September 10 Reveg!

From John Titland:

Greetings, Alpine Gardeners and Trail Work Volunteers!

The annual Mount Rainier National Park Associates meadow revegetation work party will be Saturday, September 10th. That is the Saturday following the Labor Day weekend. MRNPA volunteers again will be assisting the Mount Rainier ecological restoration crew in planting wildflower seedlings, working to convert a historic campground area near Sunrise back into a sub-alpine meadow. I am told this will be the last year for reveg at Sunrise for some time. Next year the reveg work will begin again at Paradise.

On the morning of Saturday, September 10th, MRNPA volunteers will meet in the Sunrise parking lot between 8:30 and 9:00 AM. As you arrive at Sunrise, MRNPA volunteers will parked generally in the far left (south) corner of the parking lot. We will be the people who look like they know what is going on.  Please check in with me as soon as you arrive. I need to get a count and the names of all MRNPA volunteers. There will be volunteers from other organizations milling about so stick close with the MRNPA group and be ready to move out at 9:00 AM. Because MRNPA volunteers have been involved in planting at Sunrise for so many years, we are normally the first ones to head out to the work site. We normally work until at least 3 PM and will take a break for lunch at about at noon.

Be prepared for almost any fall weather. In the past we have experienced everything from warm and sunny days to a driving blizzard. In addition to your sun hat, sunscreen, and your rain gear, bring a lunch, plenty of fluids to drink, gardening gloves, and a hand digging tool you like to use. If you have no gardening tools, the NPS crew will provide small hand tools. Most of the day you will be working on your hands and knees to do the planting, so you should bring some kind of protection for your knees. The pads available at your local gardening retailer work for most people. The work site is about a mile hike from the Sunrise parking lot, so plan on carrying everything you need to and from the work site.

This is a great outing to share with your husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend and even your kids. It is a beautiful location. It is also very instructive to see that much of the area has been replanted and is now slowly returning to being a meadow.

There is no charge for volunteers to enter the Park. When you enter at the White River Entrance, tell the gate attendant that you will be doing volunteer work on the meadow restoration project at Sunrise.  

If you plan to join the MRNPA volunteers on Saturday, September 10th, for this meadow revegetation work party, please reply to volunteer(at)mrnpa.org confirming that you are coming and indicating the number of volunteers that you will bringing with you.

John Titland
Volunteer Coordinator
Mount Rainier National Park Associates