celery pond

Too bad the Celery Pond issue didn’t make it to the ballot, as today is the day to express your choices. Voting to keep a wetland as a wetland has the vote of more and more concerned citizens who are joining forces to keep more balances in nature all across the nation.

There’s a whole new world of young professionals, and middle-aged experts, who have a passion for nature and use it daily in their professions. They are eager to share their wisdom with organized groups and we can all profit from them.

Our invited guests at the CPA fundraiser a week from Saturday will prove the point. Chuck Fuller from the Sarrett Nature Center is expected to come and possibly another speaker might come to talk informally. We hope you’ll come to hear what the experts say, along with the good food and drink that will be provided.

There are many types of wetlands, in all shapes, sizes and locations. But in their uniqueness, they share three common characteristics. The hydrology of the wetland, ie. its water presence, creates an influence on vegetation as it has a frequency and duration to support such life. The presence of plants in the wetland share a commonality as they have adapted to living in such saturated soil conditions. And, the soil itself becomes of a unique order, called hydric soil. This special soil has no oxygen yet maintains the plant and animal life in these saturated conditions.

It is obvious that a wetland environment attracts a vast variety of plants and creatures, who are also greatly diversified. In July the CPA hired professionals to do an inventory on Celery Pond, if you remember. Twenty-one species of birds, many of which were songbirds, were identified and over 16 plant varieties were seen, with cattails being in the greatest abundance at present.

If the Celery Pond is made into a nature sanctuary, an effort would be made to establish a perimeter boardwalk near the wooded area of the wetland. With such a walk, bordering cattails would be cleared and replaced with more native plantlife, such as exists in the city ditch nearest Black River off of Dunkley Avenue. This would be a great way to educate everyone on the Celery Pond’s abundance of life. Without the intrusion of a marina and its boat users, the quiet balance of the wetland would surround both the locals and tourists who could walk around the perimeter, all sharing in the great diversity of nature while learning from it, too.

The Celery Pond Advocates are moving forward to establish themselves as a non-profit entity which will seek to acquire and maintain the wetland. Join us in our first fundraising event on Saturday, November 18th, starting at 5:30pm. Tickets are on sale at both Wolverine Hardware and Whimsy, on Phoenix Street in South Haven.