The James River Park System, it is exactly that, a SYSTEM. Driving the narrow back roads to gain access to the Wetlands, was an experience in and of itself because many of us had never been there and simply thought that TLB was lost. Never had I been to this entry point on the James River. We pulled up in our 16 passenger van under the canopy of trees. We were greeted with new smells and sights, while walking into the park entrance. It is simply incredible the new things you can learn about your local community once you open your eyes and explore further than just the popular local areas.
I have been to Pony Pasture and Huguenot Flat Water, but the Wetlands was a new adventure for me. As we walked down the dirt path, the sunlight made its way through the trees and illuminated the path for us. We continued walking down this beautiful path and had momentary stops along the way to look around us. While stopped we discussed the various different types of borders, as well as, what a wetland actually is and what constitutes land as “wetland.” Talking about the ways, people try to get around building on wetlands, brought me instantly back to my Environmental Law and Policy class. During the course of the semester, we talked about different environmental laws and how they are used to protect the land. To many of us, protecting the environment is a no brainer- we would not have joined Earth Lodge (I do not think) if we did not respect the land in some way. But there are people out there who do not understand. Their views are plainly anthropocentric and/ or they simply have never had any exposure to the local beauty. People travel to experience “natural beauty”. For these people, I believe there is some sort of disconnect between their local environment and themselves. There is a link that is missing.
For me, this link was created back in the spring 2011. It was my freshman spring and I was in an environmental chemistry class learning about how pollutants enter the lake and calculating their residence times. It was hard to believe the types of impacts our every days life have on the environment we adore. After transferring, I decided to pursue my love of the environment and my passion to protect it. Through field trips during my environmental studies classes, I have been able to develop place identity with the city of Richmond, the river and the surround landscapes. I appreciate the beauty and feel connected with the land. This connection allows me to care, and this connection leads me to want to do my part in protecting these areas for future peoples. But had I not had this place identity created for Richmond, I might not care. I might not know anything about the access points to the James River, the trees that thrive in a riparian zone, and the effects of impervious surfaces and urban heat islands. The link that is missing in most people is place identity. To develop place identity, people have to experience the area around them. They need to walk the lands, see the organisms, and be one with the nature around them. This feeling is something that cannot be taken away. This feeling creates internal connections to that place, those smells, and those sights.
Sitting on the edge of the River at the Wetlands, was like any other experience I had ever had on the James River. The fog was rolling down the stream following the river. The sun was reflecting off the water and there was silence. This hydrologic system has been running for years. It is an interconnected system, meaning the water from the impervious surfaces of urban development run off to the wetlands, and riparian zone where it is filtered before hitting the river. This system is powerful and simply incredible, but we have influenced the river. Over time, we have changed the health, the flow and the overall ecosystem that encompasses the river. It is something that I am not proud of and I want to try to change. I believe that we can mimic this sturdy river system by creating connections amongst ourselves to join together to protect our river. I would like to be able to share the same joy of the river with future people. How can we connect with this river system to make it even stronger, more powerful and have an even higher function?
This question is the type of question that is always lingering in my head. How can you get anyone to do anything? Today’s class discussion on In River Time, that I facilitated, left me feeling hopeful. We need to target people of all ages. There is no set way to target everyone with one sign, or one tour, or one event. I believe there needs to be categories. Like anything, there will always be individuals that don’t fit perfectly into them and there will always be people that simply will refuse to care about the environment around them. But the more people that support the system, the stronger it will be. I believe that this mentality works on a small scale, such as the Westhampton lake or the James River, but it also works on a larger scale, like the Chesapeake Bay. Each person has value similar to every part of an ecosystem. The more organisms there are the more function the system has within it. The James River is a SYSTEM that people need to become more connected with.