Jellyfish or Plastic Bag???

To celebrate World Ocean's Day on June 8th we helped kids visiting the Alaska SeaLife Center make Jellyfish in a Bottle! These creations are made out of recycled plastic drink bottles and plastic shopping bags.  

Step 1: Make the Jellies

Cut out a square from a plastic shopping bag, gather the middle up to make the bell of the jelly, and take a small piece of string and tie the bell in place. Then, cut the remaining piece into thin tentacles. And you have your jelly! 

Step 2: Put the Jelly in Your Bottle

Pick out a plastic bottle and place the jelly inside, bell side first. 

Step 3: Just Add Water

Fill the bottle all the way to the top with water. To make it pop, pick out your favorite color of food dye and add a couple drops! Then, securely glue on the cap and you have your jellyfish in a bottle! Flip the bottle upside down and back again to watch your jellyfish swim!

We had a fantastic time making these Jellies!!! It was a great way to recycle plastic bottles and bags and raise awareness of plastic marine debris. Marine debris is any man-made material that makes its way into the oceans. Most marine debris is made up of plastic and can become a life-threatening hazard for wildlife. As you can see, plastic shopping bags can look a great deal like a jellyfish and animals that eat jellies, like the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle, often eat plastic bags by mistake and pay the ultimate price for it. You can help by reducing your use of plastic materials: buy products that use limited plastic packaging, or none at all, use reusable shopping bags, and don't forget to recycle.

A shout-out to our wonderful volunteers who helped us collect all our materials and all the kids who came and made this a successful project! 

Scheffler Creek Restoration: A How-To Guide

Scheffler Creek Stream Bank Restoration

ASLC AmeriCorps June Service Project

Step 1: The Prep
Scheffler Creek is located in town amid apartment buildings and culverts. However, it is also an important habitat for spawning salmon. Our goal with this project was to revegetate eroded areas of the stream bank to provide more habitat and prevent trampling. Krista joined in on the planning of this project midway with her weekly volunteer service at the Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance (RBCA). Building up to the big day, she helped talk about the project at Seward Elementary and collect the willow cuttings used in the brush layering method.

Krista at Seward Elementary.

Step 2: Get Dirty

The name of the game is stream bank stabilization. Weapons of choice were coir (biodegradable) log, spikes, shovels, sledgehammers. The eroded area was surrounded by beach grass but had become quite the gravelly slope. So to start us off, we dug a ditch for the coir log to act as the foot of our soon-to-be matching stream bank.

Kira and Sara getting the coir log staked. 

Step 3: More Ditch Digging
Enter the willow cuttings. After we dug another ditch uphill of the log, we had to lay lots of willow cuttings that will act as an anchor when their roots start to grow. It's actually pretty impressive that you can keep willow cuttings on ice from March until June, plant them, and enjoy. This part is where the name 'brush layering' comes from; we had a total of two layers on top of the log, then topped off by grass.

The team digging another ditch.

Step 4: Play Dead

Man down.

Step 5: The Scheffler Creek Shuffle

Turns out the willow need water. And the dirt needs to be packed down. This is where our cumulative 94 years of mudpie making experience really came in handy. 

Krista adding water.

Kira making mud.

Kasi and Krista Stomping

Step 6: Grass Transplants
Once the layers were in and the ground was even, we transplanted Beach Grass from the surrounding area to help cover the fresh topsoil. Fencing and signs block off the area to prevent further trampling while it's fresh. The light penetrating fish viewing platform will go in next month to prevent the area from being ruined again.

Brush layering and getting ready to transplant.

Thank you to all the volunteers and organizations involved!