It belongs to all of us. What we do with it, matters.
It took nearly 30 years to acquire the property surrounding our home, while watching developers take bulldozers to it and destroy the beautiful wooded and wetland areas. During that time, I watched invasive species consume the land and push back the plant and animal species that belong here. Winters came and went, lending some peace to the transition…then Spring arrived with new threats and painful consequences.
I’d never considered it as belonging to “them or us,” but only felt desperation to save it from turning into concrete and strategically-placed landscaping trees. Once we started noticing the lack of wildlife, the desperation turned to panic. I had already seen my own hometown turn from wooded hideaways to cement; and could not bear to see it happen again. I knew that here, in Michigan, where Nature was still respected and development was happening at a slower pace, we may have a chance.
By the time we were able to start our work, many species had already disappeared. I remember spending an entire summer watching for butterflies and bees…cheering a rare appearance and hoping they would hang around. There were no frogs, no more turtles, very few birds but the Robins and Blue Jays who spent the day scrounging for food. Woodpeckers visited briefly, then went to hunt elsewhere. There were no beautiful Spring ephemerals, nor any fragrant grasses in which the deer could rest; and I chastised myself for enjoying the sweet scent of Honeysuckle; knowing it should not be here…but thankful for any beauty at all.
There was also no lack of Garlic Mustard, amongst plenty of Motherwort, and Creeping Charlie to fill every inch of soil. But very few indications of a harmonious, healthy co-existence. Yet.
Spring 2021 Benchmarking
