Written by Betsy Love, Master Watershed Steward
and St. Luke's Environmental Committee Chair
Walking these four acres of habitat being restored for the benefit of aquatic species, waterfowl, wildlife, and humans, the thought came to mind that this is actually a sanctuary stream. The essentials of life will be found here in this nature preserve. The word "sanctuary" has amazing depth of meaning in both the secular and sacred sectors. From the Latin,
Sanctuarium
arose in early Medieval times as a way of describing a place of refuge for the persecuted in churches, from "
sanctus,
"
the Latin word for holy. However, the word is so much more. According to the
Oxford American Writers' Thesaurus
, sanctuary also means a reserve, park, preserve, or a hideaway, hideout, a place of safety and protection. Even further, it can mean a port in a storm, an oasis, shelter, immunity, even asylum. Today, we even hear it applied as an adjective, e.g., sanctuary cities, hence my thought of a sanctuary stream.
It seems all in life seek sanctuary from time to time. Wildlife certainly look for sheltered area for nesting. Whether they actively seek sanctuary or not, native trees and shrubs need an oasis from destructive exotic and invasive species. I imagine birds, especially, seek sanctuary in lovely March, harbinger of spring that always overplays the part about arriving like a lion. This year, a wind storm named Riley, which was preceded by a 4 inch deluge of rain, was quite a roar even for March. Environmentalists and church members came to witness St. Luke's restored stream perform. Filling every step pool and roaring with excess in the uplands, all that water looked quite tame in the lower half. Truly, it was a sight to behold, and one might be so excited as to exclaim, "Hey, aquatic species, check out the new sanctuary!" Even in its unfinished state, we witnessed water clarity at the bottom! Stormwater pipe conveyance, where is your glory now?
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As many of you noticed Riley wreaked havoc with our church sign! For days, the cyclone nor'easter blew unimaginable gusts on bright sunny days without a storm cloud in the sky. What new strange storm was this? Could it be the oceans are already much warmer as a result of this planet's temperature rise?
With storms like Riley and record breaking rainfalls on the increase, it seems a good time to turn the talk to paradise lost. Oceanic warming is irreversible now and that means in this planet's future there will be catastrophic losses in species and considerable loss of habitat for human survival. Some folks might just suggest we throw in the towel and accept what is inevitable, but that would be unfaithful. Those of us who hold the Book of Genesis as sacred believe we are charged to tend to the paradise we were given. And many others believe it is irresponsible to neglect civic duty to act on behalf of future generations. Whatever our beliefs, we all need to participate together in creating sanctuary.
The really cool thing about this Bay Restoration project is that it benefits climate resiliency on several levels while providing wildlife habitat. Even before our construction phase is completed, these Mallards are having a feast at the living shoreline/tidal marsh, which function as clean water producers, food and shelter providers, and sponges for flood tides.
I am grateful for all of our foresighted Bay restoration partners who are working in government and in the private sector in making multi-beneficial ecosystem restorations
like this one possible. Living shorelines, tidal marshes, wetlands, tree canopy, and native understory, all aspects of St. Luke's Restoration, will lessen the effect of rising sea level, larger storms, and increased temperatures throughout the Bay watershed. Already there are aquatic species threatened and dying with the warming of the oceans. It is a relief to know that as the oceans warm, and subsequently the Bay as well, aquatic species and wildlife will find sanctuary here.
More happy news to convey is that our contractor, Underwood & Associates and St. Luke's Environmental Committee abandoned winter hibernation several weeks ago to put the finishing touches on the Restoration.
It was exciting to see construction resume with full crew, the Big Orange Excavator, along with a full entourage of equipment and more materials. Progress has been significant. Meanwhile, inside the church, we began organizing spring - summer events. The Committee's robust work in organizing volunteer educational invasive and native plant teams has resulted in joint events with STEM Schools, Maryland Conservation Corps, our beloved USNA Midshipmen, and the County's Weed Warriors in March, April, and even June!
Friends of St. Luke's Restoration are always invited to join in these fun volunteer events of caring for the environment. Please visit
St. Luke's Restoration of Nature Facebook page
where two flyers are posted about these activities. Be sure to use the link with the Project Clean Stream flyer, which is a registration link to St. Luke's event this year. We are proud that Project Clean Stream, a Bay-wide cleanup event, is sponsored by St. Luke's enormously impactful
partner
and
environmental leader, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.
Coming in the next several years will be a maturing native watershed scene, which will feature many of the species as shown here. I can't wait to see the Restoration evolve.
In this artist's rendering based on recent macro-fossil research by Sara Elliott and team, we have a visual of 400 - 500 year old upland and transitional vegetation along a stream as it enters the tidal interface. This makes one understand the awe Captain John Smith recorded in his description of this unspoiled estuary. In his words:
"There is but one entrance by sea into this country, and that is at the mouth of a very goodly bay, 18 or 20 miles broad. The cape on the south is called Cape Henry, in honor of our most noble Prince. The land, white hilly sands like unto the Downs, and all along the shores rest plenty of pines and firs ... Within is a country that may have the prerogative over the most pleasant places known, for large and pleasant navigable rivers, heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for man's habitation."
1608 Captain John Smith
Unfortunately, some of the trees found in the macro-fossil research are now extinct and some cannot grow in current conditions due to massive sediment flow over the centuries making the soils unsuitable. Even though we can't exactly replicate the pre-colonial vegetation, we can work to make it as close as possible. Trees are critical to our survival starting with the very air we breathe (oxygen production and carbon reduction) not to mention that they are massive stormwater infiltrators and reducers of pollution. The overwhelming majority of trees are amazingly communal and provide nutrition to other trees sending signals that say, "Hey, I need nutrition." Nearby trees respond via
root system
to root system! Wow! And, certainly, there is nothing more soothing or beneficial than walking underneath tree canopy when it is 95 and humidity is sweltering. For more info, check out
St. Luke's Restoration of Nature Facebook page
to catch up on other human health benefits provided by trees. If we convey to St. Luke's visitors who walk these trails nothing more than the idea that these trees they are witnessing are as valuable in the botanical world as gold is to minerals, we will do well. Perhaps, they will even go home and plant a tree.
Walking these four acres with Keith Underwood, I get glimpses of his vision of a restored ecosystem. "In this area of the stream, we will create a pitcher plant bog to provide sanctuary for this beautiful and threatened native water loving plant. I want
water lilies here," he says while pointing at wetland. We share a great love of woodland
ephemerals.
As a child, I had the benefit of living beside a forested stream, which would offer such amazing plants to a child's eyes as Jack in the Pulpit and Lady's Slippers. What I know for sure is that one day this will be a magnificent place where a stream runs clean and native plant sp
ecies will thrive, a true paradise gained.
As these four acres become a true sanctuary for all life, I cannot help but reflect back over these five years of implementation. It has been a long journey since spring of 2013 with many exceptional people working toward the same goal. On a conference panel recently, I described managing this project over the last five years as being somewhat akin to pursuing a bachelor's degree. The first year is spent planning what and where with the advice of family. Then, whoosh, you are off on a four year stint of a learning adventure, meeting new people and teachers, some of whom became friends and mentors and some of whom were comrades riding the same wave. The rewards are many. Before this project, I had intended, as a retiree, to achieve my own personal sanctuary on board our sailboat enjoying freedom from deadlines, work drama, etc. I have no regrets on the path taken. Indeed, there are sanctuaries much greater than our own personal refuge. Sometimes you actually get lucky enough "to be the change you wish to see in the world."
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