Newspapers / Green Line (Asheville, N.C.) / June 1, 1992, edition 1 / Page 5
Part of Green Line (Asheville, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Vincent Wroblewski checks his dams, built to slow erosion in Remnant Cove. Photo by Marty Thies. Managing old-growth forest In West Asheville REMNANT COVE by Calvin H. Allen There’s a story in Vincent Wroblewski’s mailbox. The mailbox stands beside aneighborhood street in West Asheville, overlooking the cove and waiting for Wroblewski. Wroblewski comes every day to pick uphis mail and to check on his two acres and a creek, which he calls Remnant Cove. "This is my home, even though I don’t have a house here yet,” said Wroblewski, who owns Vince’s Lawn Care. “The mailbox is a psychological first step.” For six years, Wroblewski has been re creating the wilderness that existed before West Asheville was settled. “I call it Remnant Cove, because it’s going to be a remnant of the forest that was here before the city,” he said. “I’m managing these acres as old growth.” In addition to caring for his trees, Wroblewski has carpeted the forest floor with dozens of species of native plants and built footpaths along the creek, whose banks he reclaimed from erosion through a careful system of pools and check-dams. When Wroblewski visits his cove, he moves slowly, stopping every few feet to check the growth of his half-dozen types of ferns, or to see how the mass plantings of snow trilliums, giant Solomon’s seals and foam flowers are coming along. “If the forest is undisturbed, you will see huge colonies of the same species,” he said. “See how the May apples have taken over the creek banks afterI controlled the erosion?Idon’t want Remnant Cove to have just one or two of each plant, like a botanical garden. That’s like a zoo for plants.” He has equally strong feelings about his creek, which he has not yet named. “When I bought the cove in’87, the creek was full of trash, including an old refrigerator and sink,” Wroblewski said. "The banks were steep and undercut, with hardly any vegeta tion.” And so began the education of Vincent Wroblewski. “I’d come down here when it rained and just watch,” he said. “It was crazy, like a whitewater river. But if you watch the creek, it’ll tell you what to do.” The creek told Wroblewski to dig its banks in a gentler slope, to install seven stone check dams to slow the water’s flow, and to place stonework in the bends to prevent erosion. He has plans for another large pool and a small bridge. “There’s four kinds of salamanders in here, and a couple ofkinds of crawfish,” he said. “Now that the city’s fixed the sewer leaks, the water runs nice and clear.” He has seen wood ducks, owls, chipmunks, box turtles, rabbits and pos sum in the cove. Wroblewski is also battling erosion along a stormwater culvert at the south end of the cove, which he calls the Gully. "The city said they had caused the Gully, but they weren’t responsible for it,” he said, shaking his head. Wroblewski has also dug and sifted sand from the creek to make a soft camping area underahuge American beech, the grandmother tree of his cove. He sees the future when he looks at the giant beech. “That tree is 11-and-a-half feet around, and all of the beech in this cove came from it,” he said. “It’s probably between 250 and 400 years old.” He sweeps his hand up and down the creek. “One day, there might only be five giant trees on this whole side of the creek, and four over there.” But that is hundreds of years into the future, and Wroblewski is not just waiting around for the trees to grow. He’s planning to build a small house to go with the sentinel mailbox, out of “rough-sawn pine, to blend in with the trees.” He also plans to invite his neighbors into the cove for an annual wildflower walk, to show off his pink and yellow moccasin flowers, he patica, wind flowers, orchids and myriad other species. Once the Gully is stabilized, Wroblewski plans a dwarf fruit orchard and vegetable garden on the south end. He has taught himself about plants, trees, creeks and erosion, learning from bodes, bo tanical gardens and friends. “It’s funny, but I’ve learned more about myself than anything else working in the cove,” he said. “Lessons about commitment, sticking to things, and doing things the way nature wants them done. Everything has to be in harmony with nature, or it doesn’l work.” + Imagine giving your child 14 days in the Rainforests of Costa Rica. The United Nations University for Peace. Costa Rican Political Leaders. The Monte Verde Cloud Forest Reserve. Whitewater Rafting. The LaSelva Biological Reserve. The International Childrens' Rainforest. Environment. Politics. Adventure. lust Imagine. Trip is sponsored by the EarthDance Institute, July 30 - August 15. Call 252-8188 for more information. Established In 1975 10% Discount Offered To Seniors OPEN M thru F 9 am - 8 pm Saturday 9 am - 6:30 pm Sunday Noon - 5 pm OVER 150 POPULAR SALE ITEMS EVERY MONTH •After The Fall Lemonade Quarts - Buy One Get One Free (Available now while supplies last) • New Everyday Low Price on All Other After The Fall Juice Quarts (20% off) • New Everyday Low Price on All Lakewood Juice Quarts (20% off) •Four Different Knudsen Spritzer Sodas 12oz. - $3® per six-pack (Starting June 5th, through the month.) Soup, Salads, and Sandwiches Made Fresh Daily By Our Deli Q—.----- .-. =Q The Grocery That Has Had You and Mother Earth In Mind Since 1975! 160 Broadway, Asheville, North Carolina 28801 (704) 253-7656 HKIKBACH -custom CARPENTRY 1 f • home repair remodeling & renovation - 251-1779 Highland Data Systems Computer Systems, Networks, & Support To Make Them Work! Expert Computer Services Since 1985 . Authorized Lantastic Reseller
Green Line (Asheville, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 1, 1992, edition 1
5
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75