Community Caring for People and Land

The Engish word, "community" is derived from the Latin word, communis, meaning "in common," or  "public, shared by all or many."  Similarly, our word "conservation" has the meaning of "serving together with."

Conservation of land and resources makes us aware that we are members not only of the local civic community but also of a complex “biotic community.” Within this community, we share a vital interdependence upon “the land”-- the soil, water, landscape, and creatures.  Participation in conservation draws people into a community of caring individuals as they develop awareness, and then, an ethical commitment to be stewards or caretakers of the land.  Their commitment to serve together toward a common goal strengthens the human community and benefits the biotic community.

Reasons for Caring
Caring for the land brings many rewards or benefits.  Some of these are monetary as urban residents recognize under the heading of “maintaining property values;” or, as our dedicated farmers realize, and therefore are committed to conserve their soil, water, and wildlife.  Local and regional businesses and corporations can also profit by presenting an environmentally conscious image.

The motivations for caring about the land we have so far discussed, while certainly valid and worthy of merit, rest heavily upon the hope of direct or indirect personal gain—i.e. they are ultimately human-centered, or anthropocentric, and utilitarian.  However, for some of us, the human-centered motivations can lead to a deeper level of commitment to the land which becomes interwoven with the people and things we hold dear.  The great land conservationist, Aldo Leopold, inspired his followers to develop a love and affection for the land out of a conviction that it has value in its own right apart from human valuing.  The ethicist J. B. Callicott has stated that the biblical environmental stewardship ethic confers “objective intrinsic value on nature in the clearest and most unambiguous of ways:  by divine decree.”  [For those wishing to read more on the subject, we have discussed land conservation ethics elsewhere (Click HERE.)]

Conservation in Madison County, OH
Regardless of our motivation for caring about the land within which we live, participation in land and community stewardship efforts tends to deepen our awareness, appreciation, and commitment to the land.  Although we are no longer residents of southwest Ohio, and in particular Greene, Clark, and Madison counties, our commitment to land and community stewardship was deepened through our association with those local landscapes and the land stewards who were committed to their care.

This article is a tribute to both the land and people who have invested so much because of their love and respect for the land and the community within Madison County.  We will especially highlight their efforts to conserve pre-settlement prairie community remnants for their ecological, historic, and aesthetic value.

Historic Treasures of ‘Madison Plains’
Residents of Madison County are familiar with the “Madison Plains,” a name that was derived from the historic existence of extensive treeless areas dominated by prairie grasslands.  [We have discussed the geologic and historic origins of these prairie areas and their current remains (remnants) elsewhere (Click HERE.).] 

The focus of this article is upon several personalities who recognized the significance and value of these prairie remnants and were instrumental in educating local residents and visitors as to their worth.  Each of these would humbly defer to others as having a more significant role—evidence of a cooperative effort for the sake of the community and the land. 

Speaking of cooperative effort, the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails (FMCPT) and the Madison Soil and Water Conservation District represent great cooperation between organizations and within the membership.  I have relied heavily on the excellent website of the FMCPT (Click HERE.) maintained by their webmaster, Gregg Alexander; and communications with FMCPT Executive Director, Wayne Roberts, for information shared below.

Jack McDowell
Our tribute to conservation of remnant prairie areas in Madison County in recent years must acknowledge Jack McDowell, “friend, nature advocate, and community leader,” who died in 2012.  According to the Jack McDowell Memorial webpage of the FMCPT, Jack was an early member of the organization and was “involved with the work of parks and trails for decades.  He was researching and identifying wildflowers and prairie grasses along the Prairie Grass Trail long before the idea of the Ohio to Erie Trail was born.  Jack was a key proponent of the trailheads and nature preserves in Madison County.”

It was my privilege as a student at Malone College to learn of Jack’s interest in Madison Co. prairie communities through my biology professor, Dr. Charles C. King.  “Charlie” had met Jack while each of the two Ohio conservation enthusiasts were exploring remnant prairies back in the 1960’s.  Nearly a half-century later, in 2008, it was my honor to walk the Prairie Grass Trail with Jack to experience his passion for native flora and to observe some of the fruit of his vision and field work.  An informational sign honoring the contribution of Jack McDowell has been located at the London, Ohio trailhead.

“Roberts Pass”
Bicyclers who travel the segment of the Ohio-Erie Trail from Maple Street to Wilson Road, London, Ohio traverse what is affectionately known as “Roberts Pass.”  But instead of seeing steep topography or tall canyon walls as the name suggests, bikers may learn that “Roberts Pass” is named in memory of two humble men who will always stand tall in the records of Madison County conservation and community enrichment.  One of these men is Wayne Roberts, Executive Director of FMCPT who has not only capably led the organization but has been instrumental in establishing cooperation of FMCPT with many other community, state, and national organizations related to conservation and recreation as recorded in the FMCPT website.  Among the appropriate recognitions of Wayne’s valuable contributions was the induction into the Central Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame, in 2013.  It has been difficult to write in tribute to Wayne because he insists on deflecting credit and referring to the contributions of so many of his committed Friends of Madison County.

