Art Teasel Wildlife Preserve
Garden Clippings for Sept 17, 2022
It was a couple years ago, when the pandemic was still fresh that I heard the faint sounds of a chainsaw buzzing in the distance. I went to investigate, and found it was Simon, who was halfway through cutting a huge Poplar which had fallen across the footpath in the Art Teasel Wildlife Refuge.
Simon lives 4 or 5 doors down. He figured that since the City had temporarily cut back their forestry staff, he would take it upon himself to clear the pathway so hikers could once again pass by. He didn’t ask the City’s permission, fearing that for liability reasons he would be denied doing his good deed.
Way to go, Simon.
Through year one of the pandemic, I walked the Art Teasel 13-minute loop a few times a week. Winter and summer. Sometimes I would be in the bush solo, but more often than not, I would be met by others who were equally in need of a forest bathing as some would call it.
Fast forward to summer of 2022, and the Art Teasel Wildlife Refuge has far fewer visitors. So few that sections of the once-worn trail became difficult to find. The ground was covered in Burdock, full of thistles, and the south-west end had become smothered in Phragmites.
Another neighbour, who we’ll call Sidney, has access to a Bobcat skid steer loader. A month ago, he and his son, who works for the parks department in another City, spent the afternoon re-blazing the trail, enabling visitors to once again visit one of Sarnia’s little treasures. They ploughed down the phragmites, flattened the weeds, removed protruding surface roots, and bulldozed the fallen dead trees.
Way to go Sidney and his son Solomon. They also didn’t ask the City for permission, thinking it would be better to ask for forgiveness, if required.
Years ago, another neighbour, Samuel, would periodically go through the pathways of the Art Teasel Wildlife Refuge with his small tractor and bush-hog, keeping the trail groomed, but I am told he got attacked by one too many tics and gave up his volunteer role.
Perhaps the Art Teasel Wildlife Refuge is not worth keeping. As forests go, it is not much of a forest. The dominant trees species is Manitoba Maple, an invasive weak-wooded nuisance tree. The tallest trees in the bush are Poplars, another tree of questionable value. There are no original old growth Oaks, Hickory or other native trees, save for a few Walnuts and Paper Birch. Interestingly, the south end is home to a few imported Locust, Spruce and Sycamore, reminders that the bush was once a City owned tree nursery.
But as forests go, the 13-acre nature preserve, honoring one of Sarnia’s prominent citizens who championed all things wildlife and nature, is probably worth keeping. The bush provides a home for countless animals, including the occasional deer and coyote. More than a few times I have seen long-lensed photographers capturing shots of many birds that I couldn’t identify.
Lambton County’s forest coverage sits at only 13%. London’s coverage is 24%. Chatham-Kent fares worse at just under 5%. Toronto sets the standard at 30% which is what experts suggest is the ideal number for healthy living. Sarnia-Lambton has one of the most diverse natural landscapes which include forest, grassland, waterways, dunes and swampland, and we would be wise to respect and preserve as much as we can.
Names above have been changed to protect the guilty.
