It Takes a Village… ⋆ Hot Springs Village Gazette

One of the pleasures I have as a Hot Springs Village resident is taking walks and hikes amidst the natural beauty of what some have called our “piece of heaven.” Having spent many years working in the great outdoors, I have not only enjoyed the aesthetics of God’s creation but also much of the diversity and identity of its natural population. I have also dealt with the human footprint and its effects on that creation and contributed to restoration measures to mitigate its impact. This has included areas used for recreation, preservation, production, and human community. This special place in the Ouachitas that thousands of us are proud to call home, of course, falls into all of these categories – some more extensive than others.

A part of that footprint in our Village, while quite extensive, is not extensively used. Such is the case with some of our roads, especially those on which there is limited or no build-up. Even so, these roads still require some maintenance. Several of these roads are near my house, and during my walks I’ve noticed several of the culverts were blocked by brush and debris on the uphill side. One in particular caught my attention due to the steep hillslope above the culvert. It didn’t appear that the blockage was severe enough to the point of causing water runoff from above to breech the road, but left alone, this could occur over time. As it was, I think at least some water was still making it into and through the culvert.

The more I thought about this, the more it made sense to me to just go get my tools and remove the debris. How much time and effort would that really take, especially in light of the fact that there is no way with available resources that this culvert and the multitude of other culverts on this type of road in the Village could be checked on and maintained on a regular basis.

Then, it occurred to me that our grandchildren are coming to visit us the week of Thanksgiving, and perhaps this could serve as a lesson for them – a teachable moment on roads, drainage, and perhaps even erosion. So, I presented the idea to my son, and he agreed that it would be something good for the kids to learn and also something beneficial for our forest and the Village community.

Once we explained what the purpose of culverts are and how they help to keep roads from washing out, and looked closer at the culvert from both ends, the grandkids were ready to get to work. Of course, it was obvious that Aspen – age eight, and Drake – age six, could not do the work without help from Dad and Grandpa, but they pitched in and did their best not to hurt one another with the tools (the biggest challenge and an accomplishment in itself!). Drake was the first to unearth the end of the culvert, and from there, they dug in and did all they could.

Following that, we walked back toward our house and stopped for another teachable moment. Here, the road had a shallow gully running down the middle of it so I asked the kids where that water should be going. They correctly pointed out that it should be running beside the road…not in it (well…maybe after a little more explanation). So, we took a pic and spade and did some drainage diversion work to channel the uphill water into the ditch beside the road. By this time, the kiddos had about all the public service they could muster, so we took some pictures and headed home for lunch. However, I must mention that Drake was on the lookout for more culverts on the way and one in particular close to our home. Yes, you guessed it. He told me that we needed to work on it, and so we did. A few days later, while walking the Cedar Creek Trail, he again was on the lookout for more culverts, but this time we had to pass them by. We had no tools with us and there was really nothing urgent to worry about there.

Our little adventure panned out pretty well. The kids learned something, and I think a little more than just about culverts, water, and erosion. And, I think to the extent possible for their age, they were reminded of the value of giving time and effort beyond only what was important to them. This we talked about a little more at length. However, they also see this lived out in their home regularly through their mother, Sarah, and through their father, Erik, as a pastor in the inner-city neighborhoods of Fort Worth.

What little work we did on our day in the woods didn’t amount to much in the grand scheme of things, but we did our small part to help make our Village – their Village – a healthier forest, a better place to live, and a better place for families to visit and enjoy. To express it in a well-known phrase, “it takes a village.”

And you know…I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if, during their next visit, our little conservationists ask to take another look at those culverts and roads to see how their work is holding up. Just maybe we’ll consider adopting this area of roads to sort of look after and care for to the extent we can.

For now, it’s enough that we had fun, learned a few things, and made some good memories. For that, we are very happy and thankful!