One such loyal friend of Wayne and of FMCPT, recently deceased, was Gene Pass whose name fittingly completes the name for “Roberts Pass.”  In recognition of his decades of hard work, cooperative spirit, and leadership related to advancement of Madison Co. parks and trails, Gene was inducted into the Central Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame, in 2006.  The following excerpt from a letter supporting Gene’s nomination describes a portion of his admirable participation prior to 2006:

During his tenure on the board, Gene played a key role in extending the Ohio to Erie Trail across Madison County.  He helped document key engineering points such as bridges and culverts.  He donated the use of his truck, trailer, mower, chainsaw, and many other personal tools to help prepare for the construction of this multi-purpose trail.  He personally picked up and carried away literally tons of trash along the trail right-of-way.  Along with cleaning up the trash, he spent nearly three years clearing trees and brush to develop a construction road 6 ½ miles long to help reduce the cost to the community for the actual construction of the trail.  During the cold of winter and heat of summer this tireless senior was the shining example of persistent volunteerism.  Later, he was on the site on a daily bases to assist the contracted construction company during the building of the trail.  As a result of his dedication to this project, the Madison County Park District, the City of London, and the Ohio to Erie Trail Fund, without prior knowledge to Gene, placed a stone marker at the start of this 6 ½ mile section of the trail calling it “Roberts Pass” in recognition of Gene Pass and Wayne Roberts.

Gene’s magnetic personally has attracted volunteers to the various non-profits he has served in the community.  Part of this is because he quietly leads by example, preferring to leave the recognition to others.  However, when put into a leadership position he has carried out his duties professionally.

Abby’s and my acquaintance with Gene began later in his life when he was dealing with age-related ailments but still maintaining an active role in FMCPT and bikeway-related events.  Like Wayne Roberts, Gene’s life is a testimony of dedication to a enhancing his community and its residents by participation and leadership in efforts aimed at conservation and recreation.

Jerry Miller

Jerry Miller is another tireless worker who we have been blessed to know.  A recognition of Jerry on behalf of the FMCPT for his character and contributions is worthy of reprinting here in part:

It’s not unusual for people to give back to their communities.  But when someone over 70 with physical pain, gives cheerfully and energetically back to others, it’s an inspiring example and deserving of recognition.  However, when that person had a tough start in life, when his parents separated while he was three and placed him in foster care, it’s even more inspiring.  After living with several foster families, and changing schools thirteen times before graduating from high school, Jerry decided to make some changes.  He moved to Columbus, found a job, and joined the National Guard.  During the next six years he married his high school sweetheart, received an Honorable Discharge, and was asked to run the construction company where he worked.  In a few years, he decided to open his own company, hired workers, and never looked back.

After retiring due to a deliberating ankle injury, Jerry started looking for volunteer work.  He heard that FMCPT was trying to acquire space in a building that needed repairs.  Jerry explained about his building experience and soon gave the building a thorough review and a checklist of repairs for FMCPT to consider.  The FMCPT Board soon came to understand that Jerry was a leader and a doer so they decided to nominate him to the Board of Directors, in 2010.

Jerry has donated his carpentry skills toward making display cabinets and kiosks for the London Trailhead and along the trail; and, donated his own equipment to assist in brush removal and excavating to create level platforms for a camping area near the trailhead.

Besides Jerry Miller’s extensive physical contributions to the community, the tribute to him also includes reference to Jerry’s character, noting that …what’s even more important is what he teaches us.  That at any age, even with medical issues, one can express kindness and generosity in a manner that motivates others to do more, to try harder, to resist the temptation to give up when the going gets tough.  Jerry shows us that being strong has very little to do with one’s physical size or strength.  That a person’s high moral character while doing one’s best persistently and consistently, are what people see as a truly strong person.  Jerry inspires others to do their best by the life he lives.

Public Recognition, Private Satisfaction
By now, I suspect that readers of this tribute will be thinking of the names of others that deserve recognition but have not been included.  I recognize that anyone’s good intention to honor individuals who are worthy will invariably come with the risk that omissions will offend.  However, I hope readers will forgive me.  Indeed, my omissions speak more of my own limited acquaintance with the many other noteworthy individuals and projects of the FMCPT over the years.

I trust that those who expect to see more names, including perhaps their own name, will rest in the fact that contributions of whatever sort that are made in good faith from the heart will be honored much beyond our poor ability to do so here.  I am comforted in the fact that I know from my acquaintances and friendships over the past 15 years that Friends of Madison Co. Parks and Trails work for a cause much above personal recognition—rather it is for community, recreation, conservation, and the betterment of biological, soil, and water resources.

Not only do we find comfort in worthy work well done regardless of public recognition, but there is much encouragement when a family and an organization honor their members and their dedication long after their death.  To illustrate, we offer personal tributes to two Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails whom some of us remember fondly from personal experience:  Bill Young and Richard McKenzie.  Although they are no longer with us, their names engraved on memorials or functional structures along the trails remind us of their dedication and respective contributions. 

Bill Young
Bill Young was a  much beloved and dedicated member of the FMCPT.   A tribute to Bill on the FMCPT website (Click HERE.) includes the following:

John W. “Bill” Young, founding member and Board Director of FMCPT died on Saturday, November 1, 2008 while doing what he loved – cycling. He suffered a fatal heart attack along the Prairie Grass Trail just outside of London. Bill was actively involved in the community for many years. He helped clear brush, trees, and trash in preparations for the Ohio-To-Erie trail being built through Madison County. He was a trained and certified Trail Sentinel. Bill actively served as a fundraiser and past Treasurer for FMCPT.

I was privileged to work with Bill in one of my first encounters with FMCPT while we were clearing brush along the Prairie Grass Trail.  The memory of Bill’s life and dedication to community and conservation lives on in our hearts and is reinforced by a wonderful memorial located near the London trailhead.

Richard McKenzie 
Visitors to the London Trail Head who use the walking bridge connecting the Prairie Grass Trail to the nearby Madison County Senior Center will learn that the bridge has been named the “McKenzie Bridge” in honor of Richard McKenzie.  According to Wayne Roberts, Richard literally “was the bridge” that connected the ministry of the Senior Center to the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails. 

