About

April 18, 1775

"Making our way along the Haw River, today we rode all day through groves of immense Oaks and Hickories, none smaller than an arm span across, and some twice as big.  The path was unobstructed in all directions, except where a forest giant had fallen, opening a clearing of an acre or more where seedlings throve.  Tonight we stopped on a bank above a clear-running creek where a mighty Sycamore, well over 150 feet tall, towered over a wet glade wherein dwelt many shy and beautiful wildflowers.  Trout Lily and Hepatica, Bloodroot, Green and Gold, and Iris bloomed among the evergreen Scandent Ferns.  A Screech Owl lulled us to sleep and we were awakened by noisy woodpeckers."

William Bartram might have written that entry in his diary on his sojourn in the Carolinas.  The forest glade might have been the small floodplain encircled by the North Langdon Trail.  238 years later, the spot still has many of its former charms, although they are overwhelmed by plants from distant places.  Autumn Olive, Privet and Japanese Honeysuckle dominate the understory.  The Bloodroot and Spring Beauty, seeking the light, are browsed by too-abundant deer.  The mature box turtles didn't find the proper diet and are gone, along with the salamanders which depend on rotting logs.  Luckily, there is a dead Sweet Gum which is home to a family of Pileated Woodpeckers and serves as a lookout for a Red-Tailed Hawk.

With enthusiastic support from Fearrington Homeowners Association and Fitch Creations, The Fearrington Green Scene wishes to encourage the renewal of a tiny piece of the Piedmont by fencing in an area inside the North Langdon Trail loop to keep out the deer and allow wild flowers to flourish (see examples to the right).

Rewilding, habitat restoration, whatever you prefer to call it, this is a project to remind us why we bother with recycling, responsible stewardship and environmental activism . It is fully in keeping with the mandate of the Green Scene – Reduce environmental degradation; Reuse a resource to anothert purpose; Recycle scarce habitat.

Hydrologists can tell us about the tens of thousands of gallons of water purified annually by our Sycamore, biologists can tell us about the value of biodiversity, chemists can talk about carbon sequestration, but until we can experience a working ecosystem like our alluvial floodplain forest it's all abstract.  This can become a place to show ourselves as well as our children and grandchildren; to admire and reconnect with nature.