Leading the Way

"Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land.

By land is meant all of the things on, over, or in the earth.

Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend;

you cannot cherish his right hand and chop off his left.

That is to say, you cannot love game and hate predators;

you cannot conserve the waters and waste the ranges;

you cannot build the forest and mine the farm.

The land is one organism.

Its parts, like our own parts, compete with each other and co-operate with each other.

The competitions are as much a part of the inner workings as the co-operations.

You can regulate them—cautiously—but not abolish them."

Aldo Leopold

This Friday will be Canada's second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. To honour the day, Pine Ridge Hiking Club's president arranged a tour of the Alderville Black Oak Savanna near Roseneath. Somewhere around 15 hikers joined Julie Henry, Alderville's Natural Heritage co-ordinator on a tour of their Black Oak Savanna this morning.

What better way to begin a hike than with the smell of sweetgrass? As we passed the grasses around, Julie told us how our native neighbours use the grass to mark important occasions.

Fall is coming on the savanna. It certainly felt like fall this morning.

Fire breaks have been mowed throughout the grassland. Perfect trails to walk on and not disturb the vegetation. Julie was an enthusiastic and extremely well-informed guide. Often she stopped to point out special plants like the three types of asters found there, her three favourite tall grasses and the stands of Black Oaks which give the savanna its name.

Without the black of Julie's coat as background for those two grasses, you'd never know just how TALL some of the grasses grow. She told us that they spring up in very short order in mid-August. In the spring, lupins grow there. Hard to believe.

Do you notice that the left side of the trail is totally different from the right side? Prescribed burns have taken place here in different years. A bit more about how this is done from their website: The bulk of our ecological restoration work centres around three main activities: prescribed burning, planting native species, and invasive species control. There are many factors that are contributing to the destruction of grassland habitat including fire suppression, agriculture, development, invasion of non-native species and inappropriate recreational use. One of the most important restoration techniques is the reintroduction of fire. Prescribed burns are a key part of Alderville’s management plan and are carried out in a scientific manner each spring. Fire is a key element in our management plan because it helps reduce invasive species which have not evolved to withstand fire, while promoting native species which depend on fire to reproduce and thrive. Another method of restoring grasslands is to remove invasive species such as Spotted Knapweed, Smooth Brome, Sweet White Clover, Dog Strangling Vine, and European Buckthorn. To maintain the open habitats of savannas and prairies, we also have to combat some native species as well such as Balsam Poplar, Trembling Aspen, and Staghorn Sumac. Without control of these species, natural succession would take place and the rare savanna habitats would become woodlands.

I believe Julie called this black oak a "meeting tree".

When I used to view a scene like the one below, I had no idea of its importance to the health of our planet. The Black Oak Savanna site gives an understandable synopsis:

The Black Oak Savanna site supports two types of endangered grasslands: tallgrass prairie and oak savanna. Why are these ecosystems so important? Just like forests and wetlands, grasslands have decreased dramatically. In fact, less than 3% of these habitats survive today in Ontario and throughout North America. Also similar to forests and wetlands, tallgrass ecosystems are highly effective carbon sinks. Carbon sinks are natural areas that absorb large amounts of carbon (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it through a process known as carbon sequestration. Tall grass ecosystems sequester on average 1.7 metric tons of CO2 per acre, per year. Based on this equation, the Alderville Black Oak Savanna site alone has an approximate carbon sequestering power of 91.8 metric tons of CO2 per year. What’s even better? Grassland ecosystems store carbon in their extensive root systems. When grasslands inevitably burn, the carbon remains safely stored below ground. Comparatively, forests store carbon above ground where it can be readily burned, releasing carbon back into the atmosphere.

Doesn't it look even more beautiful now?

White wild asters could be seen here and there along the trails.

There are a few dozen bluebird houses which are also used by tree swallows. Apparently, they have learned to share throughout the season.

I love this shot. It looks like we are walking to the top of the world.

Here's the inside of the bluebird house. Volunteers monitor and record activities at all of the birdhouses every three weeks.

Back at the Ecology Centre, we were greeted by a whack of newly started Butternut trees. Apparently, they are very difficult to germinate.

This is my favourite image of today's hike. I feel like drawing it. Did you ever think a plate of seeds could be so beautiful? You probably never thought about plate of seeds. There were more than a dozen plates of seeds drying by the south-facing window.

Every year, around 10% of the prairie is harvested mechanically, at a height that only collects the taller grass seeds. And, there they are! Drying on the floor and waiting to be planted.

After thanking Julie for the inspiring tour, 11 hikers continued north for a further 7 km hike.

Some of the hike was over a steep and stony trail.

You never know who you will meet when you venture out. Lyle and Janice Gallagher, retired local farmer & beloved principal of Roseneath school. These hills are full of beautiful people.

And looking over the grasses, these hills have their own bison herd and tiny views of Rice Lake.

Sometimes you know who and what you see, and sometimes you are lucky to have the aunt of the farmer-who-dumped-this-pile-of-??? hiking with you. A quick text to her nephew, the farmer. Apparently, this is pelletized human waste, ready to be spread on the fields once the harvest is done. No smell whatsoever.