Field Fridays
Want to spend some time with the Stewardship Team and learn a bit more about land trust conservation sites? Sign up for a Field Friday adventure generally held on the first Friday of the month. These are working days, and are more difficult than our shorter work parties. Volunteers should be prepared for all weather conditions and have tough, weather appropriate footwear and outerwear ready to traverse rugged, uneven terrain. Volunteers will have the opportunity to visit parts of properties rarely seen by the public, learn about Whatcom Land Trust’s stewardship goals and processes, and participate in restoration and land management activities. Children are not recommended for Field Fridays as these events are longer and more strenuous. Anyone under 17 must have a parent or guardian present.
RSVP is required to participate on these Field Fridays as space is limited and the schedule may change due to weather. Because we plan our activities around the volunteers expected and often have a waitlist, we must receive 48 hours’ notice for any cancellations.
As many Field Fridays are in remote portions of the property, we ask that you stay for the entire duration of the Field Friday and do not leave early unless approved prior.
Questions: Please feel free to email our Volunteer Coordinator, Madeline Mahler, madeline@whatcomlandtrust.org
Liability Waivers
Liability waivers need to be filled out prior to volunteering with Whatcom Land Trust. The liability waiver is good for the remainder of the calendar year (January – December), and a new one will need to be filled out each year after. Both electronic copies and printed copies will be accepted.
If you are 17 years of age or older, simply fill out the adult liability waiver below.
Adult Liability Form
Minor Liability Form
How to fill out these forms if a volunteer is under 17 years old:
– If the volunteer is under 13, a parent will need to sign both the adult liability form and the minor addendum form.
– If the volunteer is between 13 and 17 years of age, the teenager will sign the adult liability waiver, and a parent will need to sign the minor addendum form.
Fall – Winter 2023-24 Field Fridays
Friday, September 1st (9:00 AM – 3:00PM)
Scotch Broom Removal and Site Visit at Maple Creek Reach
Join Whatcom Land Trust for this Field Friday at Maple Creek Reach; one of our most beautiful,
most popular properties that is full of wildlife. Help us keep the property this beautiful by
removing the invasive species that threaten to overtake it. Scotch Broom is a nasty invasive that
will take over if given the opportunity. Eventually this invasive will be shaded out by native
trees but in the meantime we need to do some maintenance. We will also be completing our
annual site visit so this is a great chance to see the full property!
What to Expect: Walking on uneven ground, using weed wrench
Directions: From Bellingham take Mt. Baker Hwy east to Maple Falls. Once through Maple Falls,
follow the highway for two sharp beds followed by crossing Maple Creek. The entrance to the property will be on the right-hand side at the bend in the highway after a straightaway. Look for the purple Whatcom Land Trust signs!
Carpool: Meet at Whatcom Land Trust’s office at 8 am to ride with staff to the site. We will be
leaving the office at 8:15. Carpooling is now required again for Field Fridays. Please email our
Volunteer Coordinator if you don’t feel comfortable carpooling.
RSVP: Registration is REQUIRED for this event. Sign up here!
Friday, October 6th (9:00 AM – 3:00PM)
Blackberry Removal and Site Visit at Elk Flats
Elk Flats is a beautiful forestland along the South Fork of the Nooksack River located in Skagit
Valley. This is a difficult property to access which is an even bigger reason to join us for this fun
Friday adventure! We will be hiking around this 80-acre property to complete our annual site
visit while also cutting back invasive blackberry. Come join WLT staff for a great day!
What to Expect: walking on uneven, generally flat ground, lopping blackberry
Carpool: Meet at Whatcom Land Trust’s office at 7:30 am to ride with staff to the site. We will
be leaving the office at 7:45. Carpooling is now required again for Field Fridays. Please email
our Volunteer Coordinator if you don’t feel comfortable carpooling or need to drive separate for
other reasons.
RSVP: Registration is REQUIRED for this event. Sign up here!
Friday, November 3rd (9:00 AM – 3:00PM)
Invasive Removal and Site Visit at Spruce Roost
Come join Whatcom Land Trust staff for a full adventure day! We will hike around Spruce
Roost, a Land Trust property on the floodplain of the North Fork Nooksack river to complete our
annual site visit and then work on removing Scotch broom and butterfly bush along the
floodplain. This will be a day of bushwhacking fun while improving our local salmon’s home.
What to Expect: bushwhacking, digging, lopping
Carpool: Meet at Whatcom Land Trust’s office at 8 am to ride with staff to the site. We will be
leaving the office at 8:15. Carpooling is now required again for Field Fridays. Please email our
Volunteer Coordinator if you don’t feel comfortable carpooling or need to drive separate for
other reasons.
RSVP: Registration is REQUIRED for this event. Sign up here!
Friday, December 1st (9:00 AM – 3:00PM)
Planting & Invasive Removal at Spooner Creek
It is officially December! Come spend the first day of this cold month, planting native trees and removing
invasives on this new property. The Land Trust purchased Spooner Creek in 2021 to protect shoreline
along Spooner and Dakota Creeks. We want this property to become a healthier habitat for wildlife,
which we need YOUR help to do. Come join us for a great day!
