I would like to start this final blog post by saying how thankful I am that I decided to do Earth Lodge. As I believe I have mentioned in other posts, I grew up near the Potomac River right outside of DC. Every school year, my sciences classes had a unit regarding conservation of the Chesapeake Bay and although I always understood the value and the importance of that part of our class, I will admit it did become a little repetitive. Every year we would talk about dead zones, or the depletion of oysters, or the need to enhance the water quality. However, the only time I ever went out to the bay and experienced these lessons first hand was in 6th grade. Not even in high school did I go out into the field and have the opportunity to have hands-on learning. In some ways I understand this because at that point in school, science classes became a little more specialized and there was less focus given to the bay, especially when the class wasn’t about biology or environmental science. But I always thought that was a terrible shame. It was a shame that no one took advantage of the resources we had near us to learn more about our area and through that learning, get people to care more about it. It was a shame that it would have been so easy to get people excited to go visit the bay and see it in a completely different light.
I see now after taking this class that this type of goal in learning is possible. To be able to go out into the field and truly connect with your subject matter on a deep and personal level was something that up until this year I had never gotten to do, and although I always cared about what I was learning, the information would likely slip from me by the next school year. But now I find myself walking around campus and being able to identify Black Willows from Willow Oaks, or the stiff leaf of the Magnolia. And what’s more, I can identify these trees when I am not even on campus. I find myself driving on the highway seeing signs telling me I am passing over rivers that I have learned about in class, and my brain immediately pulls up maps of the James River watershed. I know not only how that river relates to the James but also (most likely), its history and its people.
I understand that this class could have been like every science class I have ever taken. We could have sat in the international building and our professor could have shown us pictures of Pony Pasture or of the Wetlands. He could have shown us pictures of trees or pamphlets of Bell Isle. And I don’t think this would have necessarily been harder or easier than what we actually did. But I firmly believe it would have been less effective and a lot less meaningful. By going out and experiencing the the river itself and the Richmond community, a community whose fate from its beginnings with James Town has been bound to the fate of the river, the information I learned seemed more real to me.
The problems of the James are very real. Without having picked up trash, I would have never understood the various challenges that face the access points. Without listening to Ralph White at Pony Pasture, I would have never gotten a taste of the recent history of the James River Park System and not only its struggles, but also its growth. In class we are now finishing up projects in partnership with the Intro to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) students. Our assignment was to take different counties and map out the access points to the river in a meaningful way. Our group from Earth Lodge managed to speak with the current head of the Park system, Nathan Burrrell, about what he would want from a map that depicted the access points in Richmond County. I doubt that in any other type of class I would have had the opportunity to speak to someone like Mr. Burrell and have the both of us understand and share common knowledge and common hopes for the future of the James.
I think my experience with this class has really opened my eyes to the value of this type of learning. Not only do I feel much closer to the Richmond community, I feel closer to my local environment. In some ways, this is a selfish feeling because I feel as though I’ve been let in on some sort of a secret that not everyone I know is in on. But it should not have to be this way. The type of connection that the Earth Lodgers gained with the community and their understanding of the area around them should not have to be information and appreciation that is exclusive to us. It is vital that not only other students, but also other members in the community see the James the way we got to see it because it changes the way you view little things around you. I find myself turning off the bathroom lights after I leave because I don’t want to waste energy. I take shorter showers and try to walk to the dining hall instead of drive. These may not be subjects that we directly learned about in class, but I know that because I am more aware of my environment and the struggles people went through to get it to the condition it is in today, I want to do things to protect it or to help it. Even if the things I am doing are small, hopefully my (and everyone else’s awareness) can lead to bigger changes. I understand that the James isn’t perfect and from the report card we saw, it could definitely use some help. But it has the start with community. The more people can directly experience what the James has to offer, and for that matter any river, the more likely we will be to protect and cherish what it has to offer. Our environment does not have to be a secret.