It wasn’t so long ago that the Scotch broom at Hilltop meadow grew this tall. Use your imagination to picture just how tall this is, and it was taller than that.
Restoration of the 5-acre meadow, bridging Grand Forest east and west, has been an ongoing challenge since it was preserved a decade ago. Keeping the noxious broom at bay is central to that effort.
“The restoration is rather fresh, in ecological terms,” says Morgan Houk, volunteer coordinator for Bainbridge Metro Parks.
Windermere’s Bainbridge Island office took up the cause this month, through the ParksCorps program of the Bainbridge Island Parks & Trails Foundation.
Nine Windermere agents put in a morning of service at the Hilltop meadow’s west edge, combing the tall grass to root out Scotch broom starts before they can flower and spread.
It was meticulous work, but relaxed and conversational on a cool morning in one of the island’s more bucolic spots. From Windermere Bainbridge Island owner Carter Dotson: “It’s spectacular, a perfect project for us.”
For their efforts, the team earned a grant from the Parks & Trails Foundation to the Windermere Foundation, which supports low-income and homeless families.
The Hilltop event was part of the Windermere office network’s annual Community Service Day. The Bainbridge Island office also sent volunteers to Bainbridge Youth Services and the Boys & Girls Club.
The event followed recent Scotch broom pulls at Hilltop by Bainbridge Metro Parks and the Bainbridge Island Land Trust. The Student Conservation Corps will spend several days there this summer, again tugging broom with support from the Parks & Trails Foundation.
ParksCorps rewards local nonprofit organizations and clubs for volunteering in Bainbridge Island parks and trails. Earn money for your group through ParksCorps by emailing Barb Trafton, barb@biparksfoundation.org.