What to Expect: Walking on uneven ground, digging, pruning, pulling plants, grading dirt
Carpool: Meet at Whatcom Land Trust’s office at 8:15 am to ride with staff to the site. We will
be leaving the office at 8:30. Carpooling is now required again for Field Fridays. Please email
our Volunteer Coordinator if you don’t feel comfortable carpooling or need to drive separate for
other reasons.
RSVP: Registration is REQUIRED for this event. Sign up here!
Friday, January 5th 2024 (9:00 AM – 3:00PM)
Planting, Invasive Removal & Site Visit at Craver
Happy new year! Kick off the year right, by joining the Whatcom Land Trust on our wonderful
Craver property. We will be doing our annual site visit which is a great opportunity to see all the
beauty Craver has to offer. This site includes Hutchinson Creek, a lively forest and a variety of
native animals. This will be a fun day of planting trees in different parts of the property and
freeing past plantings from invasive species. Parts of the trail are extremely muddy, so boots are
strongly encouraged.
What to Expect: Walking on uneven ground, hand pulling plants, kneeling and using hand tools
to dig
Carpool: Meet at Whatcom Land Trust’s office at 8:00 am to ride with staff to the site. We will
be leaving the office at 8:15. Carpooling is now required again for Field Fridays. Please email
our Volunteer Coordinator if you don’t feel comfortable carpooling or need to drive separate for
other reasons.
RSVP: Registration is REQUIRED for this event. Sign up here!
Friday, February 2nd 2024 (9:00 AM – 3:00PM)
Invasive Removal and Site Visit at Pratum
Did you know that the water you drink in Bellingham comes from Lake Whatcom? This means
the land around it directly impacts the water you drink. Whatcom Land Trust’s Pratum is a part
of the Lake Whatcom watershed and needs your help to improve our water quality. We will be
focusing on removing Vinca and Holly from the property then completing our annual site visit. It
will be a great day of tromping around in the woods!
What to Expect: Walking on uneven ground, hand pulling plants, kneeling and using hand tools
to dig
Carpool: Meet at Whatcom Land Trust’s office at 8:15 am to ride with staff to the site. We will
be leaving the office at 8:30. Carpooling is now required again for Field Fridays. Please email
our Volunteer Coordinator if you don’t feel comfortable carpooling or need to drive separate for
other reasons.
RSVP: Registration is REQUIRED for this event. Sign up here!
Liability Waivers
Liability waivers need to be filled out prior to volunteering with Whatcom Land Trust. The liability waiver is good for the remainder of the calendar year (January – December), and a new one will need to be filled out each year after. Both electronic copies and printed copies will be accepted.
If you are 17 years of age or older, simply fill out the adult liability waiver below.
Adult Liability Form
Minor Liability Form
How to fill out these forms if a volunteer is under 17 years old:
– If the volunteer is under 13, a parent will need to sign both the adult liability form and the minor addendum form.
– If the volunteer is between 13 and 17 years of age, the teenager will sign the adult liability waiver, and a parent will need to sign the minor addendum form.
COVID-19 Update:
The safety of our volunteers and community remain our highest priority. If you have tested positive for COVID-19, have any symptoms of illness, or think you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you MUST stay home even if you have already RSVP’d. Please understand that if you choose to participate in a field Friday event, you do so at your own risk. While these precautions may reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19, that risk still exists. By choosing to volunteer, you are knowingly and accepting the risk of contracting COVID-19.
Click on one of these links to learn more about our volunteer opportunities:
Work Parties | Field Fridays | Become a Volunteer Land Steward | Other Volunteer Opportunities
Past Field Fridays
Craver
Trail Clearing and Invasive Removal. We removed at least 250 square feet of vinca, cleared around 40 trees, and cleared about a 1/2 mile of trail!
Maple Creek Reach
Removing Scotch Broom
Photo by Jamy Pearson
Photo by Jamy Pearson
Photo by Jamy Pearson
Ladies of the Lake
Removing blackberry
Catalyst Complex
We created blue tubes and cages used to protect young plantings from the frequently trafficked deer and elk. We also planted some trees in areas of high plant mortality.
Black Slough
3 volunteers participated and we removed beaver cages off of 30 trees and limbed the lower branches as well!
Kelsey
We only had two volunteers today but still got so much done! We prepped for the upcoming Kelsey work party in April, transported more then 200 plants across half a mile of uneven terrain, and even had a nice lunch in the sun!
Ladies of the Lake
The group removed an entire blackberry mass at Ladies of the Lake.
Field Friday at Stover
We planted 800 trees and removed a barbed wire fence line with staff from Nooksack Indian Tribe’s Natural Resources at our new Stover property along the South Fork Nooksack River.
Field Friday at Maple Creek Reach!
We had a great Field Friday at Maple Creek Reach! A big thank you to everyone who came out with us and got a lot of good work done. We even saw some bear tracks (but just missed the bear).
Field Friday at Duck Pond!
Today we cleared, and created a trail through about half a mile of one of our newest properties, Duck Pond. Thanks to everybody who braved the rain to come out and get some great work done!
