Nature Pt.2 (this time @ the Baytown Nature Center)

If you recall from my previous blog entry, you remember my excessive complaints for ...the outside world. Due to this assignment I was coerced to once again step out of my comfort zone and seek a special place in nature. I decided on going to the Baytown Nature Center with one of my best friends Cardi,or as you might know Samantha. When we first arrived we were unaware of what direction to head towards, since there were many options. In the end, we decided to go to on the Golden Bloom Park Trail since the idea of going on a nice walk appealed to the both of us as it would be a good way to disconnect from the outside world.

Photo Creds: Cardi the Photographer

Marshy Land

Up until recently I found out that the Baytown Nature center used to be a home for many. In the late 1960's people began noticing that there was constant flooding in this area which used to be called Brownwood. The reason for flooding occurring frequently was because people would come in and pump out all the water from the land. This caused the land to start sinking, I know it's shocking right!? I've lived in Baytown since like forever and was never aware of this until I read an article published by the Houston Chronicle. Anyways, after a hurricane hit, the city of Baytown decided that enough was enough and bought most of the lands to restore it to it's once natural state as a thriving ecosystem.

However, it wasn't until we took a bit of a detour that I began to see some of the inhabitants of this ecosystem. Thanks to trail makers situated around the area I was able to conclude that what I had witnessed had been an Eastern-Cotton-Tailed Rabbit as well as some type of Egret judging by the color of the bird and the way it was built. I also happened to step on some feces which I assume belonged to the rabbit due to the seeds which could be seen in it. At first I was kind of mad especially since I was wearing white shoes, however I got over it as I realized that it was my fault since I was intruding in its space. So here it goes rabbit, if you're out there I forgive you.

Rabbit's poop maybe??

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The Culprit

Personally, I feel that visitors of this place are an endangerment to the place itself while there, I was able to spot many places littered with mostly beer cans. The Baytown Nature Center also has many invasive plant species which harm the ecosystem as they have no purpose or predators. The location of the Center is also not the best as it is less than a mile a way from Exxon  which produces tons of pollution daily. There really is no way to stop Exxon from polluting I mean they get fines,but they have enough money to pay them, and there is no way Exxon would shut down just to let the Center persevere ,but there are other ways to counteract these problem. First off, there should be someone who patrols the place to make sure there isn't liter anywhere and a group of people could come in and volunteer to get rid of these pesky plants. Now for the Exxon problem, in my opinion the best thing to do would be increase the fines since that would hurt them the most. 

Trail Maker which describes Invasive Plants

At the end of the day, the Baytown Nature Center is a place we must conserve as it inhabits many creatures and gives some sense of nature in a world where it feels almost non-existent.