All Saints Cultural Ecology
Inventory
Cultural
environment of All Saints
All
Saints’ property includes several identifiably distinct ecological communities
all of which have considerable potential for nature study and environmental
education as well as providing the aesthetic setting for the center. All merit
protection, some are quite fragile.
Rare
and endangered species
In
planning for future uses, these merit special attention to their fragile nature.
While they are fragile their preservation probably does not preclude any likely
future use of the property though some measures may be appropriate to mitigate
threats to the continued presence of these few rare and endangered species, on
the property.
Limestone
pedestals - The
flat tops of the free-standing limestone pedestals separated from the bluffs in
the reach between Hattie’s House and the south property line have likely never
been cleared, ploughed, grazed or otherwise mechanically degraded from
aboriginal vegetative conditions. They may have been degraded somewhat by summer
sunlight during the two or three generations that their immediate surroundings
were cleared or timbered following European settlement in the area. While the
fauna of these areas likely are completely degraded as their size is not
sufficient to sustain independent communities, exceptions to this may be present
in some rare or endangered insects. However, they may include a few rare and
endangered plant species and probably have rare or endangered botanical
communities worthy of serious study and preservation. While they provide little
or no program potential that would not destroy them they do provide
environmental education opportunities and a background connection to aboriginal
conditions of potential genetic value as well as spiritual or emotional value.
These plant communities are very fragile and can be easily destroyed by rock
climbers and any other source of foot traffic. They are presently stable.
Rare
animals species
- No rare or endangered animal species are known to the writer on the All Saints
property.
However
there may be rare or threatened species of amphibians among the rocky springs in
the beech grove between the road to the A-Frames and the hillside. Future plans
for building on top of the flat "hay field" should avoid creating
runoff changes, hydrological changes or pollution of these rocky springs.
There is
also the possibility of the presence of the endangered Indiana Bat living in the
crevices of the limestone bluffs and pedestals both between Hattie’s House and
the ropes course area and between the A-Frame road and the hillside in the beech
grove area.
Of
geological interest - The
property exhibits alluvial formations, primarily limestone. Some of the local
stones used in landscaping about the campus exhibit "fossil" beach
side ripples of considerable interpretive value.
Forests
The
forests of All Saints are very essential to the aesthetic character of the
property giving a sense of separation from the urban world and providing
opportunities for a sense of "return to nature", for environmental
education, and quality nature experience.
With one
possible exception all of the wooded areas of the property were formerly cleared
land used in agriculture (probably for more than a century).
Maturing
Prairie Edge Forest
- The wooded area across the country road and down to the intermittent creek
used for a canoe-destination camping area includes a mix of grassland and forest
species in an interface which may be what is left of a relic barrens degraded by
having been farmed. It affords considerable opportunity for nature
interpretation, botanical studies and environmental education as well as it
present use for primitive camping. It is threatened a bit by misuse from all
terrain vehicles and by invasive Eurasian grassland species present in the area
(and possibly seeded in the hayfield by the person maintaining the hayfield.)
For wildflower and butterfly enthusiasts these areas include significant variety
of mid-summer to autumn wildflowers both herbaceous perennials and annuals.
"Ground cedars" (Lycopodium flabelliforme) are present with
considerable interpretive value. They are vulnerable to depletion by collectors.
Special Interest Forest Area - Rocky Springs
Beech Grove -The
possible exception of wooded land which may never have been cleared for
agricultural use is in a relatively small remnant along the road to the A-Frames
between the road and the bluff. The springs, rocky conditions and steep slopes
likely precluded its use for pioneer agriculture other than grazing. However, it
has been timbered for lumber and fire-wood production. This area includes some
plant species of particular value in nature interpretation and environmental
education. It also provides habitat for some infrequently encountered amphibians
and small mammals some of which may be rare or endangered.
Degraded Cedar Thicket -
On top of the bluff at the far southern end of the property is a flat area of
some acreage which has been severely degraded by pioneer agriculture and loss of
soil and soil-fertility from over-use without good conservation measures and by
over grazing. It has been permitted to go to juniper thicket ("Red
Cedar") and will likely not recover as climax forest for many centuries. At
present it affords some environmental education value as a prime example of
historic degradation of the ecology of the area under pioneer methods of farming
and exploitative attitudes toward the land. This area has high potential for use
for development with buildings and parking.
Large Cleared Areas
Hayfields- Two flat areas of the property are presently
managed for the production of hay for cattle. Both are artificially managed and
include primarily vegetation introduced from the Eurasian continent. Both afford
some aesthetic value for their pastoral or rural scenic character. Neither is
fragile. They likely have soils too shallow for economically feasible row-crop
agriculture for the most part. If left alone, they would revert to forest or
prairie-edge forest in a matter of a few decades. Both have prime potential for
conversion to managed, high traffic areas with buildings and other structures.
Both are useful in their present character for camping, play fields, etc.
Building in the hayfields will require attention to drainage patterns, shallow
soils for septic finger systems, etc.
Managed, High Traffic Areas -
The core of the property where of the central buildings are presently clustered
is completely artificial in its vegetation and maintenance.
There
are some relic forest trees providing welcome shade. These are dying out
due to their having been isolated from their forest community causing
vulnerability to disease, wind, and soil compaction, etc. typical of
formerly forested areas now subject to considerable human activity.
