California Trout's Hat Creek Youth Initiative: Living Willow Walls: Living Landscaping

My name is Gabriella Villarriuel and I am a recent graduate of Burney High School. I will be attending Shasta college in the fall and then am planning to transfer to Humboldt State University after i earn my associates degree. In the future I would love to be a wildlife biologist.

This week our crew constructed willow walls which we constructed along the banks of Wood Duck Island that have serious erosion problems. The walls are designed to stabilize the banks and help stop future erosion. Sediment will catch behind the wall and begin to build upon itself. Also the willow will take root and grow into new willows and stabilize the banks. The process of building a willow wall is a simple one. Our crew located willow bushes that were large and healthy enough for us to harvest thin, long branches or "whips." We harvested small whips and also thick branches to be used as stakes for the wall. We trimmed all the excess leaves and branches from the whips to make them as straight as possible. The stakes we cut to approximately 105 cm with an angle at the bottom. We then pounded the stakes in at the waters edge a foot or so apart. The willow whips were woven tightly through the stakes to create the "wall." We built five walls stabilizing almost 60 ft of stream bank. On top of stabilizing the banks, they will also provide cover for juvenile and adult fish, enhancing the quality of the habitat in the area. I am very excited to come back next year and see if they worked and are growing. Hopefully the beavers don't eat them before then :).