LLFoR Summer 2016 Newsletter

3,500 American Water-willows Planted in Summer

124 high school students, 40 adults, and

3,500 American Water-willows went to Lake Livingston on September 15 in the Pool’s Creek area of Waterwood in San Jacinto County. This was the largest Lake Livingston Friends of Reservoirs (LFFoR) planting yet, introducing healthy aquatic plants to reduce silting and create habitat for birds and fish along the shoreline, and was finished in just 3.5 hours.

In addition to the September planting, LLFoR held several smaller event with our adult volunteers, each adding 350 plants. Propagation was in high gear over the summer, too. Volunteers propagated plants five times, including 4,000 propagated plants by the students at the September planting. We how have an inventory of nearly 10,000 American Water-willows.

Students and their teachers from Shepherd, Onalaska, Corrigan-Camden, Livingston, and Coldspring-Oakhurst Consolidated High Schools, along with volunteers from Livingston Rotary Club, San Jacinto County Master Gardeners, Piney Woods Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists, and Onalaska Mayor Roy Newport propagated on shore, planted in the lake, and helped with event clean-up. Our project partners; Trinity River Authority, Texas Parks and Wildlife Inland Fisheries, and Texas Black Bass Unlimited were well represented.

Everyone, even the shore team, was a little wet and muddy but satisfied in their accomplishment. We are well prepared to meet our 10,000 planting goal for 2017.

Shepherd HS was the host school for the event, cooking hot-dogs and hamburgers and pitching in on the clean-up, in addition to helping with the planting. One of their senior communications media students videotaped the entire event, conducted interviews and should have a finished video to share with us in November.

Business Support Growing

LLFoR launched a Business Leaders’ Council last year, for local businesses investing $500 annually into our project. The Board is developing a full plan of engagement to grow this program, currently with six members, and to leverage the expertise of the Council members. More on this in the next newsletter.

LLFoR Expands Board

Ron Diderich, a member of Piney Wood Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists, joined the LLFoR Board as Outreach Director and to manage financial reporting. We are still looking for board members and volunteers to join our growing program. If you are interested, email Tom McDonough.