Geography of the James (Earth Lodge)

My reflection this time is heavily influenced by the events that have taken place at Pony Pasture in the last couple of weeks. I refer to cleaning the river and our meeting with Ralph White. Both of them showed me how much the perceptions of rivers have changed over time, from places that were dirty and undesirable to places that people could rally around and care about. As I said last week, I went into cleaning the river thinking it was going to be incredibly dirty. I had been to Pony Pasture many times and to be honest, I had never seen that much trash, but I had also never really gone out of my way to look for it. But I definitely assumed that because a lot of people went there for recreation, they would likely leave trash all over the place and not even bother to put it where it belonged. However, when I did actually start to look for it, there wasn’t even much to pick up and I felt pretty proud of the community for understanding why it was important to keep it as clean as possible and how easy it was to do that. This feeling was only furthered after our talk with Ralph White, the former director the the James River park system. It was really touching to see how passionate he was about the local environment, how much he knew, and how many ideas he had to try to protect it. It seemed like everything he did and everything he thought about was something that would help protect the river. I understand that everyone in the area cannot be expected to feel this way about the river, or at least to Mr. White’s degree. However, I think, judging from what I saw when we cleaned up, that things are moving in the right direction. Yes, you can see houses poking out through the trees on the banks of the river, and yes, there is the occasional bottle here or there. But the reality is that the river is the closest thing we have here as an “escape” from our every day urban lives and I think the people in this community are starting to not only understand that, but to also respect and promote that. With that respect and understanding, we can continue to move forward in protecting our local environment and to a larger extent, the bay and the ocean as well.

This past weekend I participated in my second session of community service for Earth Lodge this semester.  While it was nice to help out at the William Byrd Community House and I felt that my work was truly appreciated, I feel as though I got more out of the self-directed trash clean up I did for my first set of hours on Belle Isle a few weeks ago.

By going out to Belle Isle and picking up trash, I got a better sense for how people feel about the James River Park System and places such as Belle Isle than I ever could have in a classroom setting.  I went there expecting to find tons of trash, and was shocked to discover that the exact opposite was true.  Whenever I think about cleaning up trash, I always flash back roadside cleanups I have done on my own street at home or other things of the like.  A perfect example of the type of cleanup I am used to doing happened just last year when a few of my fellow APO brothers and I did a cleanup in a park nearby outside of Richmond (of course I forget the name of it now, but it was not in the JRPS).  It was a roadside cleanup, and the amount of typical litter (beer bottles, fast-food bags and cups and other miscellaneous items) we bagged up was absurd.  At one point, we found so many small bottles buried in the leaves we all became suspicious of what actually was dumped there (Criminal Minds-Richmond episode perhaps…?).  The complete disregard for the environment was prevalent everywhere you turned and your eyes fell on yet another item of litter.

This was not the case at Belle Isle.  In fact, it was almost hard to find litter at some places along the trail.  There were the typical beer bottles and cans and cigarette butts and boxes that I expected, but overall, the trails on Belle Isle were in great shape.  It was definitely not the high point of the tourism season for this portion of the park when I visited, but even still, I was shocked at how clean and litter-free the area was.  The lack of litter is a clear reflection of how the people of Richmond feel about their local parks and the JRPS as a whole, and it created a sense of happiness and a hope for the future in me, especially given the history of the lack of regard for keeping the James River healthy.  It is obvious that the people of Richmond have come a long way in terms of environmentally friendly habits, right down to choosing not to litter in their parks.  Getting involved in community service in this way in Richmond has made me wonder a lot about opportunities in my own  town, and I cannot wait to check out the opportunities and hopefully make a difference in my hometown.

