It All Started With Maw Maw, a Woodpecker, and a Pecan Tree

Have you ever heard the saying “Think about what you were most passionate about as a child if you want to know what career path you should take in adulthood”?

 I don't remember where it was that I first heard this advice, but it certainly stuck with me.

I remember sitting on my grandmother’s front porch with her. We spent a lot of time out there. In those days everyone did. She had a huge, old pecan tree right in the front yard that was frequently visited by a woodpecker. The faint knock, knock, knock sound was a common one in that yard, and the tree was lined with holes as far as my little eyes could see.

“Don’t you worry that the woodpecker will kill the tree Maw Maw?” She answered, “No, he’s helping the tree by eating the bugs.” This was my first introduction into understanding how elements of nature work together. 

The Pecan Tree That Started it All

As I grew, I became increasingly interested in environmental conservation. Learning about endangered species was heartbreaking for me. My 3rd grade friends and I started a “Save the Endangered Species Club”. We had meetings on the playground and we met after school in my parent's saddle shop office. We obtained permission from the principal to hang posters in the hall and take up donations. We had dreams of changing the world, or at least changing the trajectory of at least one species. 

I even wrote my 8th grade term paper about “Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect” …….

Unfortunately, that child-like hope and wonder didn’t continue through my teen years. I became interested in typical teen things, married young, and I had children young. For years I wondered what I was supposed to be doing with my life. It seemed like there had to be more. Fulfillment and purpose had not found me for quite some time. 

After losing my sister in 2017 I did some major soul searching. I made a bucket-list of 40 things that I wanted to do before I turned 40. I wanted to start living with more purpose and drive. I refused to waste life when my sister would never have the chance to live hers. I still haven’t completed that list (I am not 40 yet either), and perhaps as I have gotten to know myself better in the process those desires have shifted a bit. However, I have certainly come to find the direction and purpose that I had longed for so long. 

Buying our small farm has reminded me about that natural circle of life that I had so much care for as a child. However, it has also opened my eyes to how much our natural world has been devastated by commercial agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization over the last years.

I started studying permaculture and regenerative farming. I learned about soil health, climate change, water conservation, the disappearance of species in my own back yard, and yes ….. How all of those things are tied together in an integral chain that needs to be healed. 

This all led me to find a book called “Bringing Nature Home” by Dr. Doug Tallamy. Dr. Tallamy is an American entomologist, ecologist, and conservationist. From him I have learned more about the importance of biodiversity and how we can reverse habitat fragmentation right in our backyards. As a matter of fact, suburban yards are a vast majority of the available land within the US that can help heal this problem. 

Find more info at Tallamy's site:
www.homegrownnationalpark.org

or

Check out this short video about reducing lawn!

That is how "Rewild Alabama" was born! I have a newfound passion for educating Alabama's citizens on the importance of maintaining and restoring our beautiful state's unique and broad biodiversity.

I invite you to follow along with me as we learn more about our state, how to appreciate and maintain the beauty that it boasts, and even more …. How to help restore some of what is on the verge of loss.

You can also find us on Facebook at:

Rewild Alabama

See y'all soon,

Jackie