Geography of the James (Earth Lodge)

This past Friday, a handful of us went down to the bridge near 14^th street where we met Ralph White for an afternoon of service. We set out from the parking lot with a roll of trash bags, two paint buckets, some rollers and brushes, and some trash collectors. I was immediately inspired by Ralph as he spent a few minutes talking with us and two local boaters who were just getting in from kayaking on the James. He also gave us a fair warning that in order to perform the tasks that we were about to complete, we had to cross the active railroad line that goes over the James, which is technically trespassing, and that we could possibly get arrested… Although this comment was somewhat startling (we could get arrested for volunteering and picking up trash?) it didn’t phase us and we took our supplies and (slowly) crossed over the bridge and the railroad tracks to the island where we would be doing most of our work.

The group split in half, some of us went to clean up trash and glass near a homeless camp, and some went to the bottom of the bridge to cover up some graffiti. I myself went to help pick up the garbage that was scattered throughout the small island. The majority of what we had to clean up were glass beer and whisky bottles, and A LOT of them. We maybe filled 5 or so large garbage bags with primarily beer bottles, and had to constantly bring them back over the bridge to the trashcans that we help put signs on the last time we met with Ralph to learn about the heron rookery. Although this may not have been the ideal volunteering opportunity, speaking in terms of general grossness and cleanliness, we all easily saw that after a mere two hours of work, the amount of trash we moved off of the island was pretty significant, and that we had made a great impact on the surrounding area.

It was also great to see Ralph “at work.” I know in class we talked about whether or not Ralph White is considered a good environmental leader, and even though we all agreed that he was, it was a great experience to work beside him, as he was picking up trash and directing us almost the entire time as well. You can really tell how much each and every inch of the area around the James means to Ralph, and it’s evident how much he truly cares about the health of the River and the land around it when you see him working tirelessly and speaking so passionately about it. Something that resonated with me that Ralph and even the two boaters we met early in the afternoon kept mentioning was the idea that the River has the power to bring people of all ages, races, gender, and social class together, simply for the enjoyment of the water, and that by keeping the river healthy and accessible to everyone, it can continue this tradition and only bring more enjoyment for the future.

Of all my three service opportunities, the latest was definitely my favorite. Our volunteer work this time was working at the William Byrd Community House in around their community garden. The William Byrd Community House is an organization whose aim is to build self-sufficiency through their 4 main focuses; children services, young adult services, family support, and education.

Our job was to help with the construction of a walkway that will be along a garden that will have edible plants, help prepare for the construction of a gazebo for the walkway, in addition to mulching, weeding, composting and other activities.

It sounds like a lot, and it was. It was in fact my longest volunteer service this year. However I think it went by the quickest. The work was fun and reminded me of doing yard work back home. It was something I was used to and I didn’t need to rely on other people to be effective, which was what bothered me about the tabling service I did.

However easy it was, I really felt like I was making an impact. With tabling it was hard to make an impact on the second floor of the theatre where people rarely came. Also with the island pick-up we were picking up trash for the homeless people to keep the island clean. I found mixed feelings about that as I felt I was helping and encouraging people who weren’t supposed to be there. This project however was for people. The work on the gardens will help the people who rent the community gardens grow food. Also the walkway will augment the food pantry William Byrd has so that families will get vegetables in addition to canned goods. Though we didn’t help out with this, the house also has a separate farm where they grow vegetables sold in farmer’s markets where food stamps can be used to buy fresh produce.

Working here I felt like I was making a huge impact which is why on a not so busy Friday I hope to go back and help. You should come too. It’s at 224 South Cherry Street in Oregon Hill Richmond, VA.

Last Friday, I volunteered for the James River Parks System with Ralph White, painting over graffiti and picking up trash by the river.  We travelled to across the railroad with painting supplies and trash collecting supplies to enhance the natural beauty of the river by covering up traces of man.  I started in the painting group.  Armed with a bucket of brown paint and a roller, we set to work covering over a large white spraypainted word on the bridge.  Ralph especially did not like this graffiti because it was extremely visible to boaters and people on the small beach by the Pipeline Walk.  He walked us a little further along the bridge to show us what he considers real art.  He pointed us towards the art on one of the columns under the bridge.  Rather than a vulgar word crudely sprayed on a wall, this was more of a masterpiece with the word “Virginia” stylistically painted across an artistic design.  I could see how, although it was still vandalism, that painting was not offensive to the people of Richmond, but had become a part of peoples’ experiences on the river.  After the thoughtless graffiti was covered with our brown paint and the bridge looked much more clean, our group joined the other group on the island.

The other group was busily taking bags of trash out of what looked like the camp of a homeless person.  Although I wasn’t an active participant of going through the trash and glass bottles, I was somewhat amazed at the whole scene.  Ralph had told us that homeless people live on that island because it’s out of the way and near the water.  He described the dichotomy between these people who have close to nothing and the people who stay in the huge luxury hotels just at the end of the train tracks.  Both groups of people, although in incredibly different socioeconomic classes, were attracted to the rushing water of the James.  However it is difficult for the homeless people to enjoy the water when their homes are filled with trash.  Our group managed to take most of the large trash heap behind the makeshift home off the island to the trash cans on the other side of the bridge.  The whole atmosphere looked much cleaner and more natural than it had when we had arrived.  Overall, this volunteer experience showed me the importance of volunteer work and I was filled with a sense of accomplishment when I saw the huge positive change that my actions brought about.