The “bridge construction” between the Center and FMCPT began when Richard retired from the State of Ohio Corrections and Adult Parole Authority after 31 years and began to volunteer at the Senior Center.  He was elected to the Board of Directors in 1996 and devoted many volunteer hours to brightening the lives of seniors and other needy folks through teaching a carving class, distribution of food, and offering kind assistance and a listening ear to the elderly and lonely.  In 1999, Richard was honored with a service award by the Summerfield United Methodist Church for his “dedicated food deliveries to the church.”

In 2000, Richard became interested in the Ohio-to-Erie bike trail and was elected to the Board of FMCPT as one of the original members.  He soon became the main fundraiser for FMCPT for a number of years by organizing the live auction which was held at the Senior Center.  His commitment to both the Senior Center and FMCPT enabled Richard to serve as a major force behind the funding and construction of the bridge that bears his name.  Richard along with Bill Young, and also Gene Pass whom he brought into FMCPT, helped clear the path for the Prairie Grass Trail.  Appropriately, Richard has a memorial bench at the Prairie Grass Trailhead and he was inducted into the Central Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame, in 2002.

Enduring friendships made in community organizations like the Friends of Madison Co. Parks and Trails enrich our lives.  They also enrich our experience of bicycling on the trails that now bear the fruit of those whose sweat, skill, creativity, and passion have maintained the trails and native plant populations that adorn the landscape.  And, speaking of memorials and history, the latest project of FMCPT and cooperating organizations makes a great addition for cyclers to enjoy.

Community Mural Project
The Community Mural Project was accomplished by FMCPT under the leadership of Gregg Alexander and coordinated with Wayne Roberts, Van Viney, and Ray Thornton.  They enlisted young volunteers from Michigan to restore the trim of a deteriorating brick building located along Roberts Pass Trail in London, OH. The volunteers who serve within the nationwide Student Life Camp network scraped, primed, and painted the trim.  The students were provided housing on campus at nearby Cedarville University.

The renewed trim now surrounds beautiful murals painted by local artist, Clay Hurley, featuring various stages in the history of the landscape of what is now Madison County.  Landscaping between the murals and the bikeway includes 1,400 plantings of native plant species and is still a work in progress.  The Madison County Master Gardeners are planning to add 900 more plugs of native grasses and wildflowers in September.

Conclusion
In conclusion, we began by emphasizing that participation in land conservation makes us aware that we are residents not only of the human community around us, but also the biotic community with its landscape of creatures, soil, and water.  Hopefully, our tribute to several noteworthy participants in Madison Co. community and conservation efforts will motivate us all toward an appreciation of and commitment to our own community as participants who fulfill our responsibilities as stewards of that which is entrusted to us for our care, enjoyment, and commitment to purposes and values that extend beyond ourselves and our time on Earth. 

Comments: 
As always, we welcome “Comment” from readers.   You may use the “Comment” link below or contact us personally at silviusj@gmail.com

Reference:
 ¹ Quoted from Fred Van Dyke, 2006.  Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 58(1):48.

Discovery and Renewal on Huffman Prairie

Discovery and Renewal on the Huffman Prairie:  Where Aviation Took Wing (Kent State University Press, 2018) is a delightfully readable and colorfully illustrated book.  Its author, David Nolin, masterfully integrates Southwest Ohio geology, ecology, history, technology, and culture to tell the rich story of how Huffman Prairie State Natural Landmark near Dayton, Ohio came into being.  Aa a result of the land stewardship restoration efforts of Dave and partnering land stewards, Huffman Prairie is now blossoming as a resurrected expanse of colorful mesic prairie located on Wright-Patterson Air Force.

Readers will learn how Dave Nolin discovered the remnant of a historic native prairie and became engaged in its restoration as Huffman Prairie.  But readers will also learn how the prairie instilled within the author a land ethic based on love and respect for historic natural areas as treasures worthy of his professional attention and restoration.  Partly as a result of this early engagement with the land, Dave enjoyed a fruitful career as land stewardship specialist with Dayton-Montgomery Five-Rivers MetroParks and is responsible for negotiating and closing over 7,000 acres of newly acquired natural areas and easements during his 30 years with the agency. 

The story of Huffman Prairie is also an important thread within the early settlement history of Ohio in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  A highlight of this history is the account of how the Wright Brothers of Dayton, Ohio used a nearby pasture field that was once part of a 3-square-mile open prairie grassland, to test and improve their “flying machine” in the early 1900’s.  But long before the Wright planes took wing over this remnant prairie, grassland birds like Eastern Meadowlark and Bobolink were flying over this pre-settlement landscape, pouring their praises over a sea of beautiful prairie grasses and colorful native wildflowers.  Readers will wonder how the Dayton area was blessed with such an unusual treasure of beauty and diversity.   

The answer comes when Nolin takes us back even further in time, into the geologic history of what is now Ohio and the Midwest.  Here, he explains the forces that shaped the landscape and allowed for complex prairie ecosystems to form.  With the help of abundant maps, diagrams, and photographs, readers can learn how bedrock layers were formed by sedimentation under a great deluge, then uplifted, buckled, and eroded to form rivers and valleys.  Then, came the ice age in which glaciers shaped the landscape and left behind porous soil deposits.  The resulting complex of wetlands and prairies that developed on these glacial soils over time was a biological wonder that was much more complex than the Wright “flying machine.”

As settlers entered the Miami Valley in the 18^th century, impacts of agriculture and urbanization began to threaten the survival of the original forest and prairie communities.  Gradually, farmers drained and plowed up the prairie sod.  Others built roads, railways, and airport runways.   But, although readers like me are saddened by the gradual whittling away of the expansive prairie, Nolin does not present the history of Huffman Prairie as a woeful account of hopeless environmental degradation in the face of “progress.”  Rather, as Nolin tells us, the story of Huffman Prairie reveals how a few forward-thinking scientists, naturalists, and common citizens took steps to protect and restore remnant portions of natural areas in Ohio.

