The Net Retrieval
Yesterday morning, 11 of us met at a plantation located on the Coastal Dunes & Wetlands Refuge. We were greeted by a flock of peacocks. They're called a flock, right? Okay, I just looked it up and apparently a group of peacocks is known as a muster. Well, now I've learned only males are peacocks and females are called peafowls. Okay, I'm getting sidetracked and could go down a whole different rabbit hole. Anyway, there are 4 male peacocks and like 15 females. I only learned the names of the 4. There's Kane, which is shown above) for his one foot is crippled and walks like he has a cane; then there's drumstick, pretty boy and baby face.They're super friendly and actually like just hanging around.
So back to we met up at the plantation. We looked at a map of all the land trust takes care of and talked only a little of the historic dairy and dilapidated doctor’s house at the east end of the property to the ancient village and fishpond site toward the west end along the coast, and then back along the base of the large sand dunes that enclose the refuge.
From there, we looked at where we'd be headed. We were to remove a 75 foot net that had been caught in a tree by the water. From discussion, we knew the tree had fallen down, the net wrapped itself around it and it was at the beach. So, we took off in 3 trucks to the beach. We hiked down a path to the beach and hike maybe a quarter of a mile, if that, to the tree.
When we got there it was probably about 8:30/ 8:45. High tide was around 5:45am or so, and so now the water had pushed back enough that we could see and get to the net, but we definitely weren't out of the woods from getting soaked. For my desert peep, the temp was a whomping 90°, but the sun is extreme here and it was hot. The water definitely felt good during this project.
Everyone jumped in. We had shovels, o'o bars (which is what they called the metal digging bars or hop/crow bars basically), sarated knives, Sickles, cable cutters, etc. You can't use heavy machinery in the reserve, and most if not all land of the Island, due to the history and preservation of archeological sites. There are many burial grounds and an archeologist needs to excavate, date and interpret before any permit is given to move dirt. We would dig, the water would come in, the sand would move back into place, and repeat. Once a set was over, we'd get the cable cutters and begin cutting the knots of the net and releasing a little at a time. If we released some of the excess netting, we were able to grab tension and cut through more. You could dig further, grab the netting before the tide came in and be prepared to cut or saw the pieces that were once under sand or water a few seconds prior. Once we released net we'd throw it into a pile that then was carried over to another person Wading in the water with a paddleboard, load up the board, they would paddle a quarter of a mile to where the trucks were parked and the people who loaded the pile on the paddleboard would walk the beach to meet up with the paddler. Once the paddler arrived, those people would walk into the shorebreak to meet the paddler, they would all lift the board like a gurney or casket and walk the board and net up the hill to the trucks. This project lasted about 3/3.5 hours.
By 12:30, we had done all we could for the day. We had removed probably between 700-800lbs of wet net and the remaining net we were hoping the ocean would help loosen up so we could later retrieve it. The team that came together was amazing. Everyone jumped in and did every job. There were tugawars with the tree and ocean, sand was basically everywhere, and laughter and compassion filled the air.
I'm really looking forward to volunteering more. I have an urgency and a need to volunteer here. I feel like I need to contribute to a place that has welcomed me in. This isn't my land and I want to earn my place. The very least I can do is give back and that is what I plan to do
Beautifully stated. You DO have a purpose! ❤
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