Disturb. Replace. Maintain.
Our mantra
Hillstomp Farm is 35-acres of hay and 20-acres of forest. Interspersed among the hay and the evergreens and the native plants are jungle-thickets of Himalayan and Cut Leaf Blackberry. This ubiquitous plant not only robs native plants of resources, it also climbs up into tree branches which makes the potential of wildfire spreading much more likely.
Taking out blackberry (and other “invasive” non-natives) requires not just the removal of the blackberry (the initial disturbance). It requires we put in the right plants to thrive in its place (the replacement). And then the ongoing work as the blackberry reappears season after season. We mow, we pull out roots, we mow again (the maintainence). It’s my version of forest justice, making room - again and again - for diversity and what was here originally.
Guided by Love
I’ve found this mantra to be much more than an approach to native habitat restoration. With every weed I pull, I think of the maintenance required to watch my own thoughts and actions. Every day, every minute, there’s another autopilot thought, unbiquitous and unhelpful. It’s not the the thought is bad, but it may be unskillful. Or maybe it’s a thought that I have 35 times each day and it’s time to hit the refresh button. I like growing new, diverse thoughts just like I like growing diverse habitats. Just like the weeds, the thoughts themselves aren’t necessarily “bad” but many of them are unuseful. And if it’s one thing that native habitat gardening has taught me, weeding out those thoughts isn’t a process that will ever be over.
