A Lady of Nature & A Natural Teacher

Tribute to a True Lady of Nature and a Natural Teacher

Everyone knows someone in their lives who is so important, or who has had such a major influence on their life’s direction, that they could be called pivotal or Life-Changing. For me, that person was Polly Ivenz. I met Polly some 15 years ago in Pennsylvania, when I lived on a large, wooded property straddling Bucks and Northampton counties, and located just down the road from a delightful forest reserve called, Mariton Wildlife and Nature Reserve. Mariton was guided by a board of directors, managed by a forestry engineer, and instilled with light and life by its Program Director, Polly Ivenz. She was in her 70's when I first came to visit Mariton Reserve in 1992 but was quickly captivated by her quick wit and vast knowledge of botany and biology. I came to regard her as my mentor and role model in the natural world.

I was in my mid-thirties at the time and in excellent physical condition, but nothing prepared me for hiking with Polly. There we would go, climbing up a steep mountain trail at a decidedly fast pace, clambering over boulders and through patches of woodland wildflowers on a quest for some elusive orchid or fungi or butterfly. I would follow behind, huffing and puffing, trying to keep up with the slight, sprightly figure, with the puff of white hair, bounding around in front of me. That is how we would hike. Polly striding ahead with her quick, graceful, cat-like movements, always looking, observing, and then suddenly stopping to investigate something. Here a new growth of Sarsaparilla, over there some fresh White Oak acorns, up there a Scarlet Tanager, and over there – “Oh my goodness…is it? Yes it is – it’s an American Ginseng plant!”

Every time we came across something new or unexpected, she would infuse me with her excitement over this wonderful new find, and then tell me all about its properties and, sometimes, if I was really lucky, its legends. She was a walking encyclopedia of the natural world – a generalist who was curious about virtually all the flora and fauna existing in the forest. If she came across something she didn’t know Polly was revved up to go on the hunt to find out what it was. We would take the sample of the plant and pour over books at the library. Polly always managed to charm visitors into donating a rare book or specimen to Mariton, and had acquired quite an impressive collection. If the answer wasn’t there, she would contact botanists at the local universities and would not rest until she got the specimen identified. By the time I met Polly, however, there were few specimens that stumped her and, most amazingly, she was an entirely self-taught woman. She had no university degree, but could easily engage academic specialists in detailed conversation, often exceeding the knowledge of many PhD’s. This was a well known fact around the community. She well deserves an honorary doctorate if one has not been bestowed on her already.

But the truly special quality about Polly wasn’t just her knowledge; it was her determination to share the wonders of Nature with the world at large. Polly single-handedly planned and organized the monthly Natural Resource Programs for which Mariton was famous, attracting a growing audience from all over the area. And I was among the dedicated following, who always came to listen to her visiting experts tell us about everything from migrating hawks to herpetology, to local geology, to indicators of stream water quality and so much more. And of course, every year, she would invite back the most popular speaker of the season, a mycologist. But, it was a spindly, elderly local farmer in the audience who taught the fervent crowd the best secrets on how to find the elusive morel mushroom.

The Nature Programs were just one way Polly brought her message to humanity. Every summer, she held daily Nature Camps for the local children. She divided them into two groups by age and, by using adventurous, fun outings, managed to instill a love of nature into all of these kids. I helped her one summer and recall how exhausted I was at the end of each day after interacting with all those kids. Not Polly – they revitalized her. She was on a mission to impart her passion and knowledge to the next generation. I think she considered it an honor and a duty to make this contribution, and I was awed by her energy and devotion to the environmental cause. She showed kids the consequences of human intervention, such as how contaminated water results in loss of habitat. And she gave them a sense of kinship and responsibility towards the natural world.

Polly could have done anything with her life. For one thing, she was a natural healer - I recall many examples of her insights. One time, I showed up to a Summer Day Camp, as one of her volunteers, feeling awful. I’d been miserable all week with headaches, exhaustion and a sore shoulder and, in fact, had been swallowing aspirin every morning just to get up enough energy to go help Polly with the kids. That day, she took one shrewd look at me and said – “Victoria, you have Lyme’s Disease. Go see a doctor.” She was right of course, and within days of starting antibiotics, the symptoms melted away. The ironic part of this is that I was a practicing pharmacist at the time and knew Lyme symptoms and treatment perfectly well. I was simply blind to myself.

Mariton’s mailing list expanded through visitors and donations, so Polly initiated a monthly Newsletter to send out news and invitations. She was also on the telephone all the time on behalf of Mariton: scheduling speakers, cajoling people for donations, recruiting volunteers. But Polly didn’t just focus all her time on the Mariton Reserve. She was also an active force in all sorts of forums – The Library Board of Trustees, The Township Historical Society, The Gardening Association, The Wildlife Rescue Shelter, among many others. In everything she did, she charmed people with her gentle wit and brought many over to her project of the day. One time, she encouraged me to join in with the Annual Bird Count. Even though I couldn’t identify the species very well, she insisted that I would be valuable as another pair of eyes to help. And furthermore, she didn’t think I would exaggerate my bird counts like some other people she knew. A fellow who previously had, allegedly, exaggerated his bird count had caused quite a scandal!

At this writing, November 26, 2006, Polly is 89 years old and understandably somewhat frail physically, having likely withdrawn from many of her projects, but her friends report that she is still sharp mentally. Therefore, Polly, I want you to know that you are, and shall always remain, my most beloved and influential teacher of the natural world.

I remember back in 1997, when I first left Pennsylvania for the jaw-dropping biodiversity of Costa Rica. I thought I’d learned something during all those years, but when I got to the Tropics, realized that I knew nothing. But I did grasp from you, through all our work together, a method of learning and a sense of curiosity that helped me to never give up, even when faced with something as overwhelming as tropical dendrology. I thank you for that relaxed, methodical pace of learning new species. And I also thank you for sharing your open mind and spirit. You knew that my particular interest was botany, particularly medicinal plants. But you always insisted that I not neglect all the other marvels of the natural world. You were interested in everything and believed everyone must feel the same, with the same sense of wonder as you.

I’ll never forget your admonition when I left Pennsylvania for Costa Rica: “Now Victoria, don’t forget the butterflies!”

Indeed, Polly, I have not. Though I have not yet learned their names, I think of you often when I see them fluttering around the gardens. Last year, I planted a special butterfly garden to attract butterflies and hummingbirds-mixing Stachytarpheta with Lantana and other flowers. You should see the colorful spectacle of a multitude of butterflies fluttering all over the shrubbery. And then there are the thousands of white butterflies fluttering all over the Bernoullia flammea tree right now and the gorgeous blue Morphos flying about in the forest this time of year. Someone told me recently, that Finca El Tigre has so many Morpho butterflies because they are attracted to a particular tree and vine in the legume family called Machaerium sp., which is abundant in the young forest. I can just hear you telling me something like that when we used to take our walks at Mariton…. Every butterfly is associated with a particular plant, thus we must never underestimate the importance of even the lowliest common thistle… No Polly, I have not forgotten!

Who can say how much impact you have had on all the people you’ve come into contact with over all these years? I believe you have influenced the lives of more people than you can possible ever imagine.

How much influence have you had on me? It’s hard to separate it all out, but upon pondering, I can attribute your influence to three fundamental things:

1.Be Curious. …What is that? How can I find out?

2Make a contribution to humanity. …There was this forest bordering a population that was at risk of development in the near future…

3.Consider the consequences when intervening in the natural world. … Do I really want to plant that exotic tree so close to the forest?

Dearest Polly, you are and shall always remain my most beloved and most influential teacher of this incredible, wonderful natural world.