The Non-Motorized Transportation Advisory Committee was consulted on design for the walk and bike facilities along New Brooklyn. One question posed to the NMTAC was whether to have the walkway go along the top of the hill between the bus barn and Sportsman Road, which would have required steps to get back down to the grade of the road at the intersection.
The alternative was to cut into the hillside and remove soil to get the walkway at the same elevation as the road. The down side of making the cut was the loss of several feet of trees . The committee recommended making the cut, in order to make it a more functional walkway, especially important to people with movement limitations.
The NMTAC also recommended, however, that the slope be immediately replanted with native vegetation. Unfortunately, it was hydorseeded after construction.
In the fall of 2005, the Committee saw an opportunity to follow through on it’s recommendation. The developer of the Chaffey Project on Springridge Road agreed to help salvage ferns which would be lost where homesites were being cleared. We thank John Grinter for identifying this wonderful opportunity.
The NMTAC, Watershed Council, and Forestry Commission collaborated in a volunteer effort to transport the ferns to New Brooklyn and replant them. Brian Stahl, a member of the Forestry Commission and Watershed Council, and employed by the the Soil Conservation Service for Kitsap County, orchestrated the salvage and replanting.
Tom McKerlick, Engineer with the Public Works Department, worked with Brian on determining a planting plan, which Brian developed to suit City requirements. John Inch, with Operations & Maintenance, was able to help with mulch for the planting.
Jim Tailor, owner of Treez, Inc. donated some small trees as well for the planting.
The environmental clubs from both Bainbridge High School and Woodward Middle School helped with the replanting, and did some invasive plant and trash removal in the process.
In short, it was a wonderful collaboration by many groups and individuals to begin to restore native vegetation on the slope of the cut.
Click below for a slide show from that salvage and replanting in October of 2005.
Then return to the top of this page to click the link to a page about additional planting which is about to happen.
Plant Restoration on New Brooklyn
