SHELTON CREEK PROJECT

A creek with falls behind the Shelton Timberland Library!

A PEACEFUL REFUGE IN THE HEART OF SHELTON

Submitted to Shelton Blog by Katherine Price with Photos by Clint Ferrara
Mason County Progressive
On a Thursday evening, a few months back, six senior members of Occupy Shelton ("senior" meaning none of us was under 50, and not suggesting any level of status in the loosely organized movement that is Occupy), were discussing collecting ideas for things the community could accomplish under the auspices and direction of an organization known as Pomegranate. Some Shelton and Mason County citizens had already attended one Pomegranate meeting, and another was scheduled in two weeks.

One of our members came up with a great and easy idea to clean up and reclaim an area of town that few people know about, and that is the trail behind the library that runs along Shelton Creek. To call it a "trail" is a slight exaggeration. But there is a creek, and a waterfall, and a lovely sense of peace that exists right in the heart of downtown Shelton.

It is as pretty as any trail in Tawanoh State Park, but it has its shortcomings.


And it has its opportunities.

So the Occupy ladies traipsed off into the woods at a noon hour with photographer Clint Ferrara, and we were delighted with what we saw and "envisioned". Our community was recently asked by our air-breather friend Greg Williamson, in a letter to the editor of the Journal, to do just that. Envision what you would like in Shelton...in Mason County...and so we did! We got so excited we put together a presentation.


We were all ready on the evening of the second Pomegranate meeting to unveil our amazing photos, and share our vision for what we might do as a community in a short amount of time (with volunteers and some skilled laborers). But we were not allowed to present our idea that evening.

The Pomegranate program follows a prescribed order of events. This second meeting was to identify who in the community had needs, and what things might the community do to meet those needs. I have to tell you, I heard a local woman say that she has lived here for 40 years and every ten years someone comes out and identifies the groups who have needs, identifies what the community could do to meet those needs, and then goes back to sleep for 10 years. This was her 4th such event, and she was not optimistic that anything would get done this time either.

Well, when you are female, and over 50, sometimes you just have to take the bull by the horns -- whatever that means, it sounds like what we did. We decided to skip the Pomegranate version of getting a community project started, and we went to work on our own.

First, we let the City know we were interested. They were interested that we were interested, and they were also interested that we were not asking them to do anything or spend any money they did not have. Jason Dose and Steve Goins were encouraging. and they copied our communications to Mark Ziegler of the Parks Department.

Second, we bumped into some neighbors of the creek who were meeting to discuss just such an effort. They remembered fondly when their kids were little and it was safe to play in the woods and the creek. They wanted to reclaim the creek for a more positive use than a campground for transients, and a safe and peaceful place to do drugs. These new elements at the creek meant that the locals and their children's children did not use the creek as much.

The Shelton Creek neighborhood group invited our group to meet their group, and City Parks Manager Mark Ziegler attended. It was a completely positive meeting, and left us all feeling great.

Within a few weeks we had a work party at the creek and we pulled a lot of garbage out of the creek and woods, including hypodermic needles, wet clothes, several pair of shoes, wet bedding, a tent that was floating in the middle of the creek, and one disposable (but clearly not biodegradable) diaper. It was a hot and sunny day, and when we were done we ate ice cold fresh fruit, and some of us had a well-deserved beer.


One day of cleaning the creek and woods was only the beginning, however.

Enter members of the Mason Conservation District, who arranged to have a crew of workers come and take out the ivy we had not been able to cut (there was an ivy stock that was so big it had to be sawed), and they took out an amazing amount of blackberries. We still have something wonderful called "knot weed" that needs to be dealt with, but amazing progress has already occurred, from an idea hatched in my basement at an Occupy Shelton meeting!

Recently, on Monday, August 13, 2012, the Occupy ladies and a few of the Shelton Creek neighbors met with some members of the Mason Conservation District at the creek head. Following that meeting, we are now studying publications like: "Sound Native Plants, Species Selection Guide" (www.soundnativeplants.com), "2004 Stream Habitat Restoration Guidelines: Final Draft" and "The Riparian Zone". We are in the process of choosing the plants we will use to restore the creek to it's more natural habitat, sans the ivy, blackberries, knot weed, etc. We are now busy studying "restoration superstars" and "plants for very wet sites".

This is the most fun I have had since I was a kid. So many things in today's hectic world seem not to happen as planned, not to happen on time, and especially, not to happen at all. I suspect the local woman who said we get together every ten years, identify groups with needs, and identify how the community can meet those needs, and then do nothing until we meet again in ten years, was right.

But guess what, the groups with needs are consistent...young people, the elderly, the homeless, ...and the solutions are the same, build things, provide places, provide things... all things that cost money. As a result, no matter how much good intention we all arrive with, nothing gets done; there is no follow through.

Not this time. I can't wait 10 years for the next meeting where we identify needs, explore solutions, and do nothing. My Occupy lady friends cannot either. The neighbors of Shelton Creek can't wait ten years. And the kids who should enjoy the creek without fear, they can't want ten years either.

Step one for our Shelton Creek project was to get it cleaned up, and then get it replanted. Those things will happen this year.

Step two will involve at least: rebuilding the trail to provide greater access; tying the trail into an upland trail the hospital has created; providing picnic areas on the level ground within the creek's forest; putting a permanent bridge across the creek. The sky is the limit and as each piece gets finished we hope to have more folks who want to be part of the next piece join us.

Our vision involves the things identified here. What's your vision? What would you add?


Shelton has a beautiful, pristine little creek running through beautiful evergreen trees that provide shade and dappled sunlight on a little waterfall. If you have not seen this gem in our midst, take a walk behind the Shelton library and check it out. I am pretty sure you will agree that it is lovely, and that it is worth reclaiming for healthy, positive uses.

Contact us at: SheltonCreek@gmail.com