Day 33

Maybe it is just me, but I usually have an odd sense of excitement when sending off an email to someone I’ve never met. In preparing to start the restoration process, I knew I had to reach out to people much more knowledgeable than I. So off to the computer I went.

I sent emails to nature friends I had already established relationships with as well as others that were referred to me or people I found online. I gave them general information about the land and asked them for their advice, making sure I invited them to the farm to see the land first hand. With their guidance, I aimed to put together a restoration plan that was achievable, and hopefully, affordable.

I was pleased that everyone I reached out to responded in some way. Some gave their insight on potential pitfalls. Some mentioned possible funding and grant sources. Some offered resources and referrals. And some even accepted my invitation.

Over the first few weeks at the farm, I gave tours of the property to various people, including wetland specialists, foresters, naturalists, prairie enthusiasts, and restoration professionals. It was a blessing to hear their opinions and ideas as well as their proposed steps for restoration. It was also a curse.

While there was some overlap in their overall information about the current state of the property, there were widely different ideas about what we should do to restore the land. Many of these differences were simply philosophical. From restoring the land to what it was before any land disturbances occurred over a century ago to completely overhauling the idea of restoring it and instead adding features that would improve its aesthetics. Every person had a different background and belief. Some ideas and opinions contradicted the other. 

I appreciated their input and knowledge but instead of making my road to restoration clear, I was now in a tangled web of ideas and opinions. These restoration conversations added lots of new words to my vocabulary and plenty of new concepts to consider.

However, while many of these visits only fogged up my  mind with possible next steps, one visit made all the confusion and contradictions worthwhile.