There are like a bajillion problems in the world today. Exactly what those problems are often depends on which side of an increasingly deep ideological line you stand on. But some of the less controversial problems – the ones most of us agree are problems are things like:
I was walking along the Greenway a while back (which always reminds me that progress can feel hopeless and still happen), and just hating the knotweed, oriental bittersweet, porcelein berry, poison ivy and various “dangerous or invasive species” that own the disrupted soil of the rail trail. Attending a meeting led to giving a presentation on the topic, and then a walk along the Greenway, and then, well.
I realized that the way you start to cure those particular problems I highlight: isolation, powerlessness and distance from nature, well they would all be addressed by a regular invasive species removal day. My thought was this: set up a regularly occurring and predictable time to remove invasive species. Have a bunch of people spend a few hours working together, side by side, in the sunshine. Discover that even 90 minutes of 12 people tackling invasive oriental bittersweet can clear a quarter mile swath of sward along the trail, with the incredibly satisfying snip snip snip of winding vines freeing beautiful old trees from their crushing burdens. Then adjourn to your local watering hole (supporting local businesses) for a diet Coke or beer and watch people around the table swapping contact info. Repeat the next month, with Japanese knotweed. Hit up the new apartment complex next to the Greenway to invite residents there to join you in the removing/connecting plan, and watch a whole new community form. And we’ll do it again next month.
It’s so easy to be heartsick and paralyzed. It’s so easy to think the world is what you see on a screen. It’s so hard to meet new friends. But when we get some sunshine and exercise, and we meet new people who share an interest in defending trees from invasive vines, and we can see with our eyes that our work makes a difference, maybe we can start to rebuild the fabric of our community… it’s a beautiful thing. You can join us for the next work session in May. Or you can find your own local group trying to make good things happen (it warms my heart deeply that so many communities have organizations like this – how much work and love and hope go into an organization like Keep Stoneham Beautiful or Stoneham CAN), and see if there’s an invasive species removal (or bulb planting or gleaning or trash cleanup etc.) you can do in your community.
On the theme of invasive species, I noticed the invasive garlic mustard was basically the only green to be seen while we were tackling the bittersweet. So I decided today was a good day to make garlic mustard pesto. I did the opposite of good forage technique (totally eliminated from the areas I was working, took more than I could use), and then spent way too much time cleaning it. The pesto is such a brilliant green! I think it’s going to be delicious on tonight’s pasta.
My Truant Pen 