The Power of Stewardship at Sullivan Park Water Trail Access
Check out these photos of volunteers getting after it to fix-up the Sullivan Park Water Trail access.
The Problem: In 2017 the City of Spokane Valley was nice enough to install a water trail access at Sullivan Park. The Forum agreed to support long-term maintenance. Weather, scouring and use had caused the stone steps to loosen, causing both safety and other issues.
The Challenge: Restore and rekey the stone steps with additional aggregate (a gravel mix). But do it in a way that wouldn’t mess up the park by using heavy equipment to move aggregate over the greenscape.
The Solution: Close down a lane of traffic on Sullivan Bridge just long enough to shoot aggregate above the high-water mark to the water trail below. Combine the power of staff and volunteers from the Spokane River Forum, Spokane Conservation District and Spokane Riverkeeper to spread the aggregate and rekey the stairs. Then have the Conservation District spray water on the area to firm up the aggregate mix.
Bonus Points: Do it in the morning the day before 100-degree temps visit for a week.
GCR Tires and Service provides tires, technology, and service to commercial trucking, transportation, mining, construction, and retail customers in the Western U.S. It’s our community’s great fortune GCR has a store and shop in Spokane Valley.
As a company, they’ve made a commitment to improve the environment in the communities where they live and work. The Forum is here to tell you they deliver!
In May they turned out in force to support cleanup in the University District, helping with the thankless job of cleaning up an abandoned homeless camp under Hamilton Bridge.
Then last week, Larry, Isaiah and Cody came out during their early morning work hours to get after it with the Sullivan project. Said Larry Barstow, GCR National Account Manager, “GCR wants to make a difference to improve our environment, locally and regionally. Supporting sustainability projects like this does that.”
It’s all part of GCR’s “Our Way to Serve” program to minimize waste and consumption of raw materials.
The Forum says “Thank You! You’re truly nice people who are walking the talk.”
A Sullivan Thank You to the Spokane Conservation District, SPVV Landscape Architects, City of Spokane Valley and Spokane Riverkeeper
It might seem simple to spread some gravel with volunteers. But it actually takes expertise and commitment. Lindsay Chutas with the Conservation District helped design what to do and served as our on-site technical lead. SPVV came up with the awesome idea of shooting the gravel over the bridge and confirmed Lindsay’s site plan. The City of Spokane Valley walked us through permit needs, not the least of which was how to safely shut down a lane of traffic on a busy bridge for half an hour. And Spokane Riverkeeper staff and interns helped us get the work done as part of the Get Up, Get Out program we partner on. Put it all together with volunteers, and what do you get? A win for the river and community.
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The Spokane River Forum is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that creates materials, events and activities that promote sustaining a healthy river system while meeting the needs of a growing population.