sedge in the Pond swale at the LEC.

Ready, set, plant!Torrent sedge prepped for the students to plant.  The plants were cut out of their 4X4 pots and stored under a Heron Hall log for easy, quick access.

The Students Have Arrived

Help has arrived!Two hours to wrap up this project!  Students prepare the torrent sedge transplants by giving them a “haircut” — trimming the sedge stalks will ensure that the roots will not become overwhelmed and will increase the transplanting survival rate.

Look!  A habitat.Deciding how to place crown-trunk in the habitat is a collaborative student decision.

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, western fence lizard, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, redwood, Cold Water Canyon rock, Carex nudata, torrent sedge, Meadowhawk dragonfly, Kathy Biggs, Amphibian AmphitheatreAll hands on deck, working together to find the wood hulk’s center of gravity, which will help us know how to move it into position in the hole.

flipping rather than liftingFlipping the crown-trunk into position — sure beats lifting it.

1, 2, 3  LIFT!The crown-trunk is headed to the digging bars straddling the hole.  The digging bars will suspend the wood over the hole in case we want to make any last minute position changes.

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, western fence lizard, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, redwood, Cold Water Canyon rock, Carex nudata, torrent sedge, Meadowhawk dragonfly, Kathy Biggs, Amphibian AmphitheatreAlmost there!

surf's upThere!  A student presses crown-trunk into the muddy hole.  Note how the students have decided to bury crown-trunk’s thin end, leaving the bulk to breach (yes, like a whale!) out of the soil.  Also, the west facing slope of the wood is designed to attract sunning reptiles that might live under the habitat’s rock slab (in background, waiting to be installed).

heavy clay mud!Opps! The log is flipped to the side of the hole to move the heavy clay mud pile from underneath it.  We moved the mud to the planting berm for temporary keeping.

Log finds a home.The crown-trunk log is secured in place with clay mud.  The cardboard “dropcloth” used to keep the site natural looking is removed.

work the soil!Clay mud is worked around the base of the wood to secure it in place and to create a base for the torrent sedge planting.imagine!Students hold the rock slab vertical while design elements are discussed.

making a path for the rock slabMoving some of the weed pile into the hole so that the rock slab can rest up against the log.

heavy clay mudTime to fill the hole, grade the habitat soil.  We are skimming the clay mud off the top of the berm, stopping at the layer of woodchips that will become the planting surface.

grading the soil, by hand!Final grading of the planting mix.  Note how little of the log is visible above ground.

planting torrent sedgePlanting plugs of torrent sedge with 18″ spacing.  Some day, these sedge bunches will spread together, hiding the rock slab (right of log).  Plenty of critter homes to be had!

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, western fence lizard, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, redwood, Cold Water Canyon rock, Carex nudata, torrent sedge, Meadowhawk dragonfly, Kathy Biggs, Amphibian AmphitheatreWoodchip mulch to surround the sedge plugs.

more mulch!And more woodchips.  This is the fun part — our mud hole is beginning to look like something pretty.

Aaarrggg!Okay Class, put your paper and pencils away and take out your digging bars.  Outdoor classrooms rock!

teacher on the sceneTeacher Sunny Galbraith calls in the cleanup.

Torrent Critter CragTorrent Critter Crag wildlife habitat installation is in!  Northeast view.

we are done!Torrent Critter Crag, southwest view.  Teacher Sunny and her students, in background by the Laguna Foundation’s office, visit habitats installed by previous students.

2 Days After Installation

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation, Stone Farm, western fence lizard, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, redwood, Cold Water Canyon rock, Carex nudata, torrent sedge, Meadowhawk dragonfly, Kathy Biggs, Amphibian AmphitheatreTorrent Critter Crag enjoys its first rain.  Northwest view.

And more rain will come this winter season, perhaps pooling at the base of crown-trunk log and flooding the torrent sedge.  Rain on!

Thank you, as always, to Sunny Galbraith, teacher at Orchard View School, Sebastopol, and her students.  Also, much thanks to the staff and board of the Laguna Foundation, particularly the Restoration and Conservation Science Department: Wendy Trowbridge, Director; Brent Reed, Manager, Aaron Nunez, Tech II, and Paul Weber, Tech I.

Enjoy your wildlife habitat installations.  Habitat it!

