Spicebush on the Botany Trail at
Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust

Recently I had the opportunity to work at Flanders Nature Center in Woodbury, Connecticut, with 18 volunteers from Eversource.  With several Flanders volunteers, we worked on removing invasives from the Botany Trail.

The day began with introductions, and the Eversource volunteers named their professional roles in the big project of delivering electricity to every home and business in the state. I realized then that delivering power to consumers requires people educated and trained in every discipline.



I had the opportunity to talk for a few minutes about the most aggressive invasive plants on the trail, and likely in the yards of the volunteers, and how to remove them.  I encouraged everyone to take deep breaths and feel the peace and calm that come with this kind of work, citing Robin Wall Kimmerer as my source.

On the trial, everyone jumped right in.  Some of the volunteers returned to their trucks to get axes and saws to remove the larger invasives.  Everyone worked hard and with heart, and they made a visible difference.

The Botany Trail

Over the weekend, I returned with my family for a walk and fresh air.  My husband and I and our pups walked the trail in the fading light of early autumn.  Nevertheless, the vibrant yellow leaves of the spicebushes lit the way on both sides of the trail.  The opened understory made the filtered sunlight more available to us. It was a beautiful and peaceful and amazing.

The work goes on.  Farther along the trail, the burning bush is thick.  This is the next step.  A little at a time, we will get it done.