MARYSVILLE — The Adopt A Stream Foundation will be planting several hundred trees and shrubs along 900 feet of Allen Creek on Saturday, March 23, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., next to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church, located at 9311 67th Ave. NE in Marysville, and they’re looking for volunteers to help them out by pitching in that day.

“Allen Creek was once a very productive salmon stream,” AASF Director Tom Murdoch said. “Unfortunately, over the years, a lot of the native stream-side vegetation, that prevents soil erosion and provides shade that keeps water temperatures cool, has been replaced by lawns in residential areas and, in many agricultural areas, cattle and horses have been allowed to eat the riparian zone.”

Thanks to support from the Washington State Department of Ecology, AASF’s Stream Team has been providing landowners next to Allen Creek ecological checkups for their portions of the creek, as well as prescriptions for corrective action when problems are discovered.

Last year, AASF discovered that the riparian zone next to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church had been eaten by horses grazing next to the stream. With the assistance of the Snohomish Conservation District, AASF and volunteers from the church installed a 900-foot-long fence, to keep horses between 50-100 feet away from the creek, and began to plant new stream-side vegetation over four acres. According to Murdoch, they’re planning on completing restoration of the first two acres on March 23.

“We need some volunteers to stop by and help us make this happen,” Murdoch said. “Then we’ll move forward and restore the next two acres, take a breath, and watch the trees grow.”

All equipment will be provided, but volunteers should be prepared to get dirty. For more information, call 425-316-8592, or log onto www.streamkeeper.org.