I was encouraged by what I perceive as my friend, the author’s philosophy of environmental stewardship.  Although we may differ in the exact presuppositions that form our respective worldviews, we agree that it is possible to address the potentially conflicting demands of human civilization while successfully conserving habitats and biodiversity. 

Page 135 (Kent State U. Press. 2018) 

The answer is wise land stewardship which not only conserves natural and biological resources but also provides inviting “places” where we can go and be refreshed in body, soul, and spirit.  Time spent working, restoring, and reflecting in these places all help us distinguish our wants from our actual needs in a consumer culture that so often has too little time to be quiet, reflective, and restorative.  If this is true, Nolin’s book is well named because although today’s Huffman Prairie is only a fragment of the original prairie ecosystems now largely transformed into agricultural and urban enterprises, this small remnant prairie will continue to be a place our generation and the next can go for discovery and renewal.

Nolin’s summary of the extensive historical and cultural scope detailed in Discovery and Renewal on the Huffman Prairie:  Where Aviation Took Wing, reminded me of the epic and thought-provoking television mini-series, Centennial, which portrays the history of several human ethnic cultures in what is now Colorado. The following excerpt (page 73) should encourage and challenge every reader who aspires to practice environmental stewardship in our fast-paced technological age:

The big prairie was gone, but the human and American achievements on this grassland in less than 80 years were unprecedented.  Here the first practical powered aircraft had been tested and flown, with a large impact on world history.  The prairie was an important part of an innovative flood control system that has protected Dayton and other communities along the Great Miami River from flooding.  Here the Wright Company School of Aviation trained the world's first generation of pilots.  The prairie land became an important part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, an important facility for National Defense.  Wright-Patt supports world-class aviation, engineering, and research facilities, and is a major employer for the region.

That these achievements resulted in the loss of the biologically diverse living systems that once thrived on the landscape was not widely known or considered except by a few.  Agnes Anderson Hall, John Van Cleve's biographer, reflected on the progress and loss at Huffman Prairie in "Letters from John":

"The "wet prairie" has lost its fringed gentians, in deed, but in the first years of this [20^th] century it's flat expanse recommended itself to two young men of the Van Cleve blood and tradition-- as a place well adapted to experiments with their new invention-- a machine that would fly!  A Government Flying Field now bears their name on the spot where one day a breathless crowd watched in tense silence while Orrville Wright soared three thousand feet into the air!  The Wright brothers led the way into the wilderness of the air as the Van Cleves had ventured forth on earth; they scaled the ramparts of the clouds as those, their forebears, had scaled the Alleghenies; they faced the scorn of unbelief, and beat back dangers and possessed their goal with the same courage, the same indomitable perseverance, the same effacement of self. Their lives were as full of peril and daring; their deeds were as replete with romance."

Nolin concludes:  Environmental awareness and general understanding of the complexity and value of living systems were a science and ethic that didn't start in a meaningful way until the early 20th century, but they grew swiftly in the 1970's and 1980's. This increased awareness and valuation of biodiversity and natural systems was to combine with a bit of luck to bring back a piece of Huffman Prairie in 1986.

 In Chapter 6, “A Prairie Renaissance,” the Nolin recounts how, as a graduate student at Wright State University, he was inspired by the growing conservation ethic of the 1980’s.  I was blessed to read Dave’s own personal account of how he and his father first discovered some native prairie plant populations that had survived after many centuries, now on the grounds of Wright-Patterson Air Force base.  What followed was an organized effort to restore the prairie and acquire its current Natural Landmark status. 

Readers will want to visit Huffman Prairie after they see on the pages of Discovery and Renewal on the Huffman Prairie the dozens of color photos of animal and plant species that currently reside in the prairie.  Nolin also includes a current listing of common and scientific names of plants of Huffman Prairie and helpful notes and references, helpful for those interested in the history of the Dayton, Ohio area.  Why not treat yourself to this book and buy a copy for friends who love history, nature, and working in land stewardship efforts?  Who knows, reading Discovery and Renewal and taking a trip to Huffman Prairie might even capture the imagination of a few young people who will enlist in environmental stewardship efforts in the future.

Bike Trail to a National Treasure

This room is real, Ben. And that means the treasure is real. We're in the company of some of the most brilliant minds in history because you found what they left behind for us to find, and understood the meaning of it. You did it, Ben, for all of us - your grandfather, and all of us. And I've never been so happy to be proven wrong.  -- Patrick Henry Gates, in National Treasure

Scene from the movie, National Treasure (2004)

Patrick Henry Gates, fictitious treasure-hunter, played by Jon Voight, congratulates his son, Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage), in a climactic scene of the 2004 movie, National Treasure.  The pursuit of the “national treasure” requires decoding of a series of clues, including one written on the back of the Declaration of Independence.  Maybe you saw this movie and remember the scene.

Patrick Gates’ exclamation to Ben was an invitation to movie viewers to imagine their excitement upon finding such a treasure.  But, notice that the excitement was not focused entirely on the monetary value of the treasure.  Instead, Patrick wants Ben (and the viewers) to “treasure” the experience of being there…in the company of some of the most brilliant minds in history because you found what they left behind for us to find, and understood the meaning of it.  The exciting moment, framed by Patrick’s passionate words captures for me the excitement and interest you and l ought to have when we visit a historic place, or handle an artifact and try to understand the meaning of it.

