By Shae Burnham
Second of two parts
The first part is at thevoice.us/brush-piles-volunteers-provide-the-majestic-view
Part of the challenge of restoring an ecosystem is the amount of initial work that needs to be done prior to bringing back the native species. Volunteers contribute to a form of wide-scale gardening by removing invasive plants and continuing upkeep afterwards. The restoration is labor-intensive because of the sheer number of invasive plants that need to be removed and have their growth stunted. Two particularly stubborn plants are buckthorn and honeysuckle, which are fast-growing shrubs. Many of these and similar species were introduced centuries ago for ornamental or landscaping purposes. Now, they are the focus of removal from the environment.
Michael Willuweit, a volunteer and member of the Batavia Environmental Commission (BEC) remarked, “The native ecosystems here evolved slowly over millennia and in a relatively short period of time, got completely uprooted. Our restoration work tries to help restore the ecosystems and remedy the damage that has been done.”
The climate is changing, that is an indisputable fact. Temperatures in the Midwest are increasing and causing wetter Winters and dryer Summers which can alter the structure of ecosystems. In spite of the difficulties of climate change being a global issue, some of the effects can be alleviated through ecosystem restoration. Healthy and restored ecosystems help filter our water and regulate our carbon by storing it. It’s not a cure-all, but with more restoration projects and better management, we could take a huge step towards mitigating climate change. The hard work of volunteers over the years is what allows the success of the restoration projects. It is individuals such as Anna Bakker and her volunteers who help create a better environment for us.
Nicholas Fuller from Natural Communities LLC commented, “A restored ecosystem not only helps support a more robust wildlife community, but the added diversity of plants and animals also makes for a more resilient environment to help buffer effects of climate change.”
By supporting native plants, restoration projects have the benefit of sustaining bee populations. Bees need these flowers that are being brought back to the habitats to survive. Those same bees are the ones that pollinate crops and provide the vast amount of food we have. Aside from pollinators, plants help provide for medicines and may even have benefits we haven’t discovered yet. For example, the Mayapple is a native woodland plant that has been found to treat at least three types of cancer. It hits close to home for Anna Bakker: “My dad has leukemia, and he had chemotherapy, which could have been created from that plant that I helped protect.”
For the fourth year in a row, I walk the same route down the forest preserve trail. Today is a burn day and the snow on the ground is all ready a few inches high. The cold nips at me through my mask, but it only serves to increase my anticipation. As we arrive on the site, I can see that the area we’ve cleared is wider and deeper than I last saw it. During my first days working, you could see only 10 or 20 feet into the forest from the trail. Now you can see a few hundred feet
By the time Spring comes around the area will be filled with so many kinds of native plants that I cannot name. Deer, squirrels, birds, and other animals will return to the area and will be sustained by the restored environment. The sight is beautiful, and it was brought about by just a few dedicated individuals who care. It is why I volunteer.
“You can’t change the world, but you can make a small impact on the world around you. So if you do something local to help, it works its way up the chain and hopefully in a bigger picture,” stated Bakker.
Shae Burnham is a Batavia resident and first-year urban and regional planning student at Michigan State University.