Newsletter

Autumn 2001: Community Program - Pacific Rim

How Good It Was
By Gary Piazzon

Gary Piazzon is an enthusiastic friend of Au Sable Institute on Whidbey Island. He so enjoyed working at a volunteer work-day this spring that he wrote the following letter to the Whidbey Island papers, encouraging others to join in the work on the Smith Prairie. Gary lives a few miles from Au Sable Institute in Coupeville, WA and is an avid naturalist of all things living.

On April 21 we discovered some of the many benefits of the Au Sable Institute's ecotherapy project! As I'm sure you know, Au Sable is the group that bought the Smith's Prairie Pheasant Farm two years ago, with the intention of restoring the prairie that once flourished there. Last Saturday, my wife, Dianne and I joined a few other devotees of wild and beautiful things to assist in the realization of this fabulous dream. In the process we rediscovered the great satisfaction of working with other dedicated people towards a mutual dream. It didn't hurt at all that it was a beautiful day, in a beautiful place or that the inhabitants frequently interrupted our work. While we labored, Barn, Tree and Violet-green swallows wheeled and chattered overhead. The resident Red-tailed hawks scanned the newly opened space with an almost palpable anticipation of the foraging opportunities that resulted from our efforts. On the fence posts, Savannah sparrows and Brewer's blackbirds took a keen interest and commented vociferously. Meanwhile, a more intense drama played out two hundred feet above us as a very determined adult Bald eagle chased an immature counterpart through the bright blue firmament, causing us to pause (again) and ponder the nature of their conflict and marvel at the power of their flight. What excellent entertainment we enjoyed! And yet there was more...

Ripping chicken wire out of the good, rich soil; pulling up rotting boards (and watching plump, brown meadow voles scramble for cover); lifting out 6 inch posts; filling 6 inch holes; knocking down the pheasant pens with great blows of pry and hammer; as well as peeling, tearing and ripping the shroud like black plastic netting covering the pens, is an excellent release of modern life's tensions. I'd recommend it to any that needs to release similar tension or just like a little physical exertion. What a joy to liberate this land and share in the vision being realized there. On a day like the one we were there, you could look and easily see the expanse of grassland, flecked with flowers and populated by an array of happy inhabitants that will exist in the future.

Then after the sweat and strain, walk around the perimeter trail and drink in the sights of prairie plants blooming, inhale the aroma of rich, fertile growth and let your ears fill with the music of bird song. This is the time to see the Blue camas (that sustained the first people), as well as, Death camus, Desert parsley, Buttercups, Meadow chickweed, Shooting star and others, in bloom. If it is warm and sunny, look for butterflies. While we were there several Spring whites, Blues and an Oregon swallowtail flitted by. Intoxicated by these experiences, the warm sunshine and mesmerizing, swirling pollen from the Douglas firs, we were as near euphoria as one could be and not be either hospitalized or canonized. It was that good. Come out and see for yourself. This experience is available every Saturday and it's free! There are acres of therapy there.

We also learned that, if you work on the land, you can have as much of the boards, poles and netting you desire! A creative person could make some pretty cool things with this stuff.

This Sunday, May 6, you are invited to Au Sable's Spring Prairie Celebration from 1 -5 PM. Featuring a talk by Cal Dewitt, director of the Institute, the event also includes naturalist led walks through the prairie remnant. The property is located at 180 Parker Road; a couple miles south of Coupeville just off Highway 20. Please call (360) 678-5586 for more information.

This review is a modified version of one that appeared in The Coupeville Examiner (May 4, 2001), vol. 6, no. 41. It is reprinted here by permission of the author.

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