In this blog article, my aim is to interest you in joining three co-leaders and me on another kind of “national treasure” hunt.  If you decide to join us, bring your bicycle and plan to meet at the Prairie Grass Trailhead, 280 W. High St., London, Ohio, at 8:00 am, Saturday, July 29, 2017.  This annual Prairie Appreciation Bike Ride is sponsored by the Friends of Madison Co. Parks and Trails, and the Madison Soil and Water Conservation District.  You can ride at your preferred pace and distance, and we will stop along the way to observe what I will call “national botanical treasures”—prairie wildflowers and grasses that are descendants of historic plant populations that once covered large tracts of SW Ohio, the Midwest, and Great Plains.

Prairie Coneflower in a SW Ohio prairie remnant.

Bring your imaginations and be ready to ride back into history.  Get ready to imagine while you stand along the Prairie Grass Trail Bikeway in the quiet freshness of a summer morning that this was once part of an expansive Tallgrass Prairie.  Then, after the railroad tracks were laid two centuries ago, this remaining, narrow stretch of rails, ties, slag, and prairie became a protected haven from the plow, agricultural weeds, and pesticides.  But, they were not protected from regular fires ignited by either lightning or sparks from the trains that whistled by.  Fires were just what the prairie plants needed since they were well adapted to survive fire, unlike many of the woody shrubs and trees that have now invaded these “remnant prairies” now that the railroad is gone.

Royal Catchfly, a rare prairie wildflower is restricted to only
a few locations along the narrow Prairie Grass Trail

So, bring your observation skills, your imagination, and your questions. Invite friends and neighbors, and bring your children—junior age and older often ask the best questions. You will observe some of our attempts to manage these “national treasures” like Royal Catchfly and Prairie Coneflower.  Learn how you can grow and incorporate these or other nectar-rich plants like the Milkweeds into your own flower gardens.  And, learn how local organizations and industry partners are expanding their commitment to land stewardship around our country.

Hope to see you next Saturday, July 29.  If you live too far from SW Ohio to attend, you may want to “visit” several of the websites below.  Or better yet, maybe you can locate and join a conservation or land stewardship group in your area.  Chances are you will find new friends who have become interested in “national botanical treasures” located in “natural areas” as refuges for native plant and animal species.

Wayne Roberts, Exec Dir., FMCPT with co-leaders
Julie Cumming, Matt Silveira, and Karen Stombaugh

And, for all of us, may our interest in the historical and biological heritage of our neighborhoods and of our nation increase.  May we and our children be able to say, we have found what they left behind for us to find, and [we are willing to learn] the meaning of it--and to value it enough to be good stewards or “keepers” of it as we are commanded to do in the Dominion-Stewardship Mandate in the Book of Genesis:

Then the LORD God took the man
and put him into the garden of Eden
to cultivate (serve) it and keep (preserve) it.
                                              – Genesis 2: 15

RELATED SOURCES:
Botany Along the Prairie Grass Trail
Fundamentals of Conservation, Part 2 "Serving with" Creation
Fundamentals of Conservation, Part 3 "Serving with Our Neighbor"

Born to Be Gardeners

Azalea planting at Secrest Arboretum, Wooster, OH

This past week, I fulfilled an invitation of The Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer (MGV) Program to speak to a group of volunteers at the Secrest Arboretum on the campus of The USU-Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, here in Wooster, OH.   The mission of the MGV program is to educate others with timely research-based gardening information.  Qualifications of successful applicants are very clear:  One must

·         want to learn more about plants and gardening

·         be eager to participate in training

·         have a passion for sharing what you learn

·         have time/willingness to attend training and serve your community

Early arriving MGV's in the Miller Pavilion, Secrest Arboretum

This four-point progression provides an important message for qualifying MGV candidates.  The MGV program wants volunteers who are teachable, participatory, passionate, and unselfishly service-oriented.  These qualities were evident in the enthusiastic participation of the volunteers who composed my audience.  Knowing the spirit of Paul Snyder, program assistant at Secrest Arboretum, I was not surprised by the quality of these volunteers.  Their vocations, representing such diverse fields as education, law enforcement, farming, and industry made for interesting points of discussion during my presentation.

With Paul Snyder, Secrest Arboretum

Paul had charged me with presenting “my passion” for prairies, prairie plants, and prairie restoration.  Because of the mission and qualifications for the Master Gardener program, I devoted some discussion to the notion of how a robust environmental ethic can help us value the world around us and motivate us to invest our time, energy, and passion as gardeners or habitat restorationists. 

I began by explaining that my passion for prairies is based on the Judeo-Christian teachings about gardening and restoration.  [I’ll elaborate a bit more here than in my talk to the MGV.] The Scriptures in Genesis 1 and 2 provide the following foundation blocks for a biblical stewardship environmental ethic:

1.   What many call “the natural world” originated by God’s creative acts and it belongs to Him. 
2.   God, the Owner of creation, appointed humankind as stewards or managers (Gen. 2: 15).
3.   Because God loves His creation and has benevolent purposes for it, our stewardship must reflect our best attempts though good science and sound ethics to “serve with,” or con-serve creation so that God’s purposes for humankind and all of creation are realized. 
4.  A gardener or restorationist who possesses an awareness of God’s purposes at work in the intricacies of living creatures—nutrition, growth, development, reproduction, and adaptation to environment—possesses a more objective and comprehensive ethic or basis for valuing creation, loving God’s creation, and justifying efforts to promote the flourishing of creation and mankind’s relationship to it and ultimately, to God.

Prairie remnants can expand into set-aside farm fields.

After this introduction, I presented the past geologic and human historic factors that explain the origin and current condition of the North American Prairie (See “History is Important.”).   Sadly, the extensive prairies of North America exist now only as very fragmented remnants surrounded by extensive agricultural and urban development.  It is these prairie remnants that prairie restorationists attempt to conserve by managing against the encroachment of woody plants and agricultural weeds. (See “Serving with Our Neighbor.”)

