Nature Journal #5 - FWNC&R Trip 3

September 26, 2017

               This particular excursion to the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge was really fun. Although it was still fairly hot, my group and I were able to get so much work done while having fun at the same time. We were able to get some more help from the managers out at the refuge, and he’s the one who gave us the confidence to really start cleaning up the trail. There is a long stretch of fence that has been overtaken by privet and creeper vine, along with honey locust trees (I believe). We boldly decided that we would take on one huge part of this fence and take those suckers out. At first, we were gently cutting away at the vines, trying to take off a little at a time. We eventually were encouraged to just start pulling random branches to try to get the whole piece to come down. At one point, Jaclyn started walking up the trail, pulling a long, windy branch over her shoulder, as we all cheered her on. We were also using much better tools, and were told which tools are better for specific species of plants and trees.

Our employee friend and I got to work going underneath this large intertwined chunk of vines and branches. It became a lesson learned afterwards that I should have definitely worn long-sleeved clothing and more bug spray, but we’ll get to that later. The humidity that day was pretty brutal, but all of us took breaks every now and again. We continued our journey in trying to take out this whole chunk against the fence. Luckily, all five group members were there, so we were all working away at our own parts. The refuge employee was explaining that the privet has overtaken many parts of the nature trails because there could be millions of seeds produced by just a small area of privet. The warm climate in Texas also allows the privet to grow nearly all year round. These perfect conditions have become a nuisance for the employees out at the refuge, which is why our groups are helping them a ton by taking that stuff out.

The employee that was helping us told me that I should just take his hand saw and start sawing off a medium sized branch so we could take a large portion out as one piece. Once he taught me the correct technique, I started sawing away at the branch. I must say, I felt super outdoorsy using this old school hand saw. After taking out this large branch, we were able to take down all the vines and leaves that were attached to that one branch, but we had to be careful because of the locust tree, which has gnarly thorns. The guy told us that he had gotten poked by one of the thorns in his palm while he was working, and when he woke up the next day it was so swollen and infected that he had to go to the doctor and get a steroid shot. We should also be aware of oak mites and chiggers out at the refuge. When I woke up the next morning, I was covered with bites that quickly spread. Luckily, my dad has gotten oak mites in Kansas before, so I knew how to handle the situation. Below, you will see a picture of us working away!