By Reid Ozaki, Volunteer at Mount Rainier National Park
It is no surprise that the meadows of Paradise attract thousands of visitors each summer. However, decades of heavy use have taken their toll, leaving areas empty, trampled, and bare. Meadow restoration is a priority project that brings together teams of volunteers to revive Paradise and plant 40,000 native alpine plants. Reid Ozaki, a long-time volunteer, shares what it takes to grow and tend to these fragile plants:
In a previous blog, Hugh Saffel, Washington’s National Park Fund Volunteer, laid out very nicely the importance of the Meadow Restoration program at Mount Rainier National Park. Aside from its obvious function, it’s an excellent way of introducing volunteerism to a diverse set of groups like the Northwest Youth Corps, local school groups, and underrepresented people in this work. In addition, it is one of the more accessible ways for individuals to participate in volunteer work in the park.
In 2005, I was a drop-in volunteer at a planting event at the decommissioned drive-in campground at Sunrise. That day reawakened a spirit that I experienced in my youth working as a trail crew volunteer with Sierra Club Hawaii. I have volunteered at Mount Rainier National Park each year since. Over the last several years, I have found my comfort zone at the park’s greenhouse.
If you’ve ever wondered where all the plants for the restoration projects come from, this is it.
Josh Drown, Park Horticulturist, oversees the program. He is responsible for plant production as well as designing and maintaining irrigation systems and maintaining the structures and grounds. Each year in early spring, seeds representing 20 species collected from around the designated restoration sites are sown.
Reliable germinators are sown directly into cells in flats. The less predictable species are sown onto germination flats to be transplanted at the appropriate time. Greenhouse staff, the re-vegetation crew (referred to as “Re-Veg”), and the reliable community of volunteers will take individual seedlings from these flats and plant them into the cell flats.
Plants will grow larger in the greenhouse before being moved to a shade house to “harden off.” Throughout this time, these plants must be watered, fed, and carefully watched for signs of disease. In the fall, plants will be transferred to the restoration sites around Paradise for planting.
Once in the ground, the plants are left on their own. They will soon go dormant, protected by a blanket of snow, until the following summer. The greenhouse crew, meanwhile, will be out in the meadows to begin the process again by collecting seeds for future re-vegetation projects.
Washington National Park Fund’s support for this program has made it possible for volunteers to accomplish growing many plants on a yearly basis.
Want to see what’s currently blooming in Mount Rainier? Discover where the wildflowers are in the up-to-date wildflower reports provided by the park.
Many individuals provide support for the meadow restoration program in different ways, from volunteering their time to donating to providing funding through donations to Washington’s National Park Fund. Reid shared: “What I appreciate about the Fund is the focus on our local parks and the flexibility of the funding. That aspect attracted me to WNPF over the national nonprofits that work with the National Park Service.”
Learn more about how you can volunteer at Mount Rainier National Park at the park’s Volunteer Program webpage, or give a gift in support of the volunteer program.
Cover photo: Meadows at Mount Rainier National Park by Dave Govan