By Kevin Fitch
Motlow Buzz Contributing Writer
On the surface, this painted rock (see below) I ran across during the holiday season on Ganier Ridge RLSNA represents a fine sentiment. The instructions on the back encourage a hiker/finder to re-hide the rock after posting a picture on a particular social media page. The artist used bright colors and used socially inclusive language. These types of activities have the potential to encourage folks to get out-and-about. However, this rock represents a number of problems with the way we interact with our natural areas and the world around us.
In other words, the little things we do can have much larger implications to the natural world. I list some of these below:
1. This painted rock represents vandalism of protected natural area features. I removed this rock to prevent encouraging anyone else into painting rocks along our trails. With permission, I will use it as an educational device in my classroom.
2. This painted rock violates the tenants of the Leave No Trace ethic (see below). I for one, go into these areas to see the natural world without our influences.
3. The paint on the rock is a toxic chemical and would require more chemicals to remove it. As well, the blue paint has glitter in it which is a micro-plastic. Micro-plastics are polluting our waterways and oceans. They are being eaten by microorganisms and therefore incorporated into the food chain, our food chain. They even attract other toxic chemicals and as these plastics are incorporated into the tissues of animals, they are exposed to the toxicity of the plastics and the chemical they attract.
4. This rock is a piece of flat sandstone and is not likely from this natural area. However, it might be from another one. This type of sandstone is a highly desirable masonry and landscaping building material. Mining of this stone is notorious for not being sustainable. I have personally witnessed a mining crew knock over mature hemlock trees as they drove bulldozers, excavators, and dump trucks onto Cumberland Trail State Park property. After loading the “harvested” stone from the surface mine, the miners left the site without conducting any mitigation (i.e., environmental repair) of any type. The stone is then likely sold to a stone yard at a potentially high profit margin.
So what can we do?
1. Don’t paint our natural features.
2. Avoid using this type of sandstone. If you need some stone, ask the vendor where the stone was mined and if they know if it was sustainably collected. If they don’t, consider a sustainable alternative.
3. Follow the tenants of Leave No Trace. “Take nothing but pictures, Leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time.” Learn more here: http://www.LNT.org
4. Learn more about our natural areas and the rules they follow here: https://www.tn.gov/environment/program-areas/na-natural-areas.html
5. Learn more about Radnor Lake State Natural Area here: http://radnorlake.org/
6. Learn more about the environment by taking Environmental Science at Motlow College: http://catalog.mscc.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=1&poid=18&returnto=25
1. This painted rock represents vandalism of protected natural area features. I removed this rock to prevent encouraging anyone else into painting rocks along our trails. With permission, I will use it as an educational device in my classroom.
2. This painted rock violates the tenants of the Leave No Trace ethic (see below). I for one, go into these areas to see the natural world without our influences.
3. The paint on the rock is a toxic chemical and would require more chemicals to remove it. As well, the blue paint has glitter in it which is a micro-plastic. Micro-plastics are polluting our waterways and oceans. They are being eaten by microorganisms and therefore incorporated into the food chain, our food chain. They even attract other toxic chemicals and as these plastics are incorporated into the tissues of animals, they are exposed to the toxicity of the plastics and the chemical they attract.
4. This rock is a piece of flat sandstone and is not likely from this natural area. However, it might be from another one. This type of sandstone is a highly desirable masonry and landscaping building material. Mining of this stone is notorious for not being sustainable. I have personally witnessed a mining crew knock over mature hemlock trees as they drove bulldozers, excavators, and dump trucks onto Cumberland Trail State Park property. After loading the “harvested” stone from the surface mine, the miners left the site without conducting any mitigation (i.e., environmental repair) of any type. The stone is then likely sold to a stone yard at a potentially high profit margin.
So what can we do?
1. Don’t paint our natural features.
2. Avoid using this type of sandstone. If you need some stone, ask the vendor where the stone was mined and if they know if it was sustainably collected. If they don’t, consider a sustainable alternative.
3. Follow the tenants of Leave No Trace. “Take nothing but pictures, Leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time.” Learn more here: http://www.LNT.org
4. Learn more about our natural areas and the rules they follow here: https://www.tn.gov/environment/program-areas/na-natural-areas.html
5. Learn more about Radnor Lake State Natural Area here: http://radnorlake.org/
6. Learn more about the environment by taking Environmental Science at Motlow College: http://catalog.mscc.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=1&poid=18&returnto=25
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