Time-Lapse: Volunteers Restore Marsh Creek

Under the watchful mien of Mount Diablo, a group of 25 volunteers got down and dirty on the banks of Marsh Creek Sunday morning, digging out weeds and giving reintroduced native plants a chance to flourish.

The volunteer opportunity came courtesy of Save Mount Diablo, assisted by equipment and refreshments from its partner REI of Concord.

Kristen Wick of Pleasant Hill began volunteering with Save Mount Diablo more than two years ago. "I had such a good time, I kept coming back," said Wick. She likes the idea of "standing up for" green space.

A retired staffer for Contra Costa County libraries, she said, "I spent all my working life indoors looking at this mountain, loving it. Now I can support it. I love getting my hands in the dirt."

She plunges her hands into the dirt and directs volunteers to preserve the native plants like the California rose, elderberry, coyote bush, blackberry and bunch grass and pull out invasive plants like black mustard and radish and other weeds.

With the planted native species marked by little flags and the neighboring weeds pulled, the native plants have a better chance at sunlight and available water. And Save Mount Diablo volunteers will be back this summer for watering, said George Phillips of Save Mount Diablo.

Helping out was Celeste McCullough of Concord. "I like to garden," she said. "I should be at my house doing it, but I committed to this."

A handful of Patch staffers volunteered with the Save Mount Diablo group Sunday. If you have ideas for a Patch volunteer project, please let us know.