Tony

Apr 122016
 

Become a Docent of the Laguna Foundation at lagunafoundation.orgBee Mountain Pond is a wildlife habitat installation.  The plan is to provide a small water bath to the critters of the Native Plant Demonstration Garden at the City of Santa Rosa’s Waste Water Treatment Plant.  Address: 4300 Llano Road, Santa Rosa, California 95407.

Denise Cadman, a Natural Resources Specialist at the Plant, and the overseer/magical wonder of the Native Plant Garden, invited me, Tony McGuigan, of Spore Lore, and my Outdoor Classroom Wildlife Habitat Installation class (name of class is very new) to install a wildlife habitat at the Garden.

start with a visionPLAN — Bee Mountain Pond.  The mountain is a 1000 pound (1/2 ton) fieldstone landscaping boulder that holds water — a tiny mountain lake for tiny critters.  The “Path” is a swath of woodchips for walking through the garden.  the pile of subterranean smaller rocks under Bee Mountain will catch any overspill water from the Pond.  Critters under the Mountain will have water, shelter, food (tiny critters feeding on the moisture AND on critters feeding on the moisture), and cavities to raise young in — they will have habitat!

Come see the Native Plant Garden!The Before.  The Native Plant Garden looks north to the Laguna de Santa Rosa, which is swollen from rain the week before Bee Mountain Pond is installed.  In the photo, the birdhouse to the back left marks where the habitat will be installed.  Note the woodchip mulch used to keep weeds out and make walking paths.

a rain-happy Laguna“Driftwood” (river wood washed up on the beach) stored at the Plant’s woodchip pile await installation day, in a week.  The rain was so generous to soak the adobe soil and make digging easier.

birdhouse to be transplanted This birdhouse must go!  It marks the spot where Bee Mountain Pond will be installed.

violet-green swallowsA mating pair of violet-green swallows before the birdhouse is relocated across the Garden.

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, Santa Rosa Waste Water Treatment, Denise Cadman, Bee Mountain Pond, tarweed, madia elegans, narrow-leaf milkweed, asclepias fascicularis, California aster, Aster chilensis, snowberry, smphovicarpas alba, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, fieldstone, landscape cloth, violet-green swallow, Preparing for Bee Mountain to be moved into position.  The half-ton rock will be placed on a mound of woodchips next to is intended resting site.  Note the layering of woodchips and tree-hole landscaping cloth; the landscaping cloth will tie together the small hill.

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, Santa Rosa Waste Water Treatment, Denise Cadman, Bee Mountain Pond, tarweed, madia elegans, narrow-leaf milkweed, asclepias fascicularis, California aster, Aster chilensis, snowberry, smphovicarpas alba, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, fieldstone, landscape cloth, violet-green swallow, Here comes the rock!  Plant employees forklift and move Bee Mountain.  Thanks Richard, Tony, and David!

Mountain on top of a hillBee Mountain in place to be repositioned when help arrives — when the students get here.  The plan is to “slide” this half ton rock downslope into the habitat.  Good luck!

snowberry moved to wait in the shadeA snowberry, Symphovicarpas alba, is removed to shade while the habitat foundation is created.

Santa Rosa Waste Water Treatment, Denise Cadman, Bee Mountain Pond, tarweed, madia elegans, narrow-leaf milkweed, asclepias fascicularis, California aster, Aster chilensis, snowberry, symphovicarpas alba, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, fieldstone, landscape cloth   ************************************************************************************************************ Paste This!: Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, Santa Rosa Waste Water Treatment, Denise Cadman, Bee Mountain Pond, tarweed, madia elegans, narrow-leaf milkweed, asclepias fascicularis, California aster, Aster chilensis, snowberry, smphovicarpas alba, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, fieldstone, landscape cloth, violet-green swallow, The foundation of the habitat takes place.  Center: Topsoil has been scraped from the habitat’s base and shoved to the side (against the cardboard in the rear) for later use during planting the habitat’s newly planted native plants.  Right: Riverwood waiting to be buried in the habitat’s berm.  The soil berm will be water-loving wood filled and allow for greater diversity of soil level.  Note the California aster patches that will ultimately grow together, both in the foreground left and to the side of the habitat, behind the wheelbarrow and cardboard.

what's in a berm meets the eyeRiverwood layered to form a soil berm above it.  Moist nooks and crannies for soil lions, soil tigers, and soil bears, oh my!

