May 5, 2021 - various stages of a streambank restoration that I've been experimenting with for several years now.
I am infinitely grateful to Grandmother Earth herself for her inspiration and collaboration without which this could not be happening. She herself has a profound capacity for healing and regeneration, if given a chance. The steep stream bank on the right side of the photo (above) was severely eroded and largely barren when I began restoration efforts in 2014. I've added dashed lines (in the photo above) in order to draw attention to two different segments of that stream bank, which ended up needing different restoration techniques.
The area with a Red dotted line around it, further downstream towards the top and left of photo, proved easier to restore. In that region, look closely and you might see the grey trunks are willow and dogwood trees, now nearly 8-10 feet tall, which started off as bare-stick "live stake cuttings". In addition, there is a nice dense understory of mosses, grasses, sedges, and wildflowers that has developed and diversified over time. Overall, that part of the stream bank indeed became fully vegetated and has remained quite stable since 2014, despite retaining the original steep 4' tall slope profile which was never altered.
The area enclosed in the Turquoise dotted line initially received the exact same treatment, twice in 2 failed attempts; I eventually realized that because it was both even steeper yet and also shadier than the region in red, it needed a different approach. By the time I had come up with a better plan for the turquoise zone, it's state had devolved from barren nearly vertical, to a concave profile with an unsupported overhanging top as illustrated in the photo below. (Hopefully that will indeed be it's final "before" stage of a thriving restoration.) The difference employed this time was creation of a series of tiny stair-stepped terraces to modify the slope, the first one is visible below in mid-installation: as a dark brown board at toe of slope held by wooden stakes.
The area with a Red dotted line around it, further downstream towards the top and left of photo, proved easier to restore. In that region, look closely and you might see the grey trunks are willow and dogwood trees, now nearly 8-10 feet tall, which started off as bare-stick "live stake cuttings". In addition, there is a nice dense understory of mosses, grasses, sedges, and wildflowers that has developed and diversified over time. Overall, that part of the stream bank indeed became fully vegetated and has remained quite stable since 2014, despite retaining the original steep 4' tall slope profile which was never altered.
The area enclosed in the Turquoise dotted line initially received the exact same treatment, twice in 2 failed attempts; I eventually realized that because it was both even steeper yet and also shadier than the region in red, it needed a different approach. By the time I had come up with a better plan for the turquoise zone, it's state had devolved from barren nearly vertical, to a concave profile with an unsupported overhanging top as illustrated in the photo below. (Hopefully that will indeed be it's final "before" stage of a thriving restoration.) The difference employed this time was creation of a series of tiny stair-stepped terraces to modify the slope, the first one is visible below in mid-installation: as a dark brown board at toe of slope held by wooden stakes.
March 22, 2021 - Note the "landmarks" highlighted in red for reference/comparison with subsequent images.
Having staked in the brown board at toe of slope (visible above) to serve as the first terrace, I carefully created a new more convex shape to the upper slope using a machete. I used the soil and sod removed from re-shaping top to fill the lowest terrace first, then I was able to install the second, higher terrace board, and fill that one next with additional re-located material, and so forth. As is most visible in the photo collage below, I ended up creating a series of four and five terraces all along the lower slope,
use to create miniature terraces with. Then I used a machete to cut off the overhanging top of the bank which had no underlying support. The soil from that filled up the miniature terraces created by the boards.
From there, the process was similar to that I'd used previously -- I tacked down a 4 foot wide woven jute mat along the streambank. Then installed "live stake cuttings" of various willow and dogwood species which will grow into trees. Then I spread a variety of seeds, and also transplanted some local native plants within the protection of the jute mat, and in this case, within the terraces as well. That was about 6 weeks ago now. The photo here shows the new growth as of yesterday.
use to create miniature terraces with. Then I used a machete to cut off the overhanging top of the bank which had no underlying support. The soil from that filled up the miniature terraces created by the boards.
From there, the process was similar to that I'd used previously -- I tacked down a 4 foot wide woven jute mat along the streambank. Then installed "live stake cuttings" of various willow and dogwood species which will grow into trees. Then I spread a variety of seeds, and also transplanted some local native plants within the protection of the jute mat, and in this case, within the terraces as well. That was about 6 weeks ago now. The photo here shows the new growth as of yesterday.
3/23, 3/24, 3/25 (2021) - Subsequent photos taken a day apart during a 'Scaffolding' phase of restoration in 2021.
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