Crow’s Nest: Muddy Buddies

By Daniel Barringer, Preserve Manager.

Photo: Daniel Barringer

Force of Nature volunteers helped us out a lot this week cleaning up the last of the debris associated with the demolition of a pole barn at Warwick Woods. It was very muddy but no one seemed to mind. Below, a photo of what the barn looked like in the summer of 2020:

Photo: Daniel Barringer

And below, a photo of the site completely cleaned up (including the removal of shrub honeysuckles, privet, multiflora rose, and other invasive plants, in addition to remnant building materials). It’s a different season of the year in this photo but you can clearly see the open soil where the building once stood (it had a dirt floor to begin with). The bulk of the debris was removed by our neighbors at the Polycor Quarry, but small pieces left by the large machinery had to be picked up by hand. Or many hands, which is why we’re so grateful to our volunteers.

Photo: Daniel Barringer

At left in the photo above is the Horse-Shoe Trail, where hikers and equestrians enter Crow’s Nest Preserve on their way westbound.

This cleanup is part of an effort to restore forest habitat at Warwick Woods, and also offers the benefit of removing impervious surfaces from the watershed which will improve local water quality. Now we’re excited by the planting opportunity of this space, where we can buffer and augment the existing forest with shrubs and trees. Volunteers will help us replant here this fall.

Thank you to Polycor and to our Force of Nature Volunteers for making this possible, and for maintaining a cheerful disposition despite the mud!