Stone Hill Church Gets a Nature Trail

'Twas the day before trail day,
And at the edge of the wood,
A pile of mulch
Very patiently stood.

The tools were all placed at the curbside with care,
In hopes that the volunteers soon would be there.

The route had been chosen,
Permissions were gained.
The leaders were ready
Their helpers to train.

When out of the cars
Stepped a parent or three,

With kids who would soon be
Busy as bees.

With shovels and wheelbarrows,
Pickaxe and rake,
The work and the progress
Their spirits did wake.

The woods it did beckon,
The woods it did call.

So off they went searching
For straight limbs to haul

To place near the trail,
Its route to define.
A trail that's bounded
Will hikers incline.

And towering over this hustle and bustle,
Stood givers of leaves that far below rustle:
Maples and oaks, a sweet gum or two,
Proud tulip poplars and hickories, too.
Lifting the spirits of any and all
Who paused to gaze up at their trunks straight and tall.

And so like this tree that turned towards the sky,
So might a trail, invitingly good,
Lead hikers from Stone Hill Church
Into Herrontown Wood.


Note: This was a volunteer project organized by Stone Hill Church on Bunn Drive. I was there in my newly appointed capacity as president of the nonprofit Friends of Herrontown Woods. ("Like" us, if you like.) While others worked on the trail, a volunteer and I rescued ferns, sedges and American holly from the path of the trail. Accounts of previous church-related workdays, back when the church was on Westerly Road, can be found by typing "westerly" in the search box at the top of this blog.