All in a day's workBee Mountain Pond’s planted soil berm takes shape.  Bee Mountain will sit just on the other side of the yellow shovel.  Soil from a hole at the base of the Mountain rock will be added to the berm to increase its height.  Then, once the berm’s foundation is created with heavy adobe clay sol, the topsoil from Cardboard Dump will be called into action.  The “old” topsoil, bagged planting mix, and compost created by the Plant will be mixed as a base for the habitat’s new plantings.

Santa Rosa Waste Water Treatment, Denise Cadman, Bee Mountain Pond, tarweed, madia elegans, narrow-leaf milkweed, asclepias fascicularis, California aster, Aster chilensis, snowberry, symphovicarpas alba, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, fieldstone, landscape cloth   ************************************************************************************************************ Paste This!: Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, Santa Rosa Waste Water Treatment, Denise Cadman, Bee Mountain Pond, tarweed, madia elegans, narrow-leaf milkweed, asclepias fascicularis, California aster, Aster chilensis, snowberry, smphovicarpas alba, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, fieldstone, landscape cloth, violet-green swallow, In search of compost, we are told to go the “pile in the back corner” of the Waste Water Treatment Plant’s compost making facility.

A bucket of compost a day keeps . . . .Denise Cadman and I collect state-of-the-art-made compost at the Plant’s compost-making facility.

Bee Mountain askew!Bee Mountain is almost in place, BUT is pointing skyward, that is, 90 degrees off level.  The “peak” will be pulled right and the base will be pulled left, resulting in a level, water-holding position.

Strap down that rock!Bee Mountain has been leveled, with the rock’s shallow bowl pointing skyward.  Note the buckets of compost awaiting mixing into the planting soil.

tweeking Bee Mountain into placeTweaking Bee Mountain into place.  Metal digging bars are used for leverage.

PUSH!Bee Mountain hovers in place.  Stones are used as fulcrums for the digging bars’ leverage.

It holds water!  (for now)Bee Mountain is leveled to maximize its water-holder capacity.  Planting mix is piled up against the fieldstone boulder.

Planting out Bee Mountain PondSoil prep for planting out Bee Mountain Pond.

Plant native plants!Native plant seedlings surround Bee Mountain Pond wildlife installation.

Denise Cadman’s sketch of Bee Mountain Pond.

Tony McGuigan, Spore Lore, Habitat It And They Will Come, garden, soil, Soil Under My Nails, gardening, gardens, native plants, permaculture, wildlife garden, wildlife habitat installation, environmental education, ecological landscaping, Animal Habitat, garden, ecological, landscaping, wildlife garden, biodiversity, native plants, outdoor classroom, nonvirtual education, touch the soil!, wildlife habitat workshop, Orchard View School, Laguna Environmental Center, Laguna de Santa Rosa Foundation, environmental conservation,  Stone Farm, Santa Rosa Waste Water Treatment, Denise Cadman, Bee Mountain Pond, tarweed, madia elegans, narrow-leaf milkweed, asclepias fascicularis, California aster, Aster chilensis, snowberry, smphovicarpas alba, Bee Plant, California figwort, scrophularis californica, fieldstone, landscape cloth, violet-green swallow, Common Name                                                  Scientific Name

1) tarweed                                                            Madia elegans

2) narrow-leaf milkweed                                  Asclepias fascicularis

3) California aster                                             Symphyotrichum chilense (formerly Aster chilensis)

4) snowberry                                                      Symphovicarpas alba

5) Bee Plant, California figwort                     Scrophularia californica

Sunny Galbraith (Orchard View School) and Denise Cadman (Santa Rosa Waste Water Treatment)

Sunny Galbraith (Orchard View School) and Denise Cadman add final touches and a little water to the plantings.

Bee Mountain Pond is in!Bee Mountain Pond is in!

The berm side of Bee Mount PondThe berm side of Bee Mount Pond.  Note how some wood disappears under the berm’s woodchips.

Habitat it!Bee Mountain Pond wildlife habitat installation includes a portal into the berm — all ye small critters enter here!

And we are done.  Bee Mountain Pond has been installed.  Thank you to the City of Santa Rosa, Waste Water Treatment Plant administrators and Denise Cadman for inviting me, Tony McGuigan, of Spore Lore, and Sunny Galbraith, teacher at Orchard View School, of Sebastopol, and her students, to create this wildlife habitat installation at the Plant’s Native Plant Garden.

Enjoy your wildlife habitat installations.  Habitat it!

Tony