On a chilly November Saturday morning, Friends came out to plant 30 native trees and shrubs to create an Edible Trail of fruits and nus to enhance and rewild the AFM property.
Francis Smith, the lead agroforestry planner for the state, who is with the Maryland Forest Service, shares thoughts on the Department of Natural Resources website, saying that the Edible Trail idea is “… a new concept for public land in Maryland, but it’s also a return to older ideas of human relationships with the environment and inspired by indigenous practices”.
Annapolis Friends can look forward to using our Edible Trail as a teaching tool to help us to learn and to in turn teach others more about the cultures of the indigenous people who used these fruits and nuts, to learn more about how they lived, the wisdom they came to hold, and how we might borrow from their practices to live more simply and sustainably.
Many thanks to Friends: Angela, Cairn, Connie, Dan, Elaine, Grampy David, Kim, Marjorie, Phil, Ron, Steve, Stephen, and Sylvia, who responded to the request to assist Meetinghouse and Lands and the Green Group with this planting. Special thanks to Kim of MH&L for also getting materials organized on the day; and to her husband, Dan for the pre-digging of holes, along with Phil!
For many of us it was a full-on, hat-coat-scarf-and gloves-sort of day but it was also beautiful and we warmed up quickly in the sun.
Being native trees, these new residents should not require much maintenance in later years but they will need special care and attention in their first two years to be sure they have adequate water and to adjust their enclosures as needed. MH&L and the GG welcome Friends help in caring for these trees.
On the far left above are DNR personnel, Forest Health Specialist, Kari Wurth; Tree Planting Specialis, Abby Piegols; their DNR colleague Freddie, who provided instruction in planting technique; In the rear center is Phil C. AFM’s own master tree hole digger- and planter extraordinaire; also with us, were: Dylan Laconich from the City of Annapolis, City Manager’s Office, Environmental Programs Coordinator; Mollie Rudow, IPC Field Coordinator with her friend, Ryan who generously assisted.
Mollie Rudow, on the right in red in the photo above, oversaw the IPC, “Trees for Sacred Places”. She was key in helping the Annapolis Friends acquire and plant these 30 native trees and shrubs. She connected us with the Department of Natural Resources who provided us with trees – guidance and planting assistance.
Midway through the design process it was mentioned by Kari and Abby, that we might consider a new idea introduced by the DNR Agroforestry program — an Edible Trail. This Green Group convener, pounced on that idea and with Meetinghouse & Lands, we asked for a redo of our design. Abby and Kari, reworked the design and plant selection to include a wonderful selection of fruit and nut-bearing trees and shrubs; and a crescent design that arcs around three sides of the meetinghouse, dramatically punctuated by bald cypress by the streambeds below the meetinghouse.
The Meetinghouse and Lands Committee and the Green Group are grateful to all for your help in bringing these trees to us and getting them planted – creating a Edible Trail to serve the Meeting and our many Friends, great and small on two legs, four, six or eight, walking, crawling, or winged!
These plants are a blessing – thank you to all!