Castles in the Trees
November 1, 2024
By Liz Melville
“We can’t leave our castle,” the little girl says.
Three children look proudly at a large pile of sticks and rocks where a green twig stands tall in the center, like a flag marking a fort. Their parents, who had just finished planting native shrubs and trees in holes they dug in rocky soil with shovels and pickaxes, are ready to move to a new location.
“But this is where the princess lives,” the little girl tells her parents.
“And the prince,” her sister adds.
With a little prodding the children walk away from the royal castle and join their parents in a new patch of dirt.
This family, along with many other families, couples, and individuals, gathered at Liberty Lake Regional Park on September 29th for a volunteer event organized by Mattie Powell of Spokane County Parks and Recreation and Rose Richardson from Inland Northwest Land Conservancy. This function was part of a larger project to enhance the park’s amenities and public access. To do so, the county will pave the parking lot and add a dock and ADA kayak drop. The new plants and trees will help prevent erosion and filter out pollutants that may run from the parking lot into the lake.
As I dig in the dirt, I can’t help but strike up a conversation with a young adult named Basil. She is wearing a shirt with a picture of a frog and a toad that states, “We must stop eating!” cried Toad, “as he ate another.” A line from one of my favorite children’s books. And just like that, I know she is one of my people.
I learn that she and her partner Lily are here mostly because they care about wild spaces and they like planting trees. Basil is a geoscience student at Eastern Washington University and dreams of becoming a conservation worker. Lily is adulting and working full time. She would like to go to college to become an engineer once she has more time and money. I tell them a bit about a recent trip I took to Glacier National Park and my new phobia of bears. Basil tells me she is afraid of hooved animals, but because she loves the woods, she has to be brave. Her words, “You can’t be brave without being afraid,” stay with me.
I leave Basil and Lily, pick up my shovel, and move to the shore. Here I meet Austin, Christina, and their daughter Lane. They live on the west side of the lake in a house they recently bought from Austin’s grandparents. Beside them is Jaelyn, who lives at her grandparent’s home on the east side of the lake. They did not know each other prior to this event, but their common roots quickly connect them as they talk about the history and people of the lake.
As I am digging holes in the grassy shoreline, Patti Ziegler finds me to tell me she is leaving. We met earlier that day, but I already feel connected to her. She, like me, loves wild outdoor spaces. She shared her story of her love for the Waikiki Springs Nature Preserve, where she is a Conservancy hike docent. At one point in the not-too-distant past, she feared this land would be developed. Gratefully, many agencies, including Inland Northwest Land Conservancy, worked together to save it. I would like to go on a hike she leads, but I’ll have to wait until next year when she finishes snowbirding in Arizona.
“I NEVER WANT TO QUIT!” Six-year-old Lily tells me after I ask if she is tired. Her parents, Jake and Breena Williamson share this attitude. This day of tree planting is just an extension of their dedication to INLC. Jake gave seven years of service as the treasurer on the board of directors. Lily’s energy and enthusiasm are contagious. It is hard to be grumpy and tired when a six-year-old tells you she is still going strong after three hours of digging in the dirt.
I look up as I leave. I see the tops of the tall ponderosa pines dancing in the wind. I hope that in a hundred years another set of children will build another castle under these same trees.
