Brush Pile: Making beautiful from broken 💚

Our woods didn’t take much damage in the recent ice storms. About the same as any big wind storm, some cracked limbs, big branches down. But the forest is not a monoculture, so it is diverse, so it is resilient, so it will go on.

We did have one large cedar come down near the house, and the top of another. I’ll save the trunk and build with it, but what to do with all the evergreen branches?

Make a brush pile! A brush pile is one of the easiest ways to create habitat. A planted tree needs time to grow, but a thoughtful pile of branches is move-in-ready! This one’s main base is logs in spaced rows, making lots of little entrances and exits. Then layers of evergreens placed in alternating directions. It’s a habitat lasagna.

There are great articles online for how to assemble a pile for maximum critter-friendliness. My favourite article so far – “The Brush Pile: Build It For Our Wild Friends” – points to the three Ss provided by a brush pile: Sanctuary, Shelter, and Snacks.

✨Sanctuary✨ - a place for small creatures to hide from predators, especially vital in “our stripped-down suburban areas”.

✨Shelter✨ - protection from extreme weather. A dry and safe interior space for birds to roost.

✨Snacks✨ - some of the insects who move in will become good food for our many (many) bug-eating friends. Others will go on to become vital parts of our ecosystem.

Though I often do leave piles of brush for critters, this is my first time trying to be a brush pile architect. You can make them much fancier and prettier than I have here. For me, this one is an exercise in finding things beautiful because they are beautiful to other things.

I went to check on it this morning and a couple of rainbows had already moved in. Seems like a promising sign. 🌈