Eventually the alder’s decline progressed to the point of requiring pollarding, retaining fantastic towers of snagged trunks. The wood was integrated into the landscape for slope retention, pathway definition, and mushroom cultivation. We inoculated shiitake and oyster mushrooms into branches and towers, and integrate King Stropharia spawn into the woodchips spread everywhere, resulting in some fantastic fungal displays. Plants found their homes amongst the slopes, with more being added each year.
Peter Condra from Columbia Land Trust and Green Lents joined us and helped clear the space we lovingly now know as “Peter’s Plateau.”“Peter’s Plateau”