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Birds, Bugs and Fish, oh my!

This spring, the IBO community came together to enhance habitat at the Diane Moore Nature Center. And it wasn’t only about birds!

Thanks to our undergraduate “VIP” (Vertically Integrated Project) students, Friday “habitat club” community volunteers, Wildlife Management students, and so many volunteers on our Saturday work days, we made fast work on a number of spring projects.

IBO work study student, Elizabeth Serocki, with native shrubs that will be planted at restoration sites this fall! Photo Credit: Greg Kaltenecker

In-stream Habitat

Thanks to members of the Boise Valley Fly Fishers, we were able to anchor more logs and branches in our river side-channel. These large wood structures (anchored in place to withstand spring flows) will provide shade and shelter for fish fry as they grow.

It also gives aquatic insects (aka fish and bird food!) plenty of places to hide. This project was coordinated by our VIP student Kyle Hines.

Volunteers install wood to provide fish habitat. Photo credit: Troy Pearse, Boise Valley Fly Fishers

Fencing and Erosion

Thanks to some heavy lifting and quick work by a team of carpentry volunteers, we were able to create and install signs to direct users along trails at the Diane Moore Nature Center. This will help prevent bank erosion and trampling of new seedlings.

Our Community volunteers made quick work of the sign posts we needed! Photo Credit: Greg Kaltenecker

Another team, including volunteers from the community and Boise State undergraduates, also re-installed split rail fencing along portions of the property where sandy banks needed protection from foot and dog traffic.

Potting Shrubs

We also worked with a team of Boise State and CWI students, joined by community volunteers, to re-pot growing native shrubs. These shrubs will spend the summer growing and flourishing at Greg’s house before they are planted out at our restoration sites this fall!

Community volunteers joined us on Friday work days to re-pot hundreds of native shrubs. Photo Credit: Greg Kaltenecker

We’re not done yet! If you’re interested in helping out on any of these projects, be sure to sign up on our Volunteer Interest form to get the latest updates