Barren Pond

This pond with surrounding park is located in Battle Creek-Ramsey County. The park is framed by Suburban Avenue-north, White Bear Avenue-west, Upper Afton Road-south, and Ruth Street-east. The pond once provided habitat for egrets, herons, loons, Canada geese, and mallards.
The water was once teeming with fish, turtles, and frogs. Deer and fox inhabited the wooded area of the park. Today there isn't much life there. Bullheads are the only fish able to live in the brackish water. The native birds have disappeared. The Canada geese have been removed. The mallards were wiped out by the traffic on Suburban Avenue. The commercial zone to the north of the park has also deteriorated. The businesses that created this high traffic area, which ultimately made it impossible for the park to survive, are gone as well.

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It's spring. Suburban Avenue Pond is showing signs of life. I've seen several Canada geese grazing in the field next to the pond. As soon as they get the lay of the land, I expect to see them in my backyard. There are a few mallards as well, though no other waterfowl as far as I can tell. I wish them all good luck in their search for fish and plants in the brackish water of the pond. Suburban Avenue Pond serves as a watershed for storm water; and there is an "interrelationship between what happens on land and what happens in the water."

I have a sentimental connection to this place. When my children were small, we made regular visits to the pond to feed the ducks and geese. These days, I take my grandchildren there, or the geese come to me. Before there was a Battle Creek Recreation Center, the neighborhood hockey players scrimmaged on the ice.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, "Nature loves to hide." Much is hidden from our unschooled way of looking. Nature is not a destination; it's not a road trip to wilderness. Nature is in my backyard and in yours. Our urban environment is not a sacrificial zone subject to the total domination of city dwellers. Rather than rely on government agencies as caretakers of our urban environment, it is imperative that we create wildlife habitats in our own yards with gardens and native plants. This will reduce storm water run off and soil erosion.

By the way, while Canada geese have become a nuisance to urban residents and farmers, the DNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Canadian Wildlife Service entered into an agreement that affords the birds extra protection on their nesting grounds in the Interlake region north of Winnipeg, Manitoba. To learn more about programs that offer incentives for homeowners in counties and municipalities to establish wildlife habitats, contact the Minnesota Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts at www.maswcd.org.

Mary Caruso