Naturespace volunteers celebrate Vancouver’s literal roots

Countryside Park’s tree line serves as a portal between two distinct realms coexisting within 2 acres.

One exists as a traditional park fitted with a teal play set and a handful of picnic tables; the other is a dedicated natural area swarming with life.

On Saturday morning, a collection of volunteers shuffled past the park amenities and into the world of towering Douglas firs to tend to its understory.

The effort, led by the city of Vancouver’s pilot Naturespaces program, is intended to restore the understory’s ecosystem while shifting mentalities surrounding what public spaces look like, event lead Jade Jones-Hawk said.

The ground hugged pairs of boots as they walked along the lightly worn path. Each heavy step sank slightly into the damp and dark soil, releasing a rich earthy scent with each impression. Fat raindrops managed to dart through the tree cover and smacked onto hoods and knit hats.

Volunteers carried small plastic cartons containing ferns and small bulbs of yarrow, camas and trillium, all of which are strong and versatile species native to the area. Some containers didn’t appear to hold anything more than plain dirt, but with a quick flip and pat on the bottom, an entire root system would emerge.

Some volunteers got creative, like Zena Bartusch of Vancouver, who made stakes from fallen branches to indicate where the bulbs had been placed.

As they worked, participants asked questions about how to properly remove invasive species and replace them with native plants, many with the intention to funnel the knowledge to their backyards. Other smiled as they knelt in the soil and investigated the understory closely.

“Nature makes my endorphins get going. It just makes me so happy,” said Lorraine Chure, who moved from her home in Utah to Vancouver last autumn. Sitting in the temperate forest among other environmentalists was a new, enjoyable experience, she said.

Altogether, it was a quaint and rhythmic operation: Dig. Flip. Pat. Place. Repeat.

Among the juvenile plants, there are twigs, branches and imported leaves that will serve as nutritious food to aid their growth.

Steve Wille of Vancouver, a leading voice for the group, has witnessed the understory’s evolution from personal involvement — estimated to be about 1,400 hours — and from his back porch, which sits directly along the park’s boundary.

Wille, a retired biologist for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, recollected when common burdock consumed the park and caused chaos. The plant’s pokey bulbs would effortlessly become knotted into the hair of whoever passed by — no animal or human was spared the annoyance of untangling themselves from the plant.

With the introduction of more native species, Wille also saw the return of leafcutting bees, an important pollinator in the region, and lichen.

Historically, native biodiversity has been disrupted by the introduction of non-native species, particularly those brought by European colonizers, Wille said. Reestablishing native plants will restore the habitat, particularly for the unassuming invertebrates that live within the understory’s dense vegetation.

Naturespaces staff will monitor Countryside Park’s understory to follow the young plants’ survival and, eventually, bring in additional plant species. To date, the Bagley-Downs, Bella Vista, Countryside and Hearthwood neighborhoods have been the program’s focus areas.

Volunteers don’t need previous knowledge to participate, only a sense of curiosity and a willingness to learn something new.

“Part of helping maintain balance is doing things like planting (and) removing invasive plants that threaten our systems’ biodiversity,” Jones-Hawk said. “It takes time to understand it, but we benefit greatly from the fact that our forests are like this.”