Our View: Season Of Renewal

Everywhere we look, the signs of spring are unmistakable. But when it happens on a small stretch of Route 28 by Pleasant Bay, a stretch that passes through Chatham, Harwich, Brewster (albeit momentarily) and Orleans, evidence of springtime is particularly easy to notice.

 There are the herring in Ryder’s Cove that are now running a gauntlet of gulls, herons and cormorants, making the final leg of their passage to spawn in Stillwater Pond and Lovers Lake. And in several locales along the bay shore, ospreys are building nests. Pleasant Bay Community Boating has its tender in the water, the first of its seasonal flotilla that will soon be moored just offshore. And up and down Route 28, there are daffodils and other early flowers in bloom. Even the itch of pollen in our nose is somehow a little welcome.

 In times of war, geopolitical turmoil and an unsettled economy, we find something supremely reassuring about the return of spring. When each morning seems to bring new, somber headlines, chattering chickadees provide some solace.

 We saw something else on that familiar stretch of road this week. At Head of the Bay beach at Jackknife Harbor, a solitary woman combed the beach first thing in the morning, collecting trash. It was clear that she wasn’t part of any organized cleanup effort. Methodically pulling paper coffee cups and cigarette butts from the beach grass, she was taking action to care for her small part of the world.

 There could be no better reminder that next week is Earth Week, our annual prompt to appreciate nature and to take action to protect the environment.

 On a large scale, it’s an opportunity to redouble our support for renewable energy development, and to consider the carbon impacts of our daily choices, from the things we eat and buy to the ways we invest our money. 

 On a neighborhood level, Earth Week offers chances to take part in organized litter pick-ups on Saturday, April 25 in each of the Lower Cape towns, and to learn more about the environment through workshops, film screenings and panel discussions. 

And whether you’re in need of a respite from a barrage of bad news, or just looking to commune with the spring peepers, it’s also an amazing time to head to the woods, the marsh or the beaches to enjoy our wealth of conservation lands.

However you do it, take time to notice and appreciate the earth next week.