The Conservancy, in partnership with The Lands Council, Avista, and US Fish & Wildlife Service, and YOU will be planting 2,000 native trees and shrubs in this critical wildlife and recreation corridor. Join us on Saturday, October 23 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. to help reforest Rimrock to Riverside!
Currently nominated for County Conservation Futures acquisition, this beautiful natural spot connects Palisades City Park to Riverside State Park. It is frequented by migratory birds, moose, coyotes, and dozens of native plants. The Conservancy has worked with partners from Friends of Palisades, Spokane City and County Parks, and our supporters to protect this special place and we look forward to Reforest Spokane Day as a chance to send the land a love letter–helping to restore struggling wetlands, rebuild habitat for frogs, birds, and other critters, and create a beautiful oasis for human restoration only minutes from downtown Spokane.
The Lands Council has hosted Reforest Spokane for years and we are proud to partner with them on this year’s project. We will plant trees in small groups and shifts, so we can make a big difference while staying safe. Due to limited parking, volunteers will be asked to park at a designated location at the bottom of the Palisades bluff and shuttle to the work sites. Please note that masks will be required.
Trees are critical to all aspects of life—our health, our economy, and our environment.
- A healthy, adult tree can take 11,000 gallons of water from the soil and release it into the air again as oxygen and water vapor in a single growing season.
- Native tree species support natural ecosystems by providing habitat and food for birds, mammals, and insects.
- Tree planting improves water quality. A tree’s complex root network reduces runoff and erosion. This allows more recharging of the ground water supply. Wooded areas help prevent the transport of sediment and chemicals into streams.
- Forested streamside buffers also filter sediment from streams, stabilize streambanks, shade and modify stream temperatures, sequester carbon to help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce downstream flooding. And the presence of mature trees in a buffer makes the stream wider.