Last Updated on November 20, 2024
Nature Trail Club
Bonnie Kawecki, Leader
Donna Ferrara, Co-Leader
The NTC works to preserve and enhance the beauty of the Nature Trail, the Butterfly Garden, the Rock Garden, and the Wildflower Garden by eliminating invasive plants and adding native plants and trees. Our interests extend to helping maintain the beauty and trail of the Lake Charles area including the Old Stone Bridge Trail. We also help the Charlestown community appreciate its natural environment.
Nature Trail Table at the September 2023 Fruits of Our Labor.
| SCHEDULE | TIME | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd Wednesday (Except December) | 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM | Music Room |
See information of their activities:
History of the Nature Trail
As Marie Brinsfield wrote in her brief history of the trail, it was the vision of Paul Gaudreau, a retired architect and early resident of Charles town. Once it was determined that the trail would cross Herbert’s Run, Paul researched bridge designs and produced the sketches from which the covered bridge on the trail was constructed. A plaque at the Cross Creek entrance to the trail is dedicated to him.
John Erickson was an enthusiastic supporter of the trail, and his assistant, Dick DeLottinville, worked closely with Paul Gaudreau to make the trail a reality. With the help of the Grounds Department, the covered bridge and the wishing wells were built and installed, the 4 x 4 timbers that form the curb of the trail were laid, and the banks of Herbert’s Run were stabilized. Later, residents using the wood shop contributed the several benches along the trail. Members of the Maryland Forest Service identified and tagged the 26 species of trees found along the trail.
Several other early residents of Charlestown made significant contributions to the development of the trail. Bill Bowles, Marie Brinsfield, Sally McBride, Ruth and Tom Hopkins, and Lou Romatowski worked to discover, identify, and mark plants and wildflowers, eliminate weeds, and strip ivy from tree trunks. Ruth Hopkins worked to eliminate poison ivy along the trail. Dorothy and Howard Jones planted over 130 ferns. Carl Tongier planted dozens of tiger lilies.
Howard Jones made and installed numbered markers every 25 feet on the curb of the trail. Over the 25 years since the creation of the trail, numerous residents have contributed to its preservation.
Where to Find the Trail
The Nature Trail on the Charlestown campus follows the course of Herbert’s Run, the stream flowing through the wooded ravine behind Brookside.
One entrance to the trail is behind the Cross Creek Station lobby. From this entrance, the path curves downhill to the right and a short walk leads to one end of the trail. To the left, the trail curves downhill, leads across the covered bridge and exits at the Butterfly Garden on Erickson Way. This entrance to the trail is across from the Lake.
The Nature Trail Committee
Paul Gaudreau formed the first Nature Trail Committee made up of the residents who helped to develop the trail. The current Nature Trail Committee meets once a month. It works with the Grounds Committee of the Residents’ Council and the Grounds Department to maintain the Trail, enhance the environment of the Trail, and preserve the numerous native wild flower species.
The Nature Trail Committee is currently made up of a Coordinator, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and about 15 other members, several of whom have assumed responsibility for, among other things, the Butterfly Garden, the Rock Garden, the Wildflower Garden, tree and flower signs, and invasive species. In the Spring, the Committee also stages Nature Fest in conjunction with the celebration of Earth Day.
All are welcome to enjoy the trail and to join in its continuing upkeep and preservation.
Please contact Bonnie Kawecki or Donna Ferrara, with any questions about the Committee. See their contact information in the Resident Directory.
Fall Activities on the Nature Trail
Erosion Control Measures
If you walk along the Nature Trail, be sure to notice the new erosion control branches staked into the hillside just downstream of the covered bridge. Members of the UMBC Lambda Chi Alpha service fraternity completed this backbreaking work during our recent Fall Trail & Stream Clean-up Day. We were more than happy to let them clamber up the hill, and more will be done in the future. The Clean-up Day also revealed a small old dump area in the bank of the feeder stream near the upper end of Herbert Run on campus. The dump area was long ago covered up by soil, but erosion of the bank was allowing bottles and crockery to fall into the stream. We picked up what we could of the debris, and we will do more to clean the area or at least contain it.
The gardens associated with our Nature Trail Committee have pretty much gone dormant for the season, with two exceptions. The Butterfly Garden still has its white Fall Daisies in bloom, although they are drooping a bit. In the Wildflower Garden, most of the flowers at the front of the Garden are still in colorful bloom, although many of them also are drooping. A few noticeable exceptions are the Giant Marigolds (Tagetes erecta).
Giant Marigolds
These late-blooming plants have grown to 8-9 feet tall, considerably higher than their maximum height of 5 feet. I guess that we won’t have to add fertilizer to this garden for several years.
Out on the Lake Trail, you may notice a large number of invasive black locust saplings growing on the dam. Codes for earthen dams state that the structures should not have trees growing on them, but years ago when the dam was built, little was done to control what vegetation established itself on the soil surface. So we got mostly invasive species, like the black locusts, honeysuckle, and multiple types of weeds growing on the dam.
Invasive black locust saplings.
The locusts grew into full-fledged trees, which eventually were cut down, but the remnants of the trees continue to send up sucker saplings, which grow about five feet per year, so they have to be cut back. Our campus Invasive Plants Crew plans to cut these thorny trees in the early spring. That is when access to them is still easy, and the sap has started flowing so that poison applied to the cut stems will hopefully be carried to the roots and kill the trees.
This time of year be sure to enjoy the fall foliage on campus. The trees are a splendid part of our scenery, even if just viewed from our skywalks above the Nature Trail.
Bert Clegern
Nature Trail Committee Co-Chairman