I knew this class would be different than anything I had experienced before. I remember sitting in the first class, completely fresh and with no prior experience involving Environmental Science but I was anxious for more than a new palette of knowledge. I was excited to learn first-hand by exploring the University of Richmond campus and experiencing the James River Watershed. A new perspective on issues involving the James River Watershed and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay Watershed was waiting for me. I wanted to be able to look at the world around me and understand what the water, plants, and animals were doing.
Throughout the semester I have pondered the goal of the Geography of the James River class. I was interested in analyzing all the culminating knowledge every freshly budding environmentalist should know and asking myself how I could apply what I had learned to other situations. I have decided that the goal is to stop and take time to connect. The action of individual analysis results in different branches of understanding but each branch reaches the same conclusion about the value that only natural experience can create.
I wonder about the various interpretations of nature and now have an interest in human interactions with nature and the overall results. I think Cronon’s article provides three great interpretations of how humans have interacted with nature and I begin to ponder my own experiences throughout the semester. He focuses a part of his article on areas that “remind us of the wildness in our own backyards, of the nature that is all around us if only we have eyes to see it.” The best places to go to experience the wilderness in our own backyards is by using the James River Park System.
The James River Park system provides an easy way to experience wilderness within the comfort of civilization paralleling Cronon’s ‘backyard’ understanding of nature. I have commented on the James River Park system and the Maymont Nature Center before, they are reminders that humans have an important role in nature. Notably, each park does an excellent job blurring the lines between nature and human activity. Based on the processes I have learned about throughout the class, it is no small feat to create a genuine outdoors experience. The effort is definitely worth it because the problems and issues effecting James River ecosystems gain tangibility. Every time I take time to connect with an area I feel more invested in its sustainability. The reality of pollution and general negligence of nature leads to action, which hopefully leads to volunteering.
After compiling all my experiences with the class I feel a sense of value for each moment I spent. One key to getting people to take time and care about their area is to create value for fleeting moments that can only be generated by nature. Beyond the educational significance of nature there is an underlying value for powerful hands on experience, for example, I’ll never forget the first time I experienced a Blue Catfish. The parks provide a tangible value with their trails, beaches, and boat launches but just as important is the intangible value. Personal preference can dictate the levels on individual exploration within each area but I used it as time to find friendship or to experience an opportune moment and unveil the secrets of nature. I remember going to the Wetlands with the class and while we were exploring I saw a spider sitting inside a funnel shaped web. I had never experienced a funnel shaped web before but I had seen them on television documentaries. It is much more extraordinary to see a spider and feel genuine fear rather than experience it in any other form.
I feel that Earth Lodge is all about the experience. Prior to this I had no idea how to go out and find something to do in nature. I come from an area where people and nature live symbiotically and the shift to the city approach to nature was largely unfamiliar to me. I now know that I have to go out and find trees and creeks and animals. I now know how much time and effort it takes to create an aesthetically pleasing environment that blends nature and civilization. More importantly, I have learned where to use caution when it comes to development and the effort it takes to undo past efforts toward progress or even sometimes effort towards sustainability.
Opportunities within nature arise every moment. There is a huge collection of experiences that can attract people to nature so long as there is awareness. Prior to this class I remember being fancy free about issues involving the environment surrounding me. I wonder if I would have ever been aware had I not taken this class. My ignorance of nature could have been easily remedied had I been able to stop and look around and understand what I was looking at. I am happy to have some fresh knowledge about nature and able to interpret my complex surroundings based on my compiled experiences through Earth Lodge. Committing to Earth Lodge was no small feat but I am happy for taking the opportunity, not only for the knowledge, but also for the unforgettable moments.