Restoring A Pond For Christian Discipleship
Project Mission
Walnut Creek Hunting Club is the vision of Mr. Landon Northcutt. He desires to steward the property God has given him as a staging area for the Christian discipleship of people coming out of lifestyles of addiction. To this end, Mr. Northcutt hired David Pendergrass and the Sweetwater team to restore a cattle pond on his land in Proctor, Texas, to be a site for fishing, hunting, camping, and other outdoor recreational therapy in a Gospel-centered context.
The Nexus of Science and Discipleship
In order to build a beautiful setting for discipleship, we need to know something of the past and present ecology of the pond. Ecology describes how the living and non-living parts of creation interact. How can a pond be a great fishery if we don’t know what fish are there? How can we optimize the pond’s habitat for fish to thrive if we don’t know the varying depths of the pond, the water chemistry, or the species of wetland plants that heavily influence the ability of the fish to flourish? In January – May, 2019, Sweetwater invited groups of adults and children to participate in surveys of:
- Fish
- Bathymetry (the physical shape of a water body, principally depth)
- Chemical, microbiological, and macroinvertebrate resources
To see examples of how Sweetwater integrates gospel ministry and Christian discipleship with our field science efforts, visit our blog posts, such as “Pond Depth And The Gospel“.
Holistic Restoration
The first act of Sweetwater at Walnut Creek Hunting Club was to worship God, singing How Great Thou Art, and praying that God would work through Sweetwater to nurture the pond into the beauty and fruitfulness intended for it by it’s Creator. The second act was a prayer walk around the perimeter of the pond, seeking God for wisdom and inspiration from the Holy Spirit working through the word of God, the Bible, to guide the science surveys and the application of good natural resource management practices.
- Sweetwater includes men, women, and children in the restoration activities, demonstrating in words and actions how Christians look to God for wisdom and success in our stewardship of natural resources.
- Sweetwater leads Bible studies on site with men and women coming out of lifestyles of addiction and spiritual darkness. In addition to active evangelism of lost souls and discipleship of saved souls, these Bible studies represent a growth opportunity for Sweetwater’s interns, such as Kaley Hallmark, who learned how to communicate the Gospel in the context of scientific ecological restoration.
Down in the Dirt!
In December, 2019, Sweetwater and a host of local volunteers held our first ‘Planting Day!’ at Walnut Creek. We strategically selected three sites along the pond’s edge to begin revegetating the banks. We planted inland sea oats, a fast-spreading, native, riparian plant, to help stabilize the banks from further erosion.
Sweetwater Interns And Volunteers Are Critical!
Interns Angela Jackson and Farron Fiedler assisted in the design and implementation of ecological surveys of Walnut Creek Hunting Club pond in early 2019. Volunteers that provided invaluable help included children in grade school, graduate students, and older adults. Work days are managed to cultivate a spirit of worship of God as we apply our bodies and minds to His work of redeeming creation.
Do you enjoy fishing, gardening, hunting dragonflies? Do you want to learn how enjoying these activities is connected to biblical environmental stewardship? Jump in as a volunteer or intern! Contact us at info@SweetwaterResearch.org.
Sweetwater Illustrated
I have often been asked “What, exactly, do you do if you don’t drill wells?” Walnut Creek Hunting Club is an example. Sweetwater collects data according to rigorous scientific standards so that the information gathered can be trusted to provide our team a clear and accurate picture of the current state of the pond’s ecology (the interactions of living and non-living things) and to inform short-term and long-term goals within the pond management plan. We also apply principles of wise pond management gathered from the Bible, scientific literature, and good old common sense from generations of land owners, to create a reasonable strategy for a sustainable fishery in support of outdoor Christian discipleship.
How you can help:
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