You might not believe this photo was taken at the preserve (it was). You might also not believe that the surface of this old bottle dump was entirely cleaned up a few years ago, but the volunteers who helped with project would again back me up. We pulled a whole truckload out of here, well, it's been about five years.
It was once a common practice on old farms to throw trash away in a pit or over a bank behind the house, a practice that today is unacceptable.
By the same physical process that causes our farm fields to "grow" rocks—larger "particles" rise to the top with the freezing and thawing action of the soil and are exposed by erosion from rain—the dumps continually disgorge their contents. (Modern landfills are lined and capped to prevent this from happening.)
This dump, one of at least three at the preserve today, is currently yielding items from perhaps the 1960's and '70's, sort of the end of the era when most household items were packaged in glass. (It is interesting to see familiar brands packaged in thick blue or brown glass instead of the plastic we've grown used to.) There are also children's toys, leather shoe soles, and ceramic insulators for electric fencing.
The more interesting stuff we find ends up on a shelf in the library at the visitors' center. The rest ends up bagged and sent to another landfill. (I am aware of some irony in this, but figure it is better not to have the trash on the surface of the ground at a nature preserve.)
We don't plan to excavate this dump, located along a spring that feeds a high-quality wetland. Digging causes too much erosion and creates the ideal condition for weeds. But we'll continue to pick up what surfaces; I picked up the visible trash today and will be back with volunteers again in April.
It's too bad we'll never be able to bring the kids to this part of the preserve for nature programs. But I am interested in the history of what we find here.
