Today’s Pine Barrens adventure takes place at the Pinelands Alliance, home of the 72-acre Rancocas Creek Farm, where we will do a service project. The land for the farm was donated to the Pinelands Alliance in 2020 by an MFS family!
Our faithful bus took us to the Rancocas Creek Farm Tuesday morning for a day of service at The Pinelands Alliance, and boy did we service! In the morning we spread mulch around sprouting rhubarb. We learned about the difference between annuals and perennials. After lunch and a documentary on the Pinelands, we assaulted invasive plants in the meadow. Armed with loppers and saws, we cleared a large section. When we circled for a reflection at the end of the day, everyone expressed enjoyment for the work done.
Lucas wrote: “I loved … helping remove the invasive species from the Pine Barrens.”
Lena echoed this: “I learned how to use a saw and the loppers. I also liked standing on the trees to cut them down. It was really fun cutting the branches [of the invasive species] and finding bleached bones from different animals.”
Julia reveled in bugs, as usual, and added: “I learned more about aquifer management and how preventing development in the area ensures that the aquifer can be refilled and so that it doesn’t get polluted. The state’s program for purchasing development rights to farms is new to me, and it seems like a pretty effective way to combat the pressures farmers face to sell their land to building projects (shopping centers, factories, data centers, etc).”
It was a great day.