Project Title: Morro Bay Power Plant

Description: OCE contacted the power plant’s biologist early in 2009 and arranged to plant island oaks and Catalina cherry bushes where the power plant borders the Embarcadero. Acorns were collected from oaks around the Morro Bay Public Library two years prior, and cherry pits were gathered along Interstate 101 near Morro Road. The site hosted mature Monterrey pines, eucalyptus and myaporum, the latter two showed severe twig dieback due to disease and perhaps excessive nitrogen from roosting bird guano. In mid-February at about the middle of Morro Bay’s ‘rainy season‘ OCE worked with a group of 30 youth from the Grizzley Academy to plant 29 two year old Catalina cherry bushes and 31 island oaks. Finally, Morro Bay Beautiful returned to the site and mulched the trees.

OCE’s Work History:

2.22.2009 – initial planting

6.13.2009 – watering, tree count

Current Status: Monitoring

Updates:

6.13.2009 – Nearly four months after the original planting we returned to the site to water the trees deeply before the dry season. Happily, we found 56 of our 60 trees and bushes still alive, giving an optimistic 93% survival rate to the project so far. The mortalities were entirely Catalina cherries with too much solar exposure. – Greg

7.26.2009 – Stopped to water trees again, by hand. Found all previously counted trees surviving, and even some new growth! – Greg