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    This Month in the Ohio Woods: March

    In Columbus, there’s a lot of buzz about greener living, local pride and sustainability. But I’ve yet to meet many Ohioans who have more than a passing familiarity with the fabric of Ohio herself. What’s she made of? What kind of tree is that? In the words of many an Ohioan… “Uh, a maple? I think? No. I don’t know.”

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    Familiarity with a place is how we come to feel settled, at home and protective. We love and are loved. We learn how to take care of our home and each other. We are taught by our older family members and we in turn teach our children. Most of us no longer live with our extended families, or even near them, and “the environment” is perceived as something which is far away. But we can change that. We can come home.

    Over a decade ago, a pair of nature lovers in Columbus, Ohio, opened a tiny café near the North Market, as well as a Market stand that sold coffee and desserts. There were donation jars near the registers where customers might drop the change from breaking a dollar to buy a cookie, and there were simple Xeroxed flyers which asked, “Wilderness in Ohio– if you could, would you save it?”

    From those humble beginnings, what became the Highlands Nature Sanctuary has now grown into the almost 3,000 acre (and growing) Arc of Appalachia Preserve System, home to an outstanding array of Ohio’s ecological diversity. The people who work with the Preserve have become a veritable library of native Ohio ecology, from geology to botany to Native American anthropology, and then some.

    This is the first in a monthly series of Columbus Underground articles, in partnership with the Preserve, meant to reconnect Columbus’ urban dwellers with the seasonal rhythms of wild Ohio, and the Preserve Columbus helped to create. Every month , I’ll be interviewing the people who maintain the Preserve as well as some CU regulars, focusing on unique aspects of Ohio ecology, what to expect when visiting the woods this month and where to find it, and of course, lots and lots of beautiful pictures. I think you’ll be surprised and delighted with the richness of Ohio’s wild places. So relax, unpack your bags, and put your feet up (or alternately, put on your hiking shoes)… this is your home: Ohio.

    This month, I’ll be speaking to Tim Pohlar, a full-time staff member at the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System. Tim directs the Preserve’s Internship Program and runs the Cave Canyon Preserve. He has a degree in Evolution and Ecology from OSU. He’s also my former boss, as well as one of my best friends in the world.

    My daughter and I visited Tim on the last blustery weekend of February. It was a very emotional visit for me because Tim now lives in the old farmhouse I once lived in when I worked at the Preserve. The three of us took long walks through the almost-wakening woods, the first of the March wind chapping our faces. Around the kitchen table, Tim spoke with me about signs of spring, his plans to start farming the property again, what home means to him, and the strange connection between a rare plant found at the Preserve and the founder of Franklinton.

    Mandy: So what’s new this time of year? I’ve read this is maple sugaring time? There’s a certain window of time when the sap rises, but before it’s too warm, right?

    Tim: Well, we don’t sugar on the Preserve. But I’m thinking of planting some sugar maples here on the property soon. I know they’re sugaring at Stratford Ecological Center. One thing we’ve noticed here is that we’re already hearing woodcocks and spring peeper frogs singing. This is much earlier than usual. When we get these large fluctuations in weather patterns– 70 degrees in January, then heavy snows– stuff like peepers and woodcocks come out with the warmth, frogs and salamanders lay their eggs, then get all confused when it gets cold again. It can be very damaging to certain populations of plants and animals.

    M: Anything else?

    T: What else? Well, you’ve probably noticed the Canada Geese are back.

    M: Haha, we have quite a contingent of goose-bashers on Columbus Underground. I think they can be kind of a nuisance to some people in urban areas.

    So, one of my favorite things about the woods– what’s edible now?

    T: We’re kind of in that window right before the last frost, so right now, it’s mostly just stuff you can find year round. Wild ginger is fairly prolific all over Ohio. Wild ginger flowers will be out soon all over so you‘ll be able to find the plants, and this stuff spreads through underground rhizomes. So if you wanted to make yourself some wild ginger tea, you could harvest it responsibly by finding two plants near one another, and cutting out a little piece of the rhizome between them. It won’t hurt the plants. We don’t harvest these things on the Preserve, they can be found throughout Ohio. Wild yam roots are also always around.

    M: I do love wild ginger tea. It has such a delicate green color, and numbs your mouth slightly. I heard it was once used to numb the mouth before dental procedures! And wild yam is used in progesterone creams for ladies who are going through menopause, among other things.

    What about flowers? Has anything bloomed yet?

    T: I’ve heard there are hundreds of rare snow trilliums in bloom on our Chalet Nivale Preserve. It’s also worth mentioning that the headwaters of two tributaries that flow into the Scioto Brush Creek, flow into Chalet Nivale. This is the top-rated creek in Ohio for cleanliness. It was tested and literally received a perfect score. It’s worth a visit, especially this time of year.

    There’s also skunk cabbage. Skunk cabbage is one of the first things that blooms, and it actually makes its own heat inside the flower. Bees and other insects sometimes crawl in there for warmth. It’s a pretty cool thing.

    M: I think a lot of people might not be inclined to go out of doors this time of year. What’s special about this time of year?

    T: Now everything is still resting, but there is better light now than at any other time of year, especially if there’s snow on the ground. If you’re a photographer like I am, it’s great. There’s no leaves on the trees, so you can see farther. There’s clean, crisp air, and you can see these vistas off in the distance. Especially around here, with all the hills.

    We were noticing as we walked, the colors at the Preserve this time of year are really soothing. There are dark green hemlocks and white sycamores overhanging the creek gorge, and dark green cedars dotting the dried grasses on the Kamelands Preserve. The Rocky Fork Creek looks like this piece of ocean jasper I have– it’s sort of a soft jade green.

    M: I love that, especially with the big, mossy green boulders all along the creek side. I remember that from the first time I visited here, like 10 plus years ago. What causes that color?

    T: That’s a pretty healthy creek, and there’s a lot of living things in it. It’s always that color this time of year. Later, it’s a clear-flowing river with a lighter green.

    M: That’s funny, I remember once getting into a bit of a verbal volley with Walker Evans about what color rivers are supposed to be around here, haha.

    T: Yes, they’re not supposed to be brown all the time!

    M: That reminds me, I saw a presentation about Franklinton, about a week ago. Some people are trying to revitalize Franklinton, which as you know, is older than Columbus. It’s great. But one thing I noticed, on the slide they showed of an aerial view, is that Franklinton is nestled in a little bend in the river. And the river, on the slide, was so, so big, and so brown. It’d be so nice to fix that someday. Isn’t there a connection between the Preserve and Franklinton? Since you have acted the part of William Sullivant in the past, I thought you’d be the best person to ask, could you speak about that a little bit?

    T: Haha, yes. Okay, well, Lucas Sullivant was the founder of Franklinton. He had a son named William Starling Sullivant, who was a prominent botanist and graduated from Yale. He traveled all over southern Ohio, collecting specimens, especially in this area. William Sullivant is credited with discovering Sullivantia sullivantii, a plant which only grows a few places in the world. Sullivantia can be found growing very densely along the sides of the creek ravine here, and has little white flowers in summer. It has frilly, delicate leaves. It’s very beautiful. You can see it when you come to hike at Rocky Fork Gorge here at our Cave Canyon Preserve.

    M: Isn’t there a further Columbus connection involving Sullivant’s wife?

    T: Yes, rumor has it that maybe William’s wife, Eliza, was the person who actually discovered Sullivantia. And we know that Eliza was a very talented botanical illustrator and would often accompany her husband on his travels. At the time, it was very difficult for women to be credited with scientific discoveries, and so the story has it that William was credited. But if you go to Greenlawn Cemetery in Columbus, you can find Eliza Sullivant’s tombstone. It is decorated with a large portrait of her, encircled with Sullivantia leaves.

    M: That’s beautiful. Isn’t Greenlawn supposed to be a great place to learn tree identification?

    T: Oh, yes. There’s so many kinds of trees there. It’s a great place. It’s very old. Greenlawn Cemetery actually has a lot of state champion trees.

    M: What are those?

    T: State champion trees are the biggest specimens of a species of tree, in the state.

    M: Oh, wow. I’ve got to get over there. I hear the Preserve will be conducting a tree ID hike in July?

    T: Oh, are we (laughs)?

    M: Yes, according to the website (laughs).

    T: Our Director, Nancy, is developing so many educational programs, projects, hikes and events, that it’s hard to keep up with everything that’s going on around here!

    M: So one of the things I’m trying to focus on with these articles, is what people’s concept of “home” is. Is this place your home?

    T: Yes, yes it is. I’m from Dayton, and then went to school in Columbus, and now I’m here. I could never think of moving to another state now. Actually, it’s funny, the pioneers were homeless. Then they settled down, set down roots, sometimes they also did a lot of damage. But in a lot of ways, we don’t have those roots anymore. That stability creates a feeling of home. Renters would have a hard time experiencing that. Moving here to TES Farm, I’m really no different than any young guy my age at that time, about to make a go of it on a piece of land, but I‘m trying to do this in an ecologically responsible way. I’ve finally found a place to call home. My goal is to slowly make this place into a place that can provide food for the local community here.

    M: Would you think of selling some of your produce in Columbus?

    T: Well, I’m sure Columbus visitors could shop here while they were visiting the Preserve. But Columbus isn’t really local to here.

    M: Really? I think places that sell local produce in Columbus consider stuff even two hours away to be local. You figure that’s probably the closest some crops are to the city.

    T: Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense. But I’m really interested in a geographically intimate community nearby. I’m really happy with the way the community here has slowly evolved. A community can be thought of as a neighborhood, a geographical region, or even a watershed. Traditionally, a community would be a group of extended families, supporting each other. There can be a mosaic of ways to live on the land– preserves, parks, farms and businesses. I’m currently working with a local dairyman who calls himself an endangered species– a small family farmer.

    M: Why are small farms valuable?

    T: Monoculture destroys and depletes everything around it. It’s a complete denial of how living things work.

    M: What’s your first iconic memory of this place? Something that really stands out in your mind?

    T: I was on the Etawah Woods trail on the Cave Canyon Preserve. It was spring, and I was down by the river. I saw a large-flowered trillium, and actually bent down and kissed it. Because it was so beautiful. I fell in love with this place then. I felt like I really connected with this place as a living entity. I felt accepted. I’ve always felt drawn here. I always say I found the place I didn’t know I was looking for.

    M: Have I forgotten to mention anything?

    T: Make sure to tell everyone that I’m a big success and make lots of money, haha! This is my dream job. I love what I do, I feel good about what I do. We have a window of opportunity here in Ohio– it’s an incredibly important time in our history. We still have some relatively intact forests and some more or less healthy ecosystems. I want to help save what we can, rehabilitate what we can and do damage control. We have to learn to live with the land, and let it live also.

    M: Thanks, Tim. It’s always a pleasure.

    T: Any time.

    NEXT MONTH–

    April’s Unbelievable Wildflower Displays and Where to See Them

    Chefs and Nature Lovers– Take Our Garlic Mustard Challenge …possible CU trip!

    …and more

    Linkup with Arc of Appalachia Preserve by emailing [email protected], or become friends with Highlands Nature Sanctuary on Facebook.

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