Scotch Broom Challenge, no joke!
All morning long this past Saturday I dodged April Fool’s pranks from family members and friends (since it was April Fools Day).
I was happy to leave my phone and internet behind and head over to Canyon View Preserve for the Placer Land Trust’s volunteer event, the Scotch Broom Challenge. What a great way to spend the first day of April!
Much better than being someone’s fool…
Top ten things I loved about the day:
- We made hay on scotch broom! Although at one point scotch broom served its purpose as packing material to bring beer and whiskey from Europe to here, it really gets in the way of our landscape, choking off plants we want and adding to fire risk. We pulled and wrenched out great big patches of it – good riddance!
- Oh, the things I learned! The PLT stewards on hand knew their stuff, pointing out plants of interest to explore (and avoid) and keeping us tuned in with the nature around us.
- Sunshine, after so many days of rain! The weather couldn’t have been more perfect, and the view…
- Canyon View, who knew? For many of the attendees it was their first time on the preserve, and they couldn’t believe such a beautiful preserve is so close and accessible in Auburn. We sure are lucky.
- Activity does make the heart grow fonder! According to researchers at the University of Vermont, just 20 minutes of exercise can lead to a better mood for 12 hours. Everyone at the event started off being so nice and happy already. If there were about 25 people at the event, and we each worked for 3 hours, by my calculations we created 2,700 hours of happiness!
- Volunteers are the bee’s knees! So many people turned out, from 7 years old to…well, no need to disclose. But all ages, abilities, backgrounds, interests…truly nature is there for everyone, and everyone wanted to get outside to help. Volunteers Rock!
- The family that mows together, grows together! We had several parent-child combinations of volunteers…and even one entire family (mom, dad, three boys!!) who celebrated dad’s birthday by participating.
- Doing good feels good! See # 6 above for the health part of the equation, and for the heart part, a quote from the youngest in the group, “This was the best day of my life!”
- Flowers, flowers, flowers (achoo!) Unless your allergies bother you, how wonderful to be out in the meadows and under the trees, with wildflowers all around doing their blooming business. The poppies especially really put on a display.
- Enjoying the “unity” in “community”! What a great way to meet new people, do something healthy, contribute to our community, and simply have fun. I’ll be sure to sign up next time, no fooling!
By Eden Rock 
4/4/17
