Natural Areas Celebration Week activities coming up this weekend

[Molly Monroe]

Witham Hill Invasive Species Removal | Saturday, May 7, 9:00 am-12:00 pm

Volunteers are needed to help control invasive species at Witham Hill Natural Area. You’ll use loppers and hand saws to cut down young invasive trees, and then mark the stumps with orange spray paint for MRWC staff to find. We may also cut down English ivy growing on trees.
To register for this event, please fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdnUAjGuzB7X9nFm_dA7FC4oQq5QAF_gMkcoMWLHSjg49YoNA/viewform

Sponsor: Marys River Watershed Council and One Tree Planted

Wildflower Walk around Woodpecker Loop Trail at William L Finley NWR | Saturday, May 7, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Celebrate Natural Areas Celebration Week by learning about native plants. Meet at the Woodpecker Loop parking lot and it is a gentle hike through woodlands and prairie habitats. We should be able to see Calochortus tolmeii in bloom and many other early spring flowers.
For more information contact Esther at 541-990-0948 or esth...@peak.org.
Sponsor: Native Plant Society of Oregon

Golden Paintbrush Tour, Finley Wildlife Refuge | Saturday, May 7, 12:00-2:00 pm

Guide: Tom Kaye, Executive Director, Institute for Applied Ecology
Discover the luminous golden paintbrush, once a plentiful Willamette Valley wildflower, and hear about IAE’s efforts to restore the species back to Oregon. Meet at the Finley NWR Woodpecker Loop Trailhead. Family-friendly, no RSVP needed!

The Oregon Silverspot Butterfly: The Flight to Recovery |  Saturday, May 7, 3:00-4:00 pm

Join us virtually for a brief documentary about Oregon’s most charismatic threatened pollinator, the Oregon Silverspot Butterfly. After the documentary, there will be a question and answer with some of the scientists and researchers that are part of the work to recover this amazing species. For info: askali...@corvallisoregon.gov

Register here for this free, virtual event: https://bit.ly/silverspotdocumentary

Bald Hill Natural Area – Dunawi Creek Regeneration Project | Sunday, May 8th, 1:00-3:00 pm

If you are not spending time celebrating your mother, spend two hours at a work party celebrating Mother Earth by helping create a riparian zone for a creek and wetland buried for 100 years in a pipe and now being resurrected above ground. To understand this project view:
A Gift for the Dunawi Creek Regeneration Site at the Bald Hill Natural Area – YouTube
To register and receive directions, logistics and further info, contact Dave Eckert at dec...@willamettewatershed.com

Sponsors: Corvallis Sustainability Coalition Water Action Team and the Marys Peak Group Sierra Club