Wednesday Warriors - Prevail

Wednesday

After 15 years of volunteer conservation work, the Wednesday WARRIORS Prevail! Warriors thought they had seen it all. Well, this year, that teeny little virus (heard of it?), threw everything into an alternate reality. That stalwart gang of hardy souls had to come up with Plan B, Plan C…you get the picture. With the complete shutdown of activities last spring, the Warriors shifted gears and individuals went out and pulled garlic mustard at any preserve – and any day! Gasp! The Everyday Warriors even recruited civilians – all the visitors who discovered the SWMLC preserves to be the perfect sanity solution. Many, many bags of the smelly, invasive alien were yanked and hauled to the compost. As restrictions eased, the Conservancy blessed a careful reinvention. The Wednesday Warriors offi cially began their season in June, driving separately, working well-spaced apart, and foregoing the much-cherished lunch gathering at some brewpub. Kept on a shorter leash, they still accomplished great feats at four preserves close-by, clearing buckthorn, buckthorn, did I mention buckthorn? Leaving stacks of carnage in their wake, making room for all the good native plants that belong there.

With the onset of winter, the fl avor of volunteer workdays usually shifts to focus on a single preserve, close to Kalamazoo with simpler logistics. This year the transition was indistinguishable and the Warriors soldier on. Alien invasives don’t take the winter off!

If you want to try out this group, or want to wait till springtime, email the Conservancy at conserveland@swmlc.org and ask to get on their email list. Their website www.swmlc.org is also kept up-to-date with details of each week’s workdays. Attendance is week-by-week as your time allows. But, once you start, you may fi nd yourself blocking out Wednesdays on your calendar!

-Kristi Chapman, volunteer Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy