Nature Journal #7 - Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, Part 2

Yesterday, our class returned to the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge to continue our work cutting down and clearing away overgrown invasive plants like privet. As we set out, we separated into two groups: one group cutting down and one group clearing away. My group – Ciara, Anna, Cole, Bennett, and Dr. Wood – put on our glasses and gloves and vests, grabbed a pair of shears each, and waded into the overgrown forest to begin cutting down privet, bamboo, and other trees and vines. As we began to work, as I made my way through the forest stepping over branches and stumps, I hoped that there weren’t any snakes hiding anywhere. Eventually, I decided that I just had to go with it and hope that there wasn’t going to be anything to hurt me. At the beginning, as I figured out what to cut and how to cut it, it was a little bit touch-and-go. Once we got going, however, I grew more comfortable and confident in the work. Over the couple of hours that we worked, we fell into a rhythm and wordlessly figured out a more efficient system in which some people focused on cutting down the brush, while others focused on organizing it and clearing it away. I was reminded of ants cooperating and working together to transport food, build their homes, and get from one place to another. In other words, I was reminded of how individuals can come together to accomplish more than they would be able to do by themselves. True to form as an economics major, I was also reminded of the notion of division of labor that “dividing the production process into different stages enables workers to focus on specific tasks… if workers can concentrate on one small aspect of production, this increases overall efficiency – so long as there are sufficient volume and quantity produced” (Division of Labour, para. 1). The work was rewarding and cathartic. I got lost in the work, and time flew by. I was thankful for water and shade, saw a butterfly and a red wasp, noticed a tick crawling on my arm, and flicked it away. And, by the end of class, the progress we’d made in a short time was evident when we stepped back and took inventory of how much forest we’d cleared. However, I will admit, it was a bit disheartening to think about how much of an uphill battle the fight against the invasive species’ growth is – about the significant amount of effort it took to cut down the growth only for it to quickly and resiliently come back. The work was rewarding nonetheless.

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