“Anybody can love the mountains, but it takes a soul to love the prairie.”
— Willa Cather
The invitation:
It’s a hot afternoon, unseasonably so for this early date in October. The sky is a light blue with wisps of high cirrus clouds. The only sounds are those of crickets, a few blue jays in the distance, and the occasional passing car. The season has turned, despite the heat, and it is fall. This is the time of year for eating apples and harvesting the garden goods and looking at the palette of beautiful colors shining forth in nature. The tawny gold of the prairie grasses is especially pleasing, and they sway in the wind as if inviting us to join their graceful dance.
It’s an invitation that is hard to refuse. By saying yes and wandering into the deeper recesses of the grassland, we are immediately engulfed into the intimacy of this prairie world. Daily distractions fall away, and we are one with the landscape, surrounded by plants that are 6 feet tall or taller; we are in our own little room made up of light and the gentle breeze and nature’s chorus. The opportunity for quiet contemplation and retreat from the woes of the world is real, and for a while we can be at peace with just being…in the prairie.
The collection:
It is the season of harvest, and so it is at Belwin too. This is the time when we put many hours into collecting seeds from our prairies. Collection starts in earnest in late August and continues into October. We begin by searching out the slender grasses of the savanna, such as bottlebrush grass and wild rye. As the calendar advances and seeds ripen, we move on to golden alexander and bergamot. Then comes Indian grass, grey coneflower, and showy goldenrod. The list goes on and the gathering continues. Our intrepid volunteer crew return week after week for the opportunity to enter this sacred space of wildness. The meditative moves of hand on stem, gently pulling up, seed releasing to hand is a rhythm all its own. It’s a tactile gift that brings relaxation and renewal.
The gift:
By gathering seeds from many of our native species we can create mixes that supplement existing restorations and establish new habitat in areas where the land has been cleared of invasive species. The use of seed from Belwin’s lands is especially important because this is where these seeds have evolved; this is their home. As a result, they are more resilient to any ecological disturbances that might come their way.
Once the seed is gathered, it takes a journey to our seed room. It will spend time drying and then be cleaned, bagged and labeled. Then the wait until the temperatures drop and the soil heaves back and forth with freezing and thawing. This is the time when these precious gifts of new life are freed into a new home, a new space to grow and thrive. They will spend the winter in the cold embrace of the soil and in spring, meet the warmth of the sun. New plants will begin to grow and with that will come the insects, the birds, the small mammals and many others.
This is our hope that the work we do collecting seeds and spreading them around will support healthy habitats that will continue to bring joy to the human folk, homes to the animals, food for the insects as well as our souls.
Visit our events page to attend an upcoming event with Lynette as your guide, or learn more about volunteering with Belwin on our Volunteer page.
