Thomas Peters of Athens wants to raise some cane — by bringing back canebrakes in Georgia and elsewhere in the South.
As almost any rural Southerner knows, canebrakes are dense stands of river cane, North America’s only native bamboo species.
“I want to do everything I can to restore canebrakes in Georgia,” said Peters, who has a masters degree in landscape architecture from the University of Georgia.
He told several of us Georgia Botanical Society members last weekend about the ecological value of canebrakes and his efforts to develop new cane propagation techniques to provide thousands of plants for restoration.
In one project, the South River Watershed Alliance in metro Atlanta is working to establish canebrakes at several locations along the river.
River cane has played a storied role in Southern culture. Many a Southerner, while growing up, made whistles, knives, corncob pipes and, of course, fishing poles from the hollow stems of cane. Sidney Lanier, Georgia’s most famous poet and a renowned flutist, made his first flute from river cane along the Ocmulgee River.
Cherokee Indians and other tribes used river cane extensively — for making baskets, arrows, knives, mats, fish traps, flutes, pipes, furniture and walls for houses.
Enormous canebrakes once covered 12 million acres of the South, usually along rivers and streams. Today, those magnificent stands are all but gone, wiped out by development, agriculture, timber plantations and other factors. River cane exists now mostly in small patches.
Peters said that restoring canebrakes also will help restore the cleanliness of our rivers. Studies show, for instance, that a canebrake is three times more effective at reducing pollution from agricultural runoff than a forested buffer along waterways. With their matted root structures, canebrakes also are highly effective at reducing erosion.
In addition, canebrakes are vital for wildlife. Swainson’s warblers nest almost exclusively in river cane and several butterfly larvae feed only on cane foliage.
In the sky: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The moon is first-quarter Saturday. Mercury is low in the west at dusk and sets about an hour later. Venus also is in the west just at dusk and sets about three hours later. Jupiter is high in the west at dusk and sets just before midnight; it will appear near the moon Saturday night. Saturn rises out of the east just after dark.
About the Author