I have to say, when I arrived at the William Byrd Community House on Saturday, I was very surprised. I thought that we would be working on a much more farm-centric facility, instead it was much more focused on feeding the poor and educating urban youth. It seemed so far from the environmental focus of our course, and when we were set to clearing leaves from the paths and playgrounds, it seemed even less relevant. But then I realized that one of the focuses of the Community House is to teach children about where their food comes from, which would help expand their understanding about their surrounding environment. And since agriculture has such a large effect on the James River, this would hopefully help connect the children of Richmond to their river. Still, I felt very disconnected from the river as I raked a seemingly endless supply of leaves off the concrete. While I was working, I thought a lot about the state of the community house. It was clean, but generally shabby and neglected, probably due to a lack of funds. This reminded me of the trash that I noticed at the James River parks; apparently more attention needs to be paid to our public works programs, after all, these places provide invaluable services to the community as a refuge and source of aid. Realizing this made me feel much better about the small job I was doing, every bit helps when you’re helping your community.

You must love nature before you want to protect it. You must be connected to an area before you’re willing to save it. Small groups and passionate individuals are the ones that make the most impactful, lasting change. These are themes I keep coming across throughout this entire course, each presenting itself in a different way. But each time, instead of sounding repetitive, they make even more sense and have a stronger message as I gain context with the Geography of the James River course.

Walking along the trail on Belle Isle

Yet another way I was able to connect with the James River watershed was through my first set of community service hours a few weeks ago while cleaning trash on Belle Isle with a classmate. (It seems that each trip I make to Belle Isle is a result of our beloved Professor Lookingbill, and this was no exception.) I spent 4 hours walking around Belle Isle picking up trash and recycling. We began near the bridge in the North side of the isle which, by far, had the most amount of trash, specifically cigarette butts. We walked around the perimeter of the isle along the trails which meandered through the forest, by the water, and next to remains of some of the historic industries that once were located on Belle Isle. I tried to recall the Belle Isle Interpretive Guide reading from early in the semester which described the various locations of interest around the isle, as if giving a tour to the reader. Though I don’t exactly remember all of the spots, I can say for sure that it’s more exciting to see these historic remains in person than to read them off of paper. We saw the remains of the mill and the ironworks, along with a few other sites which were hard to discern because they were so overgrown as if they had become permanently part of the landscape.

Remains of the Belle Isle Iron Rolling, Milling, and Slitting Manufactory which opened in 1815

The majority of the trash was empty cigarette cartons, which was actually a surprise to me; I expected to see more plastic water bottles and glass bottles. The isle however was relatively clean and we only collected a few bags of trash and garbage each while walking around most of the isle. This made me happy to think that the isle was relatively unpolluted, though there also could have been other volunteers that cleaned up before us at the end of the tourist season.

Working on Belle Isle to clean up the beautiful landscape further reinforced the idea of knowledge of an area leading to the desire to protect the area. While this community service is a component of my class grade, I still enjoyed the work I did and love having an impact on the health of the James River watershed. This desire is a result of my knowledge and connectivity to the river and my doing community service is a result of taking a class based on the James River watershed. The best part of this service opportunity was definitely the (obvious) locals on foot and on bike who made it a point to thank us for cleaning as they passed us by. I didn’t even know them but it made me feel so good and so connected to them simply because we share a passion of the James River and protecting our Earth.

A view of the James River from the North side of Belle Isle

Last Thursday I headed down to Pony Pasture in hopes of finding trash. After parking, I opened my door and before I stepped out of the car I spotted a few napkins and a water bottle. My first thought was, “well it will be easy to fill up these bags.” As I walked toward the river, I collected a few random pieces of trash just on the gravel parking lot. It seemed almost pathetic that people couldn’t make their way over to the numerous trashcans that surrounding the parking lot. Interestingly enough, the most trash I found was within a five feet radius around each of the trash cans. My initial thought about the visitors was that they were completely destroying the river with the amount of liter. I feared what I might see down on the banks if this is is how the parking lot looked.

 This thought was completely wrong.

