One of my first experiences as a student at the University of Richmond was my Roadmap trip to Belle Isle. The bus pulled up to the American Civil War Center at Tredegar where iron products used to be made, and I saw the James River out of my bus window. Even minute details, such as how Dr. Lookingbill, our current Earth Lodge class instructor, talked about how European people settled on this land because it is as far up the river as you can travel from the ocean. As we moved along to cross over the suspension bridge to Belle Isle, I felt unsettled. Cars rumbling on the car bridge overhead scared me just as much as it does today.
On the other side of the river, the Roadmap students got to explore an area that once served as a Civil War Prisoner of War Camp. From our readings in Earth Lodge this year, I realized just how desperate the situation was here… soldiers died of starvation and disease and cold just as the old European settlers did in the early 1600’s. As a first-year, this horror was lost on me. Frankly, I was too busy staring at a bunch of kayaks and dipping my toes in the water with a few fellow nature lovers.
As our trip across the river came to a close that fall, I boarded the bus and saw who I knew would be my best friend afterwards — the lovely Marissa Parker. We both shared a moment as she decided to sit down next to me. We talked about our plans to participate in Earth Lodge at some point in ou college careers. Fast forward a year, and you get this photo (taken by Kerry McGowan, also a fellow Lodger):
Marissa and I sleeping on the bus
This year, my trip to the James River Park System kicked off with a walk through Brown’s Island along a canal. After learning about the negative impacts of increased impervious surface and the necessity for riparian buffers, Brown island made me pretty sad. Pavement, non-native tree species, and an overall sore lack of trees/vegetation along the waters edge indicated to me that this area serves the interest of humans above the environment. At least some human artists made their marks on buildings to take my mind off of the negative ways we change landscapes.
And so we retraced our steps to the start of Brown’s Island all the way back to where I was last year – the bridge to Belle Isle. Over the next year, I aim to work on projects that improve the James River Park System and feel a sense of accomplishment rather than a slightly heavy heart.