Rock Creek Restoration Co-operative(a not for profit daydream of mine)
((I have lots of daydreams))
when I walk the trails of Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC I experience a mixture of emotions
torn between being elated at how beautiful the trails are;
with being depressed at how beautiful the trails could be
the hiker/runner/dog walker population grows each year
every year there is a new freshmen class
there are more people working these small sections of trail than ever before
the trails are getting wider
the trails are heavily eroded in some places
the vegetation around the trails has thinned out
the park land will not repair itself
there needs to be some action to repair this wonderful park
small action today will prevent the need for massive action later
all the park needs is a band aid here and there
there needs to be more earth
so much of the soil has been taken away
when it rains the roads funnel the water into the park
the park is naturally a valley
but all the paved section of earth that would have one time absorbed rain and run off now just sends all that water into the valley that feeds into Rock Creek itself
in addition to more earth there needs to be some replacing of indigenous vegetation
the old growth trees are reaching their time to die off
there needs to be fertile land so the young trees can grow
seeds need to grow to be saplings and then the saplings need to grow to be mature trees
that may take blocking off some small patches of land from man, deer, and all else
there are too many trails
trails need to be blocked off and rebuilt into fertile hillsides
the trails themselves could do with some basic repair
again more earth
my greatest daydream is to bring in a unfertile sandy soil for the walking path
build upon the already existing walking path
wind the natural path of the trail... guide the trail in a natural direction
thin trail in some places
thicker trail in others spots where it makes sense for people to walk abreast
along each side of the unfertile walking path put fertile soil to the same height
fertile soil extending into the woods
plant clovers or some other fast growing vegetation with ferns
seeds for hardwoods will also take root each season
the lighter colored soil would act as a "yellow brick road" guiding the hiker unconciously to stay on the trail
there would still be various trail options
thick paths would split into two thin paths
forks and splits would still exist
but they would be marked well enough so that people would easily be able to stay on the path
the obvious path would prevent people from widening each trailhead and each trail intersection
the trailheads would need the most repair
logs would be used to level off camber trail
logs would also be used to terrace steep sections into natural stairs
shortcutting would be blocked no only with fresh dirt,, but also with the placement of indigenous plants
in addition to terraced stairs some of the steeper trail sections would be blocked off and switdch backs would be cut into the hill
plant life would be added to the steep sections
I can appreciate Rock Creek Park in its "natural state"
but the current natural state is decline
there needs to be an effort to create some sustainability
right now this park, which is an amazing natural resource, is being neglected
avatar game on nick.com
scene creator
watching avatar with my kids
we have it on DVD
it is really good stuff...
Ang is on this earth to keep peace and protect nature
or something that effect