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The Buffer Zone
The traditional New Year’s resolutions that are toasted with
determined and passionate hearts are more times than not anything more
than a well intended, but poorly executed societal façade, most of the
time not lasting longer than your next oil change.
You know them as well as I – losing weight, exercising more
often, eating healthier, saving more money, more time relaxing with the
kids, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
I can’t say that I also did not make some of those same
resolutions this year but with one exception, mine involved, as you
could probably imagine, the landscape that I want to leave behind or
should I say lay beside – a buffer zone.
Nelson
County
is not what it used to be. Acres
and acres of natural forest have come under the saw and bulldozer to
give birth to dozens of subdivisions, or by the way they are
re-landscaped, a ‘sub-decision’.
Little thought of natural consequences rests on the minds of
those both writing the checks and those endorsing them.
While sending money to the Costa Rican Rainforest Preservation
Society (which is great by the way) we continue to ‘clean’ the land
that is right outside our door for more landscape areas (grass and
landscape beds) and better views. As
with any aggression toward an ecosystem, the long-term consequences
often do not reveal themselves until a great naturalistic genocide is
eminent. In this particular
case, the crosshairs of our “progress” are the migratory songbirds
and they are suffering a devastating blow that will retreat many species
into the far reaches of the mountains where they will become as evasive
as the habitat they once occupied.
According to studies collected over the past 30 years on the Blue Ridge
Parkway by volunteers of the Breeding Bird Survey, dozens of species of
the smaller songbirds will have declined by more than 70% by the year
2050 - just in time for me at the ripe age of 60 with a grandson on my
knee either ‘wishing I had’ or ‘being glad I did’.
(Steven Nash, Blue Ridge 2020, An Owner’s Manual, 1999).
The number one reason cited is the loss of dense undergrowth and
understory trees for nesting, feeding and evading larger predators like
hawks, raccoons, Blue Jays, possums, owls and other predators.
If we continue down this
Darwin Drive
if you will, only the scavengers, large predators and distant memories
will survive. By each
citizen acting now in their own way with a minimal investment and
responsibility, we can begin to resolve these natural issues so that our
children will not be reacting to our ignorance and lack of foresight
many years from now. This is
where the buffer zone comes in.
The buffer zone is exactly like it sounds - a parcel of land beside,
behind or anywhere else around your home or lot that you can turn back
over to Mother Nature. It is
great for absorbing noise, catching leaves, creating screens and
catching some ZZZ’s. The
zone can be as big or small as you wish and involves landscaping with a
diverse selection of natives in a extremely tight pattern mimicking the
environment that was destroyed. Pick
species from all four levels of the forest that makes up the ecosystem
here in Nelson - tall canopy trees (Oaks, Beech, Maple, Poplar, Ash,
Black Gum, White Pine, Cedar, Hemlock), understory trees (Dogwood,
Serviceberry, Witch Hazel), shrubs (Rhododendron, Mountain Laurel,
Native Azaleas, Viburnum, Spicebush) and groundcovers/perennials
(Trillium, Fern, May Apple, Jack-In-The-Pulpit).
Ok, but don’t yawn! Add
in a birdhouse, a bench, some stepping stones or even a small fountain
along with some creativity in shape and plant/structure placement and it
might just take center stage in your landscape.
A resolution that will never stop giving back to
you - that’s one you will be toasting, adding to and enjoying for
years to come. Consider this
as a minimal investment in your child’s health, imagination and
curiosity.
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