I walked the trails and scaled the rocks that were on the bank of the river. Trash was hard to find! Unsurprisingly, the most rubish I found down by the river were 5 beer bottles underneath a flat rock section. More than likely, these visitors thought they collected all of their trash and headed out without looking under the rock. I was thoroughly impressed with how hard it was to fill my massive trash bad, which I thought would be a breeze. After recognizing there was little to be found down by the river side, I headed back to the parking area.

I walked a lap around the entire perimeter of the parking lot and restroom building. I began to play a game of I Spy Trash edition with my fellow Earthlodger to make time pass. It was refreshing to see that our bags never actually did get full. While it seemed almost agitating to never fill the bag, there was an incredible realization. Perhaps visitors to Pony Pasture really do try to utilize the park in a healthy manner. They respect it for its beauty and recognize it will only be destroyed if they liter it.

I did my service this past week, at the William Byrd Community House. Unfortunately, I doubt I will be able to say that much about it. Mostly because all we did was rake leaves. And sweep leaves. And bag piles of leaves. I mean, I’m all for being useful, but I’ve been raking leaves at home since I could hold the rake. I wish we had gotten to work on the farmlet itself, or at gotten the chance to interact with the guys in military attire who were also there to volunteer for the morning.That would’ve been interesting. It’s not a huge deal, because I’m sure we were useful. But I did not get much out of that. I got way more out of my first set of volunteer hours at the JRA Splash and Dash, on the James. That was great.

The William Byrd Community House itself was pretty cool. It’s purpose is to essentially feed the hungry, educate children, and take care of the community. It made me a little sad to see, to be perfectly honest, that an entity with those intentions didn’t have nicer equipment and facilities, especially considering all we have here at Richmond. The house was quaint, but with a distinctly neglected air to it. I’m sure this is because lack of funds/time/man power. So I’m glad to have been some help in that area.

The use of a community garden was probably my favorite aspect I saw. They have community plots, their own plots used for growing food and for educating children on where their food actually comes from, as well as running a farmer’s market from May to October. It’s pretty startling to think that some kids don’t know what a piece of produce actually looks like when it’s fresh, or where food products come from. It’s also wonderful to just remind people that every portion of man’s bounty came from the Earth and comes from the Earth. As for the farmers’ market, I cannot rave enough about farmers’ markets. Besides doing that reminding thing I mentioned, they are also community builders and provide fresh food accessibility. I don’t know what this one is like, but if it’s anything like the ones we have back at home, then I’m sure it fulfills its purposed beautifully.

There’s not much else I can say about that volunteering, because we just didn’t have the chance to interact with that many people. What I know about the William Byrd house now, I know because of a brief orientation to the place all the volunteers were given prior to performing the actual service. Ideally, from a volunteer experience, I’d like to be helpful while also interacting with people and things in ways I haven’t had the chance to before. This experience was basically just chores.

However, the final project is service, in a way. It is performing a service, if done correctly. Since we are working on the proposals for it, I can’t help but think of it when given the prompt of community-based service learning. What’s more interactive than making a map for the community? This year has really opened my eyes to all the wonderfulness that is the James River, and now I can’t wait to open the eyes of the greater community of Richmond, if possible. As Ralph White said, people need to have a sense of their roots. In this day and age, few people will go out of their way to find these roots without some sort of facilitating factor. Having something that can tell you exactly where to go if you want to swim, or have a picnic, or hike, or kayak can be that facilitating factor, I believe. I’m picturing it as an app for smartphones, and if it were to become that, there could even be a notification system for events, like the JRA Splash and Dash, or the mens’ clothing festival thing we ran into on our field trip to Belle Isle, along with how to be a part of them. There have been so many times I’ve just not bothered to do something because it was way too much effort to figure out the logistics, or didn’t know it was happening until it was too late. That’s even happened with going to the James with friends. We didn’t know where to park, or where we could rent boats, or where there was a place to swim, so we just skipped the whole excursion. If we, Earth Lodge and the GIS class, can manage to figure out those logistics for people, I think that would be a great service.