As my time in Earth Lodge comes to an end, I think back on not only everything I’ve done and learned about but also how I have changed as well. I feel as though an appreciation for human beings’ relationship and interaction with the water around them has now fully realized itself within me; I know that I was cognizant of this relationship before being an Earth Lodger, but now I think I truly understand its importance. Delving deep into the study of one river, the James, and the people who call its watershed home was integral, I think, in fostering the appreciation that I have now. I’ll certainly miss being in Earth Lodge. I’ll miss being part of this group, where each member’s insight, through this blog, was as much a part of the learning experience as the lectures in class and the field trips outside of class. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Earth Lodge, and I’m truly grateful for all of the experiences I have had while being a part of this awesome group of people.
Looking back on class experiences, one of the most memorable to me would be meeting Ralph White and listening to him talk about the river that he obviously loves very much and fought very hard to protect during his stay as the head of the James River Park System. His wisdom, commanding voice, and passion for the protection of the James and its history were truly awe-inspiring. He had us totally captivated and enthralled during our entire walk down to the heron rookery near Mayo Bridge. Walking on that sewage pipeline to see the herons more up close illustrated the connectivity between the city of Richmond, the water of the James, and the wildlife that lives right in the midst of it. The fact that there is a sort of “trail” in the James River Park System located directly on a sewage pipe is a testament to how something with at least a semblance of “naturalness” can be made out of something seemingly nature-killing: a mechanical vein of the city. That experience certainly had a big effect on me, and I was very excited when I found out that I would be able to volunteer with Ralph White at Mayo Bridge, cleaning up graffiti and homeless encampments. I know many other lodgers felt the same way I did about Ralph White, and that he had as profound an impact on them as an environmental leader.
I also look back on the time we spent in class learning about riparian buffer areas, and the important role they play for the health of the James and the surrounding floodplain. The discussion of these buffer areas in relation to the idea of connectivity emphasized throughout the entire course was very interesting, especially when we got into the effects that human beings can have on these riparian areas. Human beings can disrupt connectivity between river and the surrounding land through development, replacing penetrable soil with hard, solid concrete. But, in our discussions of urban parks and the visit of Michelle Kokolis, we learned that a lot can be done to restore this connectivity. Having Michelle give her lecture in class after already being familiar with the James River report card she gave us a better understanding of the problems that have been plaguing the James, and how a restoration of riparian buffers could go a long way in helping to fix these problems. What I thought was especially helpful for getting people educated about the way their actions affect the James was the online tool Michelle showed us, showing how much runoff was flowing from where we lived and what path it took to reach the James. Tools like this, meant to educate people about their relationship to their watershed, have the potential to be extremely effective at reducing nutrient runoff, a major problem for the ecological health of the James. As we found our own campus on the map, and traced our water to the James, I couldn’t help but think of ways for the University of Richmond to decrease the amount of runoff coming off of its impenetrable surfaces.
Keeping in mind the information on the river report card for the James, I was curious about what the water quality was like on the middle James during our canoe trip. Where we canoed was quite a long ways from the heart of Richmond, but it was also downstream. When we took our own water quality tests, I tried to equate their results to the grade that the James received on the river report card. Granted, our tests were taken up a creek and quite a ways from the center of Richmond, and the riparian buffers were well intact where we were canoeing.
In my reflection blog posts, I chronicled the life returning to our Little Westham Creek watershed. While we were canoeing, I could also see the life nearly fully returned on the banks of the James as well. Leaves have returned to the trees, (which will no doubt help in identifying them later), and the air is filled with pollen, (not so good for me, but good for the trees). As the semester comes to a close, I think back on all of the experiences I’ve had in Earth Lodge; I can say wholeheartedly that being in Earth Lodge was one of my most important experiences so far in college, and the appreciation for my relationship to the water around me will stick with me for the rest of my life.