Â-By Jesse Duarte
STAFF WRITER

A stretch of York Creek running past Beringer Vineyards was the recipient Tuesday of some much-needed environmental restoration work courtesy of approximately 250 green thumbs.

About 125 students from Napa’s Blue Oak School removed invasive vegetation along the creek and planted native plants. The project was part of Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed (STRAW), organized by The Bay Institute, which is devoted to the environmental restoration of the San Francisco Bay watershed.

With the exception of kindergarteners, everybody from the K-8 private school was involved in the project.

Older students arrived in the morning and laid waste to the overgrown Himalayan blackberry, which had already been chopped down to rigid bald canes by Beringer workers.

Once introduced, the blackberry tends to dominate ecosystems like York Creek, choking out native plants that create a cozy habitat for fish and birds.

Despite the environment-friendly work, Mother Nature didn’t show much gratitude by dumping rain on early morning students and coating the rest of the day in a cold drizzle.

But the kids didn’t seem offended. They just donned blue ponchos and kept working.

“These are pretty fun,” said seventh-grader Dominic Lefever of Angwin, who said he’s participated in past STRAW projects. “It’s a good break from being stuck inside all day, and it’s good to be able to help the rivers and creeks get healthier.”

Younger students arrived later in the day to plant native trees and plants such as California fescue, coffeeberry and toyon. The revegetation plan was designed by Harold Appleton, an erosion control specialist from the environmental and engineering firm Prunuske Chatham.

Fourth-grader Eleanor Crudgington dug two holes for toyons, small trees that grow up to about 10 feet tall. She and classmate Christopher Beller agreed the day was well-spent.

“Working is really fun because we’re trying to help the environment to grow bigger and better,” said Beller after digging a hole and planting a piece of tufted hairgrass. “Helping the environment is fun because I really like plants and birds and stuff.”

This is The Bay Institute’s 16th year of performing riparian restoration in conjunction with Bay Area schools. About 35 STRAW projects take place each year, and this is the fourth year Blue Oak students have participated.

The Beringer restoration wasn’t the first time Blue Oak students have helped out in St. Helena — in 2006 they worked on another STRAW project on Sulphur Creek near the White Barn on Sulphur Springs Avenue.

John Parodi of The Bay Institute credited students for the quality of their work on the projects, which are monitored and maintained for at least three years after the initial work is done.

“Their work is unmatched as far as installing the plants and making sure they survive,” said Parodi.

Bringing this year’s project to Beringer Vineyards was an easy decision after seeing the work students did last year at Etude in the Carneros district, said Lynne Ryno, operations manager at Beringer. Etude, like Beringer, is owned by the Foster’s Group.

Ryno said the overgrown York Creek caused some flooding a few years ago, so restoring it is good not only for fish and birds, but for people too. Beringer’s insurance providers have also singled out the creek as a problem.

“We really want to get our creek back to how it’s supposed to be,” Ryno told students.

Beringer is a member of the Fish Friendly Farming Program, which certifies vineyard properties that are managed to restore fish and wildlife habitat and improve water quality.

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