Why I walk in the woods
American Chestnut (Photo by Norfolk County)
The woods deliver in every season. Backus Woods is my favourite refuge and whenever I visit I am reminded why. It’s nothing in particular, really, but the experience itself. It’s breathing in the sweet, fresh oxygen-rich air as snow crunches underneath my feet on the cusp of spring. The starkness of gray tree trunks ,massive tulip trees that stretch skyward past the canopy top, interspersed with sturdy oaks, smooth beech, maples, and so many other species, patterns and sizes.
As the weather gets warmer, snow seeps away and the leaf litter reappears. I smile as I pass small pools where spring peepers call loudly for mates — their tiny size belies their gusto.
When spring sets in the forest comes alive with birdsong. Warblers flit from branch to branch, bursts of colour against the gray. Greenery emerges from the leaf litter along with smatterings of wildflowers. The air is richer, moister.
Summer in the woods is best enjoyed on a bicycle or doused in bug spray. The warm air smells earthy and sweet. Greenery fills my vision and blocks all that may lie beyond. I imagine a giant forest that stretches on endlessly, like stepping back in time when towering Carolinian forests dominated the landscape.
But fall is always my favourite time in the forest. As the colours change to brilliant yellow, orange and red, it’s like stepping into a glorious painting. The trails wind over ridges and dip through swales, past swamps and dry pine forest. Several hundred-year-old black gum trees stand humbly amongst the soft maples. Young American chestnuts struggle against the odds to survive and bear fruit. Sassafras leaves reflect brilliant yellow and sumac shines a deep red at the forest edge. The adjacent fields are equally spectacular: restored meadows blanketed in goldenrods and asters glisten in the fall sunshine.
Sassafras, Backus Woods, Norfolk, Ontario (Photo by NCC).
The woods are a place to reconnect with nature. They remind me how much we are connected to all life, and how much we benefit from nature’s rich bounty. In nature we are all equal, and can equally enjoy the refuge it provides — for relaxing, for fitness, for perspective and for pure enjoyment of its beauty. We all need a place like Backus Woods.
Backus Woods is owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). Located in Norfolk County on the north shore of Lake Erie, it offers over 20 kilometres of interpretive trails open to the public year-round. NCC has installed interpretive signs throughout Backus Woods, and on 30 sign posts quick response tags link smart phone users to enhanced content.
You can take a virtual tour of some of the features of Backus Woods by clicking here.
About the Author
Wendy Cridland is NCC's director of conservation in Ontario.