Future
management of this area might be well advised to replace these shade trees in
anticipation of their inevitable loss with more urban-tolerant species less
vulnerable to damage from high foot traffic, soil compaction, exposure to
sun and wind, soil ph changes due to use of crushed limestone for roads and
paths, etc.
It is
important that ornamental shrubs and herbaceous flowering species as well as
turf grasses and ground-cover plants be chosen which are not invasive and will
not constitute a threat to the forests and other ecological communities of the
property. Some such invasive non-native species are already present and are
moving into the forests. These include Ailanthus ("Tree of Heaven"),
crown-vetch ground cover, and Japanese honey-suckle and the whole range of
Eurasian cool-season grasses and associated "weeds".
Future
expansion of the high-traffic, managed area would be well advised to avoid
incursion into the more mature forest areas or the prairie-edge forest area else
the overall aesthetic and ecological character of the property will be
irretrievably altered. Continued planting of non-native flowering plants along
trail-entrances into the forest is ill-advised as it carries the threat of
introducing invasive plants into the forest at the expense of the health of the
forest.
The
sweeping lawns going down to the river provide considerable aesthetic value and
are apparently stable with little evidence of erosion. The more level areas
provide opportunity for games and picnicking.
Areas of Historic Interest
The
area of historic interest is in the immediate "White House" area ,
around the house and down in front of it toward the river. Some special historic
sites are in the forest behind Marmion Hall and around the chapel path to the
ropes course.
The
White House, itself, is the only truly old building on the property. It has been
refurbished in a way that preserves its physical outward appearance with the
exception of the enclosure of the "crawl space" beneath it. Foundation
plantings, which are historically anachronistic, have
been placed in front of the porch. (At
the time of the White House’s original construction foundation plantings were
not in fashion and, in fact, were carefully avoided for fear of
"varmints" and to maintain air flow beneath the structure to prevent
dry rot). The presence of the White House provides excellent background for
environmental education, history interpretation, etc. dealing with the impact of
settlers of European and African origin in the area. While the existing barn is
historically appropriate to the White House area it is not, itself very old. The
modular tool shed behind the White House is an aesthetic affront and historic
anachronism.
The area
between the White House and the river was cleared for
agricultural use, possibly with the use of slaves. (The writer’s ancestors
lived on the Rough River from 1803 to 1822/3 as settlers and millers and
were active in attempts to amend the Kentucky constitution by referendum to end
slavery in the State as their Wesleyan convictions were offended by the use of
slaves in clearing the forests in the area. The referendum having failed, they
sold their property and moved to the non-slave holding state of
Also
of considerable interpretive value are the piles of stones left
from when the land was prepared for agricultural use. Some of these lie in the
forest behind Marmion Hall and the outdoor chapel area, these being linear and
likely representing former fence lines.
The
most visible are three piles down the slope in front of the White House, between
the pool and the campfire area. These stone piles were thrown up by people
clearing the fields, who may very well have been slave laborers on contract. The
piles themselves provide environmental education opportunity as well as historic
interpretive value. The trees among them are early succession trees. They harbor
small field mammals and reptiles of interest in nature interpretation. Among the
stones there are hammer stones and other tools used by Native Americans dwelling
in the area before European settlement.
Behind
the White House is the stone remains of a former "cooling house" used
by early settlers for food preservation - possibly a smoke house, possibly a
kind of root-cellar, and possibly as a spring house. It provides considerable
history and nature interpretive potential. Unfortunately some of its stones have
been removed for use elsewhere on the property in recent years - particularly at
the outdoor chapel and in the flower and herb beds at Marmion Hall.
The
redevelopment of a vegetable garden area using "pioneer" era plants
and vegetables may be an appropriate addition to the White House area for future
environmental education and historic interpretation.
Cultural Ecology Summary and
Recommendations
The
ecological setting at All Saints Episcopal Center is rich in variety. It
provides a core part of the character of the center and as such warrants care
and attention.
The
sites which may include rare and endangered species and special plant
communities merit preservation for their own value as well as for interpretive
potential and scientific interest.
The
sites of historic interest provide considerable opportunity for social, natural
and historic interpretation and education.
Large,
representative, local stones include geological and paleolithic interpretive
opportunity. Attention should be given to placing these representative stones
where they are accessible for educational use and for visitors to experience
them. They are not particularly fragile but should not be removed from the
property. Uses may include seating and even incorporation into buildings (with
seams or fossil forms visible) as well as landscape features.
Future development should:
a.
preserve the natural aesthetic character of the property
b. avoid
degradation of the rare and endangered sites, the springs and the historic sites
c.
enhance the natural character of the ecology rather than continuing the
introduction of alien plant species and remove the already present invasive
plant species, Japanese honeysuckle and Ailanthus in particular, already before
they spread further or continue to degrade the forest
d. avoid
management of the property in ways which would deprive users of the experience
of walking on the earth without pavement, hearing the trees sigh, and generally
touching nature for to do such would result in the loss of some of the
basic attraction of the property for its visitors.
e. pay
attention to stones of particular geological interest and possibly place them in
landscape schemes, buildings and other accessible areas to make them accessible
for All Saints’ visitors to be able to experience them and preserve the rock
piles of historic, social interpretive value
f.
provide interpretive signage along trails and near historically and
ecologically significant points to enhance user appreciation (and
subsequent preservation) of the property’s natural and historic features.
-
submitted by Gordon L. Morrison, October, 2000
for the
Master Plan of All Saints Episcopal Center,
(Episcopal
Diocese of