Plant Rescue, Blackberries-and the rest of the story

In 1983 my husband and I moved to Union County, Georgia. We chose this place because of its natural beauty its clean air and water, its rural simplicity and its friendly people. In 1983, except for the main highways, all roads were dirt or gravel and the county's population was about 6,700 people. Times have changed. Over the past 20 years, Union County and its neighboring counties have experienced triple digit population growth and land has skyrocketed in price. New housing developments are popping up like mushrooms, as bulldozers work to clear land and create "home sites with a view." As I watch the changes brought on by growth and development, I contemplate the future. How can these ancient mountains embrace such rapid growth and yet retain their unique "sense of place"? The forests and meadows with their amazing diversity of plant life, the butterflies, song birds, deer, black bear, opossum, raccoon, birds of prey, lizards, snakes and all life that call these mountains "home" is what creates, in us, a sense of wonder.

I am particularly fond of our native blackberries. Each spring I look forward to the profusion of white flowers that cover the brambles, bringing a promise of warm summer days and fresh blackberry cobbler. For as long as these mountains have been inhabited, folks have been picking and munching on wild blackberries. I am part of that tradition and the connection feels good. Not only are blackberries a free and nutritious food, they are also good medicine. Native Americans used wild blackberries to cure diarrhea and dysentery and Rhubus villosus, the American blackberry, entered the US Pharmacopoeia in 1820 as an astringent tonic. Modern herbalists consider blackberry an important astringent, especially for the gastrointestinal

tract. It allays excessive fluid loss from diarrhea, and when medical intervention is not available may save lives. All of this is interesting, but there is more-blackberries rank at the very top of summer foods for wildlife. Probably the berries taste as palatable to wildlife as they do to us. Game birds, song birds, raccoons, chipmunks, squirrels and rodents feed on the berries while deer and rabbits eat the leaves and stems of the plant. Blackberry brambles form thickets which serve as effective cover for wildlife and are a common site for the nests of small birds.

These mountains, our home, can be likened to a large and intricate jigsaw puzzle. Each tree, bird, insect, forest creature, wildflower, mountain stream and blackberry bramble lock together to form a complete "picture/story" of this special place. Our mountains can embrace population

growth if each of us chooses to honor and perpetuate our native plants. Seeing a blackberry with new eyes is the first step. Where there once was a thorny shrub we now see a connection to our ancestors, nutritious food, good medicine, and food and shelter for our forest friends. The Plant Rescue Project can help our community keep that mountain jig saw puzzle connected by providing educational native plant programs, on-site consultations to landowners and developers and manpower to transplant those plants that are in "harms way." Let us work together to maintain the beauty and integrity of our mountain home. For more information about the Plant Rescue Project please contact Jennifer Cordier (706-745-9317; ivylog@alltel. net), Glen Henderson (706-7451840; abletinker@aol.com) or Joyce Hall (706-781-9816; 113@hotmail.com).