Our Environment: “The Gano Escape” by Scott Turner
Scott Turner, Environmental Columnist
Our Environment: “The Gano Escape” by Scott Turner
Just before midnight last Thursday, the sun’s rays hit their zenith at the equator, and headed north.
Living in a time where we must distance ourselves from one another to safeguard our health doesn’t mean that we don’t go outdoors. Just try staying inside for an extended period—you’ll want to get outside!
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTKaren and I left the house to visit the seven-tenths-of-a-mile section of the Blackstone Valley Bikeway that opened in 2017 between Gano/Trenton streets and Pitman Street in Providence.
The trail, if you’re wondering, runs along the Seekonk River, including views of the abandoned, and stuck-open-for-more-than 40-years drawbridge, officially known as the Crook Point Bascule Bridge.
Now and again, a biker, skater or jogger zipped past. Mostly, there were other walkers, including families with small children.
Red maple trees were in full bloom, their branches adorned with clusters of tiny bright-red flowers. The golden-yellow stems of weeping willows quivered in the breeze off Narragansett Bay.
American Robins were abundant over the greening turf and among the smaller trees. From higher in the still-bare canopy came the squawks of Common Grackles. Upon rain-softened patches of bare ground, we found tiny surface piles of aggregated topsoil and subsoil left by emerging earthworms.
Speaking of burning, we found the remains of several human encampments, scattered fire pits included, along the new trail nearest Pitman Street. There was a lot of trash in the woods, and while the path was easy to walk and attractive, it reminded us of a t-shirt we’d purchased from the gift shop, Rhody Craft. That item displays an image of the iconic Milk Can building on Route 146, and the words, “Where charm meets neglect.”
The walk allowed us some close inspection of end-of-winter plant features, like the telescoping purplish-green-colored twigs and swollen powder-blue buds of box elder, a small maple. Also, we enjoyed the stoutly attractive look of branches that extended from the crooked, tilted trunks of smooth sumac. A colony of this shrub formed the foreground of our view of the blue waters of the bay.
A tag on a tree, planted near the Gano Park Boat Launch, read “Souixland poplar.” I looked up the tree to learn that it was known for providing a superb windbreak, rapid-growing shade and tolerance of an inner-city’s worst growing conditions. That’s sounded like quite a survivor.
As for pulling through tough circumstances, this stretch of trail features an interpretive sign that said we stood where Roger Williams paddled to shore back in 1636. Williams was booted out of Massachusetts Bay Colony for advocating religious freedom. He set up Providence Plantations as a sanctuary, offering “liberty of conscience.”
In coming weeks, let’s follow public health guidelines on staying healthy. Make sure your plan for well-being includes getting both exercise and fresh air.
