A Home to Call Our Own.
December 30, 2009
Since this past February, EcoAddendum has been on a search for a home, a plot of land to house a full-fledged native plant nursery along the lines of Nasami Farms or Project Native, both in Massachusetts.
Finally we found it, east of Athens, on GA Hwy 77.
A meandering creek splashes across 120 acres of rolling hills and winds though beech groves. There’s a clutch of egg shaped 
boulders on a knoll at the back corner of the property, and the bottomland is full of wildflowers. Plenty of land and water to grow native wildflowers, shrubs and trees that the big nurseries aren’t growing. Lots of space to share with Environmental Science grad students that might want to set up studies of native pollinators or plant species.
Some of our long-term goals are to install a demonstration meadow, a large propagation greenhouse, as well as shade houses and propagation plots. We are also planning a building that will do double duty as retail for native plants, shrubs, and trees as well as house educational programming space for local youth and students. The woods offer plenty of opportunities for interpretive hikes and other nature experiences.
We are looking forward to the coming months of planning and building this new resource for the Atlanta and Athens metro areas.
With blue skies and temperatures in the mid-70s, this fall’s Hurt Park Volunteer Day could not have been a more beautiful day. Winter preparations are underway and perennials are at their last blooming stage. Thanks to Park Pride and their astounding volunteers from ESL (English as a Second Language) Instruction and Consulting, Inc., the garden is now prepped for the first freeze. While soaking in the gloriou
s day, our volunteers learned special planting techniques, how to cut back yellowing perennials to make way for next years growth, and how to transplant to prevent overcrowding in the bed. For a few, it was a first time opportunity to plant a live plant in the ground. For others, it was getting close and personal with their fear of worms! In s
pite of the full two-hour workday, we still had time to indulge in some goodies donated by Java Monkey in Decatur.
Have you ever been to Cochran Shoals trails? I highly encourage going for a run, hike, or even a short, intense bike ride within this beautiful woodland oasis located in the middle of residential Cobb County and in the frame of the Chattahoochee River Recreation Area (CRNRA).
With shovels and mattocks, our first set of young, determined volunteers, from Crossroads Second Chance School started the morning by digging sizable holes randomly spaced along the 300 foot stretch. It turned out to be a gratifying experience as we finished the first job and enjoyed a few laughs and refreshments while overlooking their impressive work. As noon drew near, a second group of enthusiastic young stewards, along with their Special Education Teacher, Mrs. Cheri Vaniman of Sope Creek Elementary, arrived to finish up the project by putting the plants in the ground. Mrs. Cheri, with the assistance of Ranger Dave Thomas, has been working with her kids for 2 months on preparations and learning about the importance of plants, how they grow, and native species and why they are an integral part of the local environment.
bus. They gained both the knowledge that we are all connected to this greenspace and the broader view that we posses the responsibility to help our environment.
Left: Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea, the same echinacea plant used in herbal cold remedies. Coneflowers will re-bloom if the past prime flower stalks are cut back. This plant is the host for the Silvery Checkerspot Butterfly. In our nursery, later in the summer, we saw goldfinches feasting on the seeds of this plant.
During this after school activity, Darryl Haddock, educational director at OAC (Outdoor Activity Center), gave the kids the opportunity to explore their own awareness of animals during their interpretative hike. After several observations were made, the kids made the connection of the common sight of dog prints and their urban location. It also became apparent to everyone that because OAC is surrounded by the Richland Hills community, the numerous dog paw prints were most likely from neighborhood dogs. Not only does our sight allow us to draw conclusions about our observations, but our sense of hearing ties together the idea that we are not always alone in the forest. Quieting our minds for a moment and concentrating on listening to our outdoor surroundings quickly reveals just how many diverse sounds are found in nature. By focusing on the sounds, we can increase our awareness. Sound tends to make our sight observations more accurate, and we can draw from our senses in order to avoid a possible bad scenario in our environment and have a pleasant experience instead.
As we stepped into the classroom, another lesson unfolded as each individual became more accustomed to prints of other animals. Georgia Educator Sarah Collman presented a footprints-themed activity as a way of demonstrating the general relationship between the forest and its animal inhabitants. A footprint on a painted landscape represented an animal’s niche, a place of purpose for an organism. In essence, the kids learned through different observations how we, as responsible stewards, are a part of a larger element by identifying with the animals that surround them. We were all better able to understand and appreciate our time in nature and increase our respect for the gift of our natural world.
