Roughly 20 Cubic Yards of Invasive Species Removed During Canyon Day
On Saturday, March 30, from 11:00am to roughly 2:00pm, Reed students, staff, faculty and even Portland locals gathered in our very own Canyon to participate in the annual Canyon Day, an event hosted in collaboration between Sustainability at Reed, Greenboard, and Grounds Maintenance. The primary goal of the event was restoration, to remove invasive species, primarily common ivy and blackberries from the Canyon, and plant native plant species, primarily ferns, as a replacement.
Each organization handled different aspects of the event; Sustainability handled advertising and the sign-in table, Grounds Maintenance provided plants, tools, gloves, water, and wheelbarrows to carry out dug-up invasive plants, direction to volunteers, set-up and clean-up, and Greenboard grilled vegan food, made and gave away t-shirts, as well as helped to coordinate volunteers at the sign-in table (with help from Science Outreach).
Ella Crotty ‘25, a signator of Greeboard, commented, “We pulled a huge pile of ivy and put tons of native plants in the ground, and the weather was excellent for being outdoors. Canyon Day is a long-running tradition that restores the Canyon by beating back invasive plants and planting native ones. Canyon Day gives us the opportunity to remove a ton of invasive ivy all at once and bond as a community over our beautiful canyon!”
According to Facilities Operations Manager Zac Perry, this year volunteers were specifically able to remove around 20 cubic yards of ivy and blackberries, and planted over 500 native plants by the end of the event. As for the selection of the portion of the Canyon to be the focus of the Canyon Day restoration, Perry commented “Through fall and winter collectively [Sustainability, Greenboard and Grounds Maintenance] worked together to select the site of most need. In selecting the site, we were looking for an area that was safe for volunteers (not too steep, or tripping hazards) and was accessible for the expected large volunteer turn-out.”
Sustainability Coordinator Rachel Willis mentioned that “The large majority of weeding on campus, especially in the Canyon, is done manually (some limited spraying on things like garlic mustard, mandated by City of Portland) so it's powerful to see folks from all different departments and from the neighborhood come together to plant native plants and care for the land that gives us so much.”
“Canyon Day as a whole is Reed's oldest tradition and those that plan and participate in this event I know take a lot of pride in spending a day to give back to such an amazing community resource,” Perry added. “I've been at Reed since 1999 and have partnered with students to facilitate 43 Canyon Day events through those years. Every event is different, with location, participation, and weather.”
“I personally carry quite a bit of anxiety and grief at the state of the world, and I know a lot of students do too,” Willis added. “Being able to do something tangible to give back and stay connected to both land and people feels really nourishing. That is a big part of sustainability for me.”