Naturally, a discussion that disparages weeds and values native plants is based on value judgments.  So, why are native plants more valuable than weeds?  The short answer is that “native” animal and plant species are those that resided in the “natural” landscape prior to human settlement within the North American prairie system.  But, this answer raises another question—what do we mean by “natural?”  Did “natural” biotic communities exist until European-American settlers entered the land?  Or, had Native Americans already altered “natural” communities many centuries earlier by setting fires to promote grazing or to burn the villages of enemy tribes?

Considerations used to distinguish gardening from restoration

The discussion of what is “natural” led us to ask whether the typical practice of gardening is any different from the practice of those who manage prairie remnants or who attempt to restore prairie communities on “unnatural” landscapes.  For example, how is the effort we undertook at Cedarville University to restore a prairie on tilled agricultural land any different from the actions of a gardener or farmer establishing a garden of flowers or field of corn?  We used a graphic that lists considerations associated with gardening and prairie restoration to determine if there are substantial differences between the two.  Although some restorationists may suggest that the considerations toward the right side of the graphic are given higher priority by restoration efforts, some gardeners may employ these as well if they are ecologically and conservation minded. 

Is a prairie restoration in a former cornfield a type of "garden?"

Stuart Allison cites the writing of Moore and co-authors in The Poetics of Gardens (MIT, 1988) and concludes there is no difference between restoration and gardening.  He writes (emphasis mine), I think that "gardening" is the perfect word to describe what restorationists are doing because it emphasizes the personal relationship between individual humans and the land. Allison follows with this conclusion:

The hangup some environmental philosophers express about whether restorations are natural or not, or even whether the natural still exists, misses the point.  The connection between humans and the environment is real and cannot be denied. The fact that the relationship is not working well cannot be denied, either.

Allison’s conclusion resonates with the biblical environmental stewardship ethic because both acknowledge the malfunction in the relationship between humans and creation.  The Scriptures explain this malfunction in Genesis 3.  Because of humankind’s rebellion against God, the fall and curse upon creation has marred human ability to follow perfectly the Dominion-Stewardship Mandate issued by God (Genesis 1: 28).  However, Christ, the second Adam, came to Earth, died for the sins of mankind and was raised victorious over death to redeem us from the wages of sin and provide reconciliation between God and mankind, and between mankind and creation (Colossians 1: 13-20). 

The “Good News,” or the Gospel, is the message that God now offers “spiritual restoration” to all who will accept by faith in Christ the free gift of reconciliation .  God has called those He has redeemed and restored by faith to become gardeners and “restorationists” through appropriate ministry in the lives of others who have not heard or believed the Gospel.  As Adam was commanded to “serve and keep the Garden” so Christian believers today are called to follow the second Adam in His Great Commission to make disciples from the fallen and dying (Matthew 28: 18-20).

Gardening in Great Commission

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8: 19-21 that the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God [and was] subjected to futility… in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  Whereas, Adam had rebelled against his assignment as a gardener, God reissued the gardening assignment through His Great Commission to born again disciples of Christ.  The Apostle Paul uses the “gardening metaphor” for the Great Commission when he writes in 1 Corinthians 3: 6:   I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the [spiritual] growth.

We have seen that gardening and restoration have similar aims in the physical world of creation.   They also make excellent metaphors for the human responsibility of submitting to God in the service of the Great Commission in which we serve as gardeners to sow seed and water it with the aim of bringing a harvest of new believers and nurturing them in the faith.  Because of the closeness of physical gardening to the notion of spiritual gardening, I believe the practice of gardening can teach valuable lessons in spiritual growth and maturity.  I can testify of the role of gardening in my life while I was growing up on our farm.

One of several cantaloupe fields on the Silvius farms

My father, Bert Silvius, was a farmer and a gardener.  Each year on our 200 acres of farmland, he would lead us in the planting, hoeing, weeding, and harvesting of about 4 acres of cantaloupes.  If you can picture 1 acre, you will realize we had one large garden!  Lots of hours of manual labor were required, but I am thankful for the spiritual lessons I learned in the process.  Early in the spring we planned for the dates of planting, tilled the soil, planted the seed in hundreds of “hills,” and then, depended on the weather to bring germination with the help of “hotcaps” that protected the young seedlings against frost.  When the seedlings reached an inch or more in height, we sliced open the paper hotcaps to allow adjustment to cooler temperatures, then eventually removed the hotcaps and thinned the seedlings several times, ending up with one healthy plant per original hill.  Then came at least two summer months of hoeing, weeding, and spraying while anticipating the first delicious ripe melons.  Throughout the sweaty and often tedious gardening effort, I leaned the character qualities of orderliness, patience, responsibility, cooperation, unselfishness, and dependence on God for the ultimate harvest.

Bradley & Mindy growing a prize pumpkin.

Gardening was not only spiritually rewarding in my own development as a young man but it became important in teaching a work ethic in my own family years later.  My wife and I who both gained from our gardening backgrounds were able to pass along the same character development experience in gardening to our children.  Even though our family garden was much smaller than the 4 acre-garden of my younger days, our children dreaded the labor no less than I.  However, we all have many good memories of those days of planning, planting, watering, harvesting, and enjoying the delicious fruits and vegetables fresh from the garden.

And so last week, many years after my boyhood days of gardening, and many years after our young family had gardened together, I stood and spoke to Master Gardener Volunteers in the Miller Pavilion of Secrest Arboretum.  As we discussed the benefits of gardening, not only to the landscape but to the gardeners themselves, I looked out of the pavilion and thanked God for my dad and mom who many years before had brought my siblings and I to Secrest Arboretum to enjoy the garden plants and trees. 

