Written by Walker Trent
My reflection takes place on the first day the crew visited the worksite at Clinch Valley Farms. The area we spent most time in is an open field in early succession. It impressed me that it was such a good place for pollinators. The first plant I recognized was Saint John's Wort. I've never seen so much of it in my life. I know people who have taken it for mood enhancement. I can understand, just looking at it lifts my spirits, and the bees love it. There's also plenty of milkweed, bee balm, and wingstem. Our goal here is to eradicate the invasives, focusing on autumn olives at first.
We learned the field has been used in the past for hay and periodically gets bush-hogged. I am looking forward to exploring the area further, as it also features forested areas and small streams emerging from the mountain. Ironically, I explored thisarea as a kid and remembered some of the landscape features.
We waded through weeds that were over our heads and got a general idea of our goals on this site. I learned what an important and rare ecosystem this is to our area. The field in an early successional state provides habitat for several birds that are on the decline, as well as food for pollinators. I saw monarchs and even a hummingbird hawk-moth.
The downside of the site is that there are plenty of ticks; the crew is learning the best approach to keeping them off us, tucking in shirts, and wearing bug spray. It makes me wonder how they became so populated. As a kid, I never got any in this same area.
I am looking forward to getting to know this area better and getting some practice with chainsaws. It will be our first experience using these tools on the job, and the whole crew seems to be looking forward to it.
