Nebraska City, Neb., March 18, 1999--AmeriCorps volunteers and participants in two special workshops at Arbor Day Farm will practice bioengineering conservation techniques designed to transform the region's South Table Creek. The hands-on sessions are part of Biotechnical Streambank Protection Measure Workshops sponsored by the USDA National Agroforestry Center and The National Arbor Day Foundation, on March 22-23 and 24-25.
A team of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps volunteers will participate in the stream restoration on Thursday, March 25, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The AmeriCorps team, guided by Team Leader Alexis Bucknam, will continue working on the stream restoration at Arbor Day Farm for the next seven weeks. The 260-acre Arbor Day Farm, part of the original estate of Arbor Day founder J. Sterling Morton, is owned and operated by The National Arbor Day Foundation. The Farm serves as a national environmental education and conservation demonstration site.
As part of the stream restoration, AmeriCorps volunteers and others will help implement innovative bioengineering techniques to stabilize stream banks. The process will help restore natural curves to the stream and undo the effects of its earlier channelization, resulting in greater stability and flood protection. In all, between eight and ten bioengineering techniques will be used, with each curve designed to demonstrate a different technique or combination of them. Practices to be implemented include brushlayer, brushmattress, fascines, willow poles, willow posts, and willow stakes.
Additional information is available from Chris Aden, Arbor Day Farm general manager, tel. 402-873-8701, or from Gary Wells of the National Agroforestry Center, tel. 402-437-5178.
About the Arbor Day Foundation
The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. They foster a growing community of more than 1 million leaders, innovators, planters, and supporters united by their bold belief that a more hopeful future can be shaped through the power of trees. For more than 50 years, they’ve answered critical need with action, planting more than half a billion trees alongside their partners. And this is only the beginning.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pursuing a future where all life flourishes through the power of trees. Learn more at arborday.org.