On Tuesday morning, a group of fifth graders from Assumption St. Bridget School teamed up with the Adopt A Stream Foundation (AASF) to begin planting 676 native trees, shrubs and ground cover next to Bear Creek at the Friendly Village mobile home complex at 18425 NE 95th St. in Redmond.

At noon, 30 more students took their place to finish the job.

“This is a terrific partnership with Assumption St. Bridget,” said ecologist Jenifer Adams. “Fifth graders from this school have been helping us out now for five years in a row and learning a lot in the process.”

This “on the ground” project is part of a greater Bear Creek Water Pollution Prevention program funded by the Washington State Department of Ecology. AASF staff are going door to door in the Bear Creek watershed to meet with stream-side property owners and provide them with information on how to become Streamkeepers.

“Our other reason for these site visits is to identify opportunities to improve fish and wildlife habitat and or prevent water pollution,” said AASF Director Tom Murdoch. “At the Country Village site, there is a long stretch of Bear Creek that is exposed to the sun due to lack of stream side vegetation causing a ‘hot spot’ or thermal pollution on a hot day.”

AASF developed a planting plan that was okayed by the residents and now it is time to put that plan into action.

Salmon and trout require cool water (average temperature 50 degrees farenheit on an annual basis) with a high oxygen level. When the water heats up during the summer, oxygen molecules expand with the temperature and float into the atmosphere causing a major problem for salmon and trout. Those fish require 9-11 parts per million per liter oxygen to survive. If the water gets too warm, salmon and trout will suffocate.

Murdoch said the fifth graders from Assumption St. Bridgett are tackling the thermal pollution problem and at the same time the roots of the new plants will hold soil in place preventing erosion and sedimentation problems. Over time, as these plants grow, organic matter from the plants will fall into Bear Creek providing a source of nutrients for micro-organisms, which become food for aquatic insects, that become food for salmon and trout. Another byproduct of this effort Murdoch said is “a good lesson in meaning of ecology — everything is linked together.”