As many of my other fellow Earth Lodgers, I woke up early on Saturday to go work at the William Bird Community Center’s urban farmlet. We were met by a soft-spoken bearded man named Mathew, the garden manager, who proved to be incredibly knowledgeable. We were divided into two groups right off the bat: one, weeding an invasive grass; the other, moving a compost bin and various other tasks. As we were ripping out old landscaping planks I noticed that Matthew had recently built long swales to parallel the bark chip path. Upon asking about them, he showed me how the entire hill had been eroded away. He showed me how the bottom of the hill had a thick layer of topsoil, while the rest looked more like exposed mud. By building a trench of deep-rooted plants, he hoped the surface runoff would be slowed and infiltration would be increased.

Next, we spent an hour or so emptying compost bins to prepare them to be moved. It was incredible how transformative composting is. The stuff at the top was fresh plants, sticks, dirt, etc. The stuff at the bottom was a fine layer of broken down plant matter and soil that looked ready to spread! We moved a lot of it to a new spinning bin made of black plastic. He explained that heat is essential to composting: the bins we’d emptied had been sitting out for some 6 months and most of it wasn’t ready, but the same bins in the summer could create a full bin of compost in less than 6 months. The black, enclosed plastic container gets a lot hotter than the exposed wire bins. The bin spins to mix the contents, as added and mixing manure or other nitrogen-rich materials help bacteria form and break the other material down faster. It was incredible how much of an ecosystem the compost bins are in themselves. With each grab of the pitchfork we’d uncover a good 6 or 7 squirming earth worms, hard at work helping mix and aerate the compost.

John commented on how the compost is nutrient rich, which is of course good for the plants, but as we’ve learned in class, not necessarily good for the nearby James River and Chesapeake Bay (but good for algae blooms!). Mathew looked a little taken aback by this comment, perhaps feeling a little guilty. But some ten minutes later he retorted that composting is actually much better for the river than other means of fertilizer. Synthetic nitrogen or phosphorus help plants grow just as composting does, but because you’re not adding any new organic matter, the soil becomes devoid of anything that can hold water. When it rains, the water passes right through these synthetically fed soils (which contributes to the soil becoming a nitrogen sink). Compost-fed soils, however, act as sponges – The rich soil’s water retention is much higher (while simultaneously having better drainage, providing both more water and oxygen for plant roots!).

It was really inspiring to see how knowledgeable Mathew is, and how practically and productively he’s able to apply it. Virtually everything we stumbled across he could explain, while for me, just thinking about getting a garden plot on campus for the summer feels incredibly intimidating. I’m very excited by the work William Bird does (introducing organic produce to low-income neighborhoods? Heck yeah!), and was really amazed how much easier it is to understand concepts once I’m actually seeing them in person. I’m eager to start going with other UR kids every Friday.

“Transforming Lives…Building Self-Sufficiency.” The William Byrd Community House’s mission statement still remains etched into my thoughts. Before arriving at our volunteer site I was under the impression we were going to be working at a regular farm, I was not aware of the far reaching implications associated with their work. The WBCH not only operates a working farmlet, they also have a community garden, run a preschool and afterschool program, and operate a food pantry. The farm acts as the glue, reaching out connecting the various programs, and creating a closer knit community. For instance, the kids at the preschool and afterschool programs have their own plots in the community garden. They are given the responsibility to take care of something and are rewarded by seeing their hard work come to life, (literally!).  Each family that participates in the day care or afterschool program is also assigned a social worker. Not only do they want to help with the family’s immediate problem – looking after their kids – but they also want to truly help these families to come up with a plan to ensure stability in the future. In addition the fresh produce produced by the farmlet is distributed with typical non-perishable food pantry items. Families are also given recipe cards and tips for how to store food and how to maximize usage. Furthermore, food stamps can be used at the weekly farmer’s markets.  I was truly honored that I had the opportunity to be part of this program.

We worked on various projects, including weeding wire grass along a path where wild flowers would soon be planted. We also mulched a section by the shed, transferred the contents of the compost bins to a different container, spread fresh dirt on the community garden plots, and planted peas.

Working in the garden also reminded me of home. Although I didn’t always love it at the time, one of the things I miss about home is the huge amount of yard work. My siblings and I complained, but regardless, raking the endless piles of leaves, planting flowers, or weeding the gardens always brought us closer together as a family.

(teaching our dog to jump  over a rake…/raking!)

We also built our own small vegetable and fruit garden in our back yard, which started with a tiny plot of ripped up grass and some strawberries and tomatoes, yet ended with a fenced in enclosure with a gate! Now we currently grow raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, corn, snap peas, cucumbers, pumpkins, basil, and apples!

Cultivating a garden gives people the chance to take responsibility of something meaningful and simultaneous gain a greater sense of control over their lives. It gives people a chance to teach their children and others the importance of following through with tasks, and in turn they receive fresh produce.

People always say food tastes better in the woods, I definitely find this true with camping, I also find this true with vegetable gardens. Somehow it always manages to taste better. It may simply be the hard work, or it may really taste better. But, whatever the reason, gardens are awesome!