Speaking of the physical dimension of gardening and restoration, Stuart Allison writes,

There are many items on the plate of restorationists, but the most important item must be the restoration of that human-environment relationship.  Without that restoration, none of our other efforts will matter.

As we engage in wise gardening and restoration, we are acting out God’s metaphor for our stewardship responsibility to His creation.  All the while we are cultivating and restoring our relationship to God and creation.   Finally, as our family learned and as I have experienced in working with students over the years, gardening and restoration work provide an excellent opportunity to develop godly character qualities that will last for a lifetime.

Gardening and Restoration Websites:

   How to Build a Rain Garden     

   Constructed Wetlands

   Links to Prairie-Related Projects

   Friends of Madison Co.  Parks and Trails

   Photo Identification of Native Wildflowers of "Prairie Grass Trail “

   Ohio Prairie Association (Explore many helpful links) 
   God as Gardener (Psalm 80: 7-9); God like Garden Soil (Isaiah 61: 11)

How about You:   Perhaps you’d like to respond with a “Comment” about how gardening has played a role in your life or with your family; or, share more insights from Scripture on garden, gardening, and restoration metaphors.

Fundamentals of Conservation, Part 3 "Serving with Our Neighbor"

Thanksgiving is a special holiday to me because it has been generally less commercialized than nearby Halloween and Christmas.   Thanksgiving invites us to remember the only true Object of genuine thankfulness— God Who is the ultimate Provider of all things.  Indeed, thankfulness without an object to receive our thanks is narrow and incomplete.

In our recent blog entries on “Fundamentals of Conservation,” we have emphasized that conservation, or “con-service” means to serve with.  Thus, both “thanks-giving” and “con-service” suggest the need for an object.  Conservation has two objects of “service”—with God, and with creation.  Furthermore, both “con-service” and “thanks-giving” imply that a certain quality of character be expressed toward the object in question; namely, a submissive spirit and a thankful spirit.  But how do these character qualities come about?

Biblically speaking, conservation is a practice of individuals who have acknowledged that rebellion and sin, not submission and service, are “in their DNA” inherited from Adam and Eve (Genesis 3).  As a result, they recognize their utter inability to exercise true dominion (submissive stewardship; Genesis 1: 16-28; 2: 15) without first humbly confessing and seeking God’s forgiveness through the atoning blood of Christ.  The true conservationist is submissive and thankful that God has redeemed him and enlisted him to serve on a planet that groans under the wages of sin (Romans 8: 19-23).

For the spiritually reborn child of God, biblical conservation grows out of an intimate relationship of serving with God.  Serving in this partnership with the Creator, we can learn the origin, true value, and significance of creation (Part 1, Article #1 April).  The quality of our stewardship is further enhanced as we learn more about the workings of creation (See Part 1, Article #2 May) and what is pleasing to our Creator (2 Corinthians 5: 9 and See Part 1, Article #3 June) as we serve Him by serving with creation.  Serving with creation in turn requires that we become students of both the historical influences on the land (See Part 2, Article #1 September) and the current processes at work in the landscape (See Part 2, Article #2 October).

This month’s “Fundamentals of Conservation”, Part 3, emphasizes that biblical conservation (or stewardship) of creation is practiced not only by serving with God and serving with Creation, but in serving with our neighbor.  This notion is based on the fact that God in the three Persons of the Trinity is a relational God.  It is this relational God Who created humans to exist in relationship with Him and with one another as His image bearers.  It follows that conservation blossoms in its fullest sense as we realize its relational nature as expressed when the conservationist serves with all three agents in right relationship—with God, creation, and neighbor.

I will now illustrate how conservation rests upon all three agents noted above, like the three legs of a stool in proper proportion.   I am thankful that God sought me out and redeemed me as His own son, then gave me a great love for His creation, and has blessed me with many good “neighbors” with whom to work.  Allow me to share first a few of the “neighbors” who have been partners, teachers, and mentors.

My dearest prairie partner in early 1980's
with Prairie Dock ("cut-leafed variety)

First, God has blessed me with my wife Alvadell (“Abby”), my nearest and dearest “neighbor” who has been “one with me” since 1969.  She has been beside me as wife, mother of our children, and companion in church, community, forest, and field.  Some of our most cherished communion with each other and with God has been as we’ve enjoyed the beauty and wonder of His creation.

In 1979, God led us as a family to Cedarville College where we grew spiritually in the light and warmth of pastors, friends, and colleagues for over three decades while I taught in the Science-Math Department.  Abby and I had discovered Cedarville ten years earlier while students at Malone College.  At Malone, it was Professor Charles C. King who had ignited my interest in botany and ecology.  Later Dr. King, as director of the Ohio Biological Survey, was responsible for identifying some of the remnant forest and prairie communities, including the railroad prairie remnants mentioned in this blog series.

Jack McDowell (center) and Charles C. King (right)

During my years at Cedarville, I became closely acquainted with two other prairie enthusiasts.  One was Jack McDowell who was so instrumental in conservation efforts through Columbus metroparks.  Jack explained to me how he and Charlie King had become fast friends after they had “chanced to meet” in, of all places, a prairie remnant community in central Ohio.  The other prairie enthusiast is Lynn Holtzman, a wildlife biologist with the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources.  Lynn’s commitment to land stewardship based on his pursuit of God and a scholarly understanding of biblical environmental ethics was instrumental in the development of my own conservation ethic.

Lynn Holtzman (Photo taken at Milford Ctr. Prairie, Union Co.)

