WARRIORS

When I describe my volunteer work for the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy, my short and sassy answer is, “I weed the woods.” When I want to be more dramatic, I say, “I kill aliens.” Although we also mark trails and collect seeds, the majority of our work is to turn back the clock at our preserves. We undo what happened before, to restore a woodland, prairie, savannah. We clip and chop and saw down all the invasive species that are crowding out the good plants. I have gotten very good at finding autumn olive, oriental bittersweet, non-native honeysuckle, etc.

Luckily, my colleagues have wideangle vision that they use to spot the good plants that are already in place. It keeps us going to see the native species that belong there, just waiting for us to give them more room to spread out. It helps me stop focusing on the weeds and appreciate what we do have. Sometimes we need a little help on the ID. When a flower, shrub, or tree is spotted, out comes a phone app. A photo is snapped, possible names are suggested, and a lively discussion follows. Everyone has their favorite approach, some preferring the formal name, others staying on more personal terms with common names. I can go either way. Some common names are just so perfect. Spring beauty! Turtlehead! Sneezeweed!

I’m just so glad we are such a diverse group of nature lovers willing to come out and weed the woods, and revel in what nature has to offer with each season. If this sounds like your idea of good clean fun, come out any Wednesday your schedule permits. There is also a spin-off group on Mondays. Just check the website www. swmlc.org for details on each week’s workdays. Hope to see you there!