As the great cultural anthropologist, Margaret Mead, famously said…
Now, regardless of what you may or may not think about slogan stickers like the aforepasted, it’s hard to argue with her sentiment. Especially when you see how a small community like ours has rallied to restore a creek. Foss Creek, which cuts through Healdsburg and outlines our h2hotel property, was once a thriving Steelhead habitat, with thousands of the endangered trout running through it each year. And then came plants like the Himalayan Blackberry, or English Ivy. If they sound suspiciously “un-Healdsburgian,” that’s because they are. Since these non-natives are removed from their natural predators and flora competition, it’s easier for them to run rampant. In our case, the Himalayan Blackberry overwhelmed the banks of Foss Creek, and in the blink of an eye, effed everything up.
How?
Foss Creek Flooding, Jan '08
Let’s start with the flooding. The Blackberry in question is an extremely fast growing plant that “leapfrogs” other plants by growing branches through existing plants and those branches sprout new branches that climb higher until, just like that, it envelopes native vegetation. In its growth Himalayan Blackberry weaves a web of fibery branches that will knit together from opposite sides of a creek and form debris dams that can, you guessed it, withstand the force of flowing water. When this happens it can cause a creek to jump its banks as Healdsburgers saw in January of 2008.
Beyond that, non-natives are bad news for the wildlife. Here’s an oversimplified, and questionably scientific summary of the problem:
Plants don’t like to be eaten. So they develop self defense mechanisms like poisons or terrible tasting compounds to avoid being eaten. Well, over the course of however many tens of thousands of years, the local wildlife have evolved to deal with the local plants’ self-defense strategies. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be here. (Take the Monarch Butterfly, for instance, which has developed anti-bodies to deal with the poisonous milkweed.) Now, when you introduce an exotic, non-native species that the local wildlife can’t safely eat, or don’t want to eat, well, they go away.
The Folks Margaret Mead Was Talking About
While Foss Creek, like so many other urban creeks, has been an afterthought for far too long, in recent years, local organizations like Russian Riverkeeper and Trout Unlimited have spearheaded an effective restoration project. h2hotel and sister property, Hotel Healdsburg, have partnered with these non-profits, and the funds we provide train local volunteers in native and exotic plant identification. Volunteers are taught the proper eradication techniques for exotic plants, and optimal methods for re-establishing native species. The funds are also used for planning, regulatory permits, tools, new native plants, irrigation to establish new plants, erosion control and interpretive signage to educate visitors on the restoration project.
But beyond our fiscal contributions, we knew it was imperative that our hotel was mindful of the neighboring creek’s delicate ecosystem. It is, after all, right in our backyard. And so, in addition to our efforts to restore the native plant species, our architects, contractors and consultants used low impact development strategies to reduce or eliminate stormwater pollutants. Our living roof is the most obvious example. Sure it looks cool and recalls the rolling hills of Healdsburg, but it also filters rainwater and protects Foss Creek from runoff. The end result is that a small group of thoughtful, dedicated citizens is helping to transform a blighted creek into the jewel it could and should be for residents, visitors and, most importantly, wildlife.
Find out more about the Foss Creek Project. And if you’re feeling inspired, sign up for one of the Saturday morning Volunteer Days. After all, we can change the world. Or at least save the endangered Steelhead. One Himalayan Blackberry bush at a time.