In fact, Lynn’s master’s thesis was entitled “Nature as Neighbor: Aldo Leopold’s Extension of Ethics to the Land.”  God has allowed Lynn and I to be “good neighbors” in several land stewardship projects in SW Ohio.  Of course conservation efforts require the neighborly cooperation of local land managers as the following paragraphs should illustrate.

When the last freight train passed through Cedarville in the mid-1980’s, remnant prairie communities along the railway from Xenia to Columbus, Ohio became of greater interest, particularly because of the plan to convert the rails to bicycle trails.  Rather suddenly, the abandoned railways--long, narrow swaths of land with lots of “surface area” adjoining land owned by many “neighbors” per mile were about to undergo a change in land use. 

Native Royal Catchfly, Silene regia, in the narrow railway
corridor (now Prairie Grass Trail) surrounded by agriculture

Having gained some botanical knowledge of the flora along the abandoned railway, several park districts enlisted me in 2001 and 2002 to inventory and map the native plant species along the abandoned railway in Greene, Clark, and Madison counties.  In an effort to create interest in prairie plants of the abandoned railway among local residents, I created a webpage featuring color photos of remnant prairie flora.

As the bikeway was being completed, my students and I developed and conducted an opinion survey of landowners adjacent to the bikeway.  We had three goals the first of which was to determine how “bikeway neighbors” viewed the new bikeway.

Royal Catchfly and Culver's Root
growing in the narrow railway corridor surrounded by cropland

Second, we wanted to use the survey as an opportunity to locate individuals who would provide historical information about the prairie remnant communities.  Finally, we hoped that face-to-face encounters with landowners might spawn cooperative efforts leading to the development of buffer zones adjacent to the otherwise long, narrow configuration of the remnant prairie communities surrounded by agricultural cropland.

As a result of our “boots on the ground” presence, the students and I were able to meet several interested “bikeway neighbors” and we soon learned the necessity of neighborliness in our land conservation effort.  We were also welcomed by the Friends of Madison County Parks and Trails (FMCPT) capably led by Wayne Roberts.  As a result of our landowner survey and cooperation with Julia Cumming, Madison Soil and Water Conservation District, we were able to secure cooperation with Jim Mitchell, whom we had met through our opinion survey and who was interested in devoting some land adjacent to the bikeway to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).  

Transplants of native prairie plants into Mitchell field along
bikeway (upper R). Jim Mitchell & son (L), J. Zehring and I

The Mitchell land was sown in prairie grasses.  Jim allowed us to add prairie forbs to the field and used his skid-steer loader with forestry attachment to cut and remove trees and shrubs encroaching on the prairie adjacent to the bikeway.  We hope that the partnership with Jim Mitchell can be a prototype for more partnerships between the park district/bikeway program and “bikeway neighbors.”

The FMCPT has been very effective in promoting the “Prairie Grass Trail” bikeway in cooperation with the Soil Conservation District and other organizations.  We are using a strategic management plan in an attempt to conserve prairie remnant plant species using a combination of approaches including mechanical removal, controlled burning, and herbicidal applications to simulate the environmental conditions that preserved these historic prairie remnants.

Jerry Miller, FMCPT volunteer with Royal Catchfly and
Prairie Coneflower (dry seed heads) in the Mitchell field

Yes, conservation is “con-service”—serving with Creator, creation, and neighbors.  The relationship goes both ways; as we serve God and His creation, God keeps us by providing both spiritual and physical “bread.”  Likewise, land under proper care will yield its fruitfulness back to us in the form of food, fiber, medicinal compounds, aesthetic enjoyment, etc.  Thus, conservation is made complete when neighbors work together for the cause of serving both God and creation.  Don’t forget the three supporting legs of a stool.   These truths were illustrated this past summer during the Prairie Appreciation Bike Ride sponsored by the Friends of Madison Co. Parks and Trails.  Some of the riders on this July Saturday had been volunteer “bikeway neighbors” who had, during the late winter months, toiled together to cut and burn encroaching shrubs and trees to allow space and light for the prairie plants to grow.  Many had not seen the worksites since winter, and they responded with glee at their first sight of colorful native prairie wildflowers flourishing in places that had been overgrown with woody species.  This satisfaction and joy was the blessed result of their willingness to serve creation and share with neighbors in valuing the purposes of our conservation plan.

Prairie Appreciation Bike Riders
learn more about remnant prairie history and conservation.

The same commitment to land stewardship, or conservation, is expressed through the older and more comprehensive Town of Dunn Land Use Plan under the leadership of Calvin DeWitt.  (In Part 1, Article #1 of this series I had referenced Dr. Calvin DeWitt as the author of the book Earthwise (3rd. ed., 2011, Faith Alive Christian Resources) in which he develops the notion of con-servation.)  DeWitt reflects on the Town of Dunn conservation effort in his recent book, Song of a Scientist: The Harmony of a God-Soaked Creation (2012, Square Inch. Grand Rapids, MI).  I conclude with an excerpt from this book which illustrates the ingredients and outcomes of conservation—a relational process in which willing people in community serve with Creator, creation, and neighbor:

The members of our community made the decision to get to know our place well and to act on that knowledge for the benefit of the land and its life.  Many were motivated simply by love of the land and their community, others by their Norwegian Lutheran upbringing or their Irish Catholic heritage.  Together, by all of our mutual efforts, a land ethic was instilled in the heart of our community, and we have dedicated our lives to its defense.  Our land ethic is published on our town website.  But it is published best in our community: in the lives of citizens and in the remarkable landscape of our town, which proclaims the stewardship we practice in this place.  With our land ethic we join the glorious chorus of those around the world who proclaim God’s sustaining provisions in creation.