• Welcome
• About
• Staff
  • Administrative Staff
  • Academic Mentors
  • Tutoring Staff
  • Volunteer Staff
• News
• Schedule
  • Senior Graduation
  • Academic Year
  • Summer Residency
• Student Work
• WU Student Opportunities
• Support the Academy
• Contact Us
• Academy Internal Web
  • Main
  • Administrative
  • Recruitment
  • Staff
  • Student Advisory Board

---

• Our Location

---

Streams get some TLC

Students remove invasive plants in effort to restore habitat.

July 22, 2005
By Beth Casper

Reprinted with permission of the Statesman Journal.

Salem students have found old refrigerators, bags of lawn clippings, discarded chairs and sleeping bags.
Not in dumps, but in Salem's creeks.
Such trash can create dams and cause flooding, prevent fish passage, damage stream banks and promote soil erosion.
But invasive species have become an equally visible and destructive problem, according to city officials, stream scientists and other experts.
Invading plants are choking out native plants, muddying streams and eroding soil.
To battle trash and invasive species, the city of Salem hires college students and graduates specializing in natural resources to clean streams during the summer. The 10-member crew is part of an 8-year-old city program.
On Thursday, the crew partnered with 22 eighth-graders from Willamette Academy to yank rapidly spreading English ivy from Pringle Creek.
Willamette Academy at Willamette University is a hands-on learning experience for minority middle- and high-school students.
They had been testing stream health before helping the cleaning crew. "The streams (in the city) are relatively clean," said instructor Jennie Madland, who also is a teacher at Leslie Middle School. "They are more acidic and warmer (than more pristine creeks), but we found lots of
crawdads and aquatic insects."
The students seemed a bit overwhelmed by the amount of ivy by the stream, but it was nothing they couldn't handle.
"It seems like a lot of work, but I think we can do it," said Walker Middle School student Gabriel Hayes, 13. "The ivy is just taking over all the trees and it's really taking over the environment."
Isabel Hernandez, 13, said that she knew Himalyan blackberry was an invasive species because she helped pull it through a class at Grant Community School.
But it wasn't until Thursday that she found out English ivy was an invasive species that takes over other native plants
Solesbee, 23, that she handed down the order "with great pain." Bertalan said that she was required by law to order the destruction of the dogs because they could attack again if given the chance.
The case arose after the dogs attacked a dachshund in front and doesn't provide food or habitat for wildlife.
While pulling a particularly long strand of ivy vine, she said, "It's good we are pulling (the ivy) because it hurts other plants."
The cleaning crew appreciated help from the students; it made for an easier day and made a huge impact along an urban creek visited by many people.
Crew member Courtney Alt, 21, said, "It will be nice when people walk through and say, `Oh, look at all the natives growing here.' "
KaiLea Wallin, the leader of this summer's Salem streamcleaning crew, said among the goals of the program are to make sure city creeks are cherished, used as recreation areas and places people want to visit.
"The thing about the streams in Salem -they are interpreted in so many ways," Wallin said. "Some people walk by them and don't even see them and other people see them as amazing ecosystems."

Willamette Academy News Archive

Fall 2007— Academy Sends Off Graduates, Welcomes New Director (from The Scene)

Summer 2007— Paving the Way (from The Scene)

July 18, 2006 - June 18, 2007 — A Year in the Life: Willamette Academy (an continuing story by Sarah J. Evans)

Oct. 10, 2005 — Salem family’s dream lost in son’s death (from the Statesman Journal)

Jul. 22, 2005 — Streams get some TLC (from the Statesman Journal)

Nov. 16, 2004 — Willamette Academy Awarded $75,000

Sep. 1, 2004 — College preparatory program wins grant (from the Statesman Journal)

Feb. 20, 2004 — Classified Staff Supports Willamette Academy (from Inside Willamette)

Oct. 15, 2003 — Mini dose of college (from The Collegian)

Sep. 26, 2003 — WU Program Receives $1 Million (from the Statesman Journal)

Fall 2003— Donation Brings a Million Opportunities (from The Scene)

Mar. 23, 2003 — Blueprints for diversity (from the Statesman Journal)

Feb. 17, 2003 — The Monday Profile: Champion of Diversity (from The Oregonian)

Fall 2002 — Willamette Academy Offiers Bridge to Students of Color (from The Scene)

Aug. 10, 2002 — Two-week camp exposes life in higher education (from the Statesman Journal)

Aug. 9, 2002 — University helps kids make grade for future (from The Oregonian)

Jun. 1, 2001 — Willamette Receives Grants to Establish Programs for Ethnically Diverse Students