Last week, we crossed the halfway mark for our 16th season of giving something back through weeklong service projects. While there’s still a large amount of work to be done, there aren’t many spots available in the latter half of our season. However, spaces are still available for these three neat places:
Mt. Rainier National Park, Sept. 8 – 14
Often referred to simply as “the mountain” by locals, Mt. Rainier is the most prominent topographical mountain in the contiguous United States. At 14,411′ the massive stratovolcano can be seen from as far away as Portland, OR and Victoria, BC. Just under 60 miles from Seattle, the mountain and surrounding area offer tons of wilderness land to explore. Our service project in this very popular National Park is lending much needed restoration support to the Park Service. We will assist the restoration crew by transplanting native plant seedlings in subalpine meadows near the toe of Emmons Glacier. We will be car and tent camping down the road at White River Campground for the week, a developed site with amenities that is often noted for having breathtaking scenery. This is an active service trip appropriate for newcomers to backcountry volunteering and does not involve backpacking. Join us on the mountain in September.
San Gabriel Mountains Proposed Wilderness, Sept. 29 – Oct. 5
The San Gabriel Mountains are more than a scenic backdrop for the bustling city life of LA and the inland empire. These mountains support an interesting array of wildlife, many native species of plants benefiting from the range of microclimate and elevation variation, and also provide a much needed watershed for Southern California. Our service project in this proposed wilderness is the removal of invasive Spanish Broom, which thrived following 2009’s wildfires. We’ll work with the Angeles National Forest’s biology team to eradicate these invasives and also collect native seed for replanting. Join us on the first WV project in the San Gabriels.
