After an exceptionally blustery and rainy evening, the weather cleared for the Trilliums to complete their service project at the Agate Bay Preserve.
We arrived at Patricia Otto's house on Agate Bay Rd and immediately dove into our day. We started with an opening circle talking about our service project and the impressiveness of Tricia's stewardship. From there, we met up with Tricia, and she showed us around her property, gave us some background on the space (100 acres!), and took us on a tour of the beaver family that resides on her property. We learned about beaver families, thought about how they change the landscape, and got to see the tunnels this particular beaver family is working on.
It was impressive to hear how things had changed in the thirty years since Tricia has owned and worked on preserving her property. We learned that before Tricia arrived, the land was used for cattle, and instead of the slow creek that currently meanders through the front of property, there was simply a culvert for cows to drink from. As Tricia began transitioning the land from grass and pasture to a more hospitable ecosystem for native plants and animals, a beaver family damned up the culvert and created the creek as it is now. On our tour of the property, we were able to see all of the work the beavers had done. In addition to this, we got a glimpse at the impressive work Tricia has done to provide birds, bats, and ducks with habitat. There are countless bird boxes, bat houses, and man-made cavities for wood ducks.
After our tour, we learned about our service project for the day: our job was simple, clear the trails on Tricia's preserve to ensure they continue to be accessible. We grabbed tools and hit the trail, and soon broke into two groups the Cougar Lookout group and the Chantrelle Hunters. Each group was to take on different trails and do trail maintenance along the way. We spent the majority of our day in these two teams. We worked, laughed, imagined, and ate.
We came back together at the bridge on Tricia's property to recap our day, swap stories, and finish with an attitude of gratitude. One group had found sticks in the woods and decided to have a stick wedding. Weddings are a Trillium tradition. To honor this creativity, we had an impromptu wedding on the bridge leading up to Tricia's house. We quickly made an aisle, selected flower girls, put together bouquets, and elected an officiant. The wedding was quick, but as always, awesome!
From there, we sat in a circle and shared our gratitude from the day. Girls were thankful for Tricia and all the work she has done, sticks, veterans, and team work.
Photo album: https://goo.gl/photos/7CTGvN8pZVeeLpkt6
