Samford team turns over a new leaf – or two—at Paint Rock

Samford student Madelyn Thompson has for the past few months been working with Chicago’s Morton Arboretum to try to unscramble the hard maples at the Sharp-Bingham Paint Rock Preserve. 

And that, we’re happy to say, finally tweaked the curiosity of her professor, Samford University’s Larry Davenport – a botanist who is also an expert on the history of botanical exploration in Alabama. Larry brought along David Frings, the associate director of the environmental management masters program at Samford, and a dedicated photographer, geologist and naturalist. 

Madelyn and the forest gave them plenty to ponder, and David’s camera skills brought some 100-foot-high leaves into viewing range, convincing Larry that –yeah – we still don’t know what we’re looking at! Not knowing is the best invitation botanists and naturalists could have, and both promised to be back to participate in our research and education program.

Joe Paull returns with his wife Kori to look at organizing a library with the field guides and other books donated by E.O. Wilson and Kathleen Horton. Once Kori began to ask questions and discuss the options suddenly we could see all the possibilities and how important it could be to the Paint Rock Forest Research Center as well as the researchers that work here. So the library will begin to emerge this winter.

You can always spot a great teacher – they ask good questions. We ran into the field crew while showing the Paulls the census plot. Kori asked those good questions of crew who enthusiastically explained how the forest census work was being measured.

Joe Paull joined us with an invite from Mike Dalen on a beautiful rainy day to see what the Paint Rock Forest Research Center is about and the work of the forest dynamics census. Experienced in the woods and knowing his plants and ecology – a rainy day was nothing. We look forward to working with Joe and his wife Kori. 

The restoration of Flagg Mountain Fire Tower, dedicated June 15th was celebrated by many, including the governor. It was a job considered impossible until the right people and teams were pulled together – and it happened. Cindy Ragland the Executive Director of the Alabama Trails Foundation and Will McGarity with Stick Architecture were two of the key players in making the impossible happen – they are also on the board of the Paint Rock Forest Research Center. Cindy and Cliff Martin are two of our main supporters along with Becky and Bill Smith. Cliff, who is also the president of the board, was out taking photographs of the event so he is not pictured here. Cheryl Morgan and her husband George Jewsbury have been to to the research center and toured the Paint Rock Valley with us. Cheryl’s hand influences many parts of Alabama in beautiful ways. Tom Carruthers and his wife Brooke recently toured Paint Rock with the Martins on their way to Tennessee. We are lucky to have these people and many more associated with the Paint Rock Forest Research Center.

Photographs and text by Ryan Long

Stepping into Paint Rock’s forests lets me see something photo-worthy every day. Everything looks so calm and photogenic; meanwhile there’s a war of aggression being waged at every level in the forest. Life or death struggles among innumerable insects at any given moment with vines strangling the life out of trees overhead. The slow, timelapse warfare of plants with their armor of bark, allelochemicals like gas in the trenches, secondary metabolites as shields and weapons, dealing out death by shading out competition. It’s all very metal. And then I see a fat bumblebee or a little salamander waddle on by and I forget all that completely. The forest is an unseen world of opposing forces, and it’s hard not to be fascinated by the intricate web of interactions amongst its denizens. But the amazing people I get to work at in Paint Rock surpass it all. I’m lucky to work here.