 |
|
Spirited REI Workers Help Clear Justice LandsBy Janet Silber On March 26, my daughter and I rustled ourselves out of our warm Sunday morning beds to join other land-lovers like ourselves to help clear and define boundaries on a wonderful property called the Justice Lands, adjacent to Jordan Lake in Chatham County. After a short drive from our downtown Raleigh home, we landed at a country crossroads. Read a special Kid's Corner report by the author's daughter, Rebecca. Standing together in the frosty morning, we met some twenty or so other volunteers from TLC, REI and throughout the community — each willing and eager to wield a sharp implement to help clear brush, fallen trees and other obstacles along the barely defined path that encircles this 760-acre property. What would bring a hardworking person out to the woods to freeze and then sweat, while hacking and sawing away at recalcitrant twigs, prickly vines and fallen logs, not to mention the occasional tick? Don't these people work hard enough all week to deserve a lazy morning in bed with some Brazilian roast?
"Last week I pulled 70 tires out of a river," one young woman explained. "It's good to feel needed. I'm a sucker for this stuff! It makes me feel like I'm giving back, not just sucking up resources." Some REI employees — like Carlleena Person, a retail supervisor with REI — are new to the outdoors, and are just beginning to nurture a love of the environment. Person is now an avid mountain biker and rock climber. "At REI, we are stewards for the environment," she explained. "Conservation, that's what we're about!" Getting Down to Business Our journey began that Sunday morning with instructions from Doug Sprouse, TLC Stewardship Specialist and resident mountain man. Doug directed each person to pick out a work partner. A person from each team was allowed to select and use one tool, be it machete, saw or giant choppers. The other member of the team was the "look-out," assigned to watch for falling tree limbs from above, giant sucking holes from below and any other unexpected forest hazards.
By the end of the day, it was amazing how much this ankle-grabbing trail had improved. These are not your clear, sandy, sanitized State Park trails. These trails still have adventure in them! After three hours of steady work, we all broke to the welcome call of "lunch!" up and down the line. REI Outreach and Events Specialist and one-woman cheerleading squad, Roni Sloman, had provided a feast, and together with TLC employees schlepped food and drinks for one and all up the trail. "I love to be outside and be active," she explained, her blonde ponytail swinging enthusiastically. "If we didn't come out and help, then we wouldn't have opportunities to do the things we love, and the activities we inspire people to do at REI."
LeGran also shared some insights into how TLC's innovative land deals are structured and how naturally significant tracts of land throughout the state are inventoried. TLC sometimes works with the State of North Carolina to raise funds, purchase and permanently protect properties. The Justice property is a great example of this partnership: TLC first bought the property, and then sold it to the state. The state now holds the deed while TLC continues its stewardship responsibilities. "TLC can move faster and get out more quickly [on purchasing opportunities], and then sell to the state," explained Tracy Joseph, Director of Development at TLC. The Justice property will eventually be a state park, but for now TLC's job is to maintain the property until the state is ready to move forward. This could take from 5-10 years, LeGran explained. But today a primary goal has been met: this highly significant and biodiverse property is safely tucked away from the pressures of development. Come On Out!
As Santos Flores, poet, REI employee and seller of footwear and optics put it: "I like the feeling I get when working in nature. It improves 'spirit' when people are in the elements. And," he added emphatically, "Mother Nature gave it to us and it's good to protect her."
|
|||||||
 | ||||||||
These
are not your latte people. "REI people are like family," explained Lynna
Bannach and Karen Henry, two REI employees new to the area, but no strangers
to hard work.
Then
Doug walked us over to the actual boundary line and had us fan out along
the trail. The strategy was each group would nip, chop or saw the trail
clean, and then when Doug gave the word (which was "bump") we'd all move
along to the next work station.
By
lunchtime, the day had warmed up, and we flopped down gratefully in a
grove of mixed woods. It was the time in the forest just before spring,
when the woods are beginning to green, crane-fly orchid leaves are popping
through pine needles, and the air is imbued with a fresh mulchy smell.
We sucked down sandwiches, chips and drinks, while Harry E. LeGran, Jr.
with the North Carolina National Heritage Program told us about some of
this tract's special qualities, including its inclusion of the Deep River,
home to an endangered fish called the Cape Fear shiner.
If
you ever want to join a TLC trail day, I can assure you the important
things are taken care of: Gatorade, water, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,
and Band-Aids for all, as well as sturdy work gloves and plenty of safety
instructions. You'll also find budding friendships, the good kind of camaraderie
that is leavened by sweat, and the inspiration of being around your fellow
human beings on a beautiful spring day for a good cause.