Geography of the James (Earth Lodge)

When I sat in the Gazebo for one final reflection, I was struck by how many people were still using the lake path, even though it was a bitterly cold day. It was definitely a smaller number than on previous days, but I expected to be one of a couple rather than one of about ten. It was not the only surprising thing I saw that day. As I sat in my spot, I noticed a bird that I would never would have thought to see on the lake: a cormorant. I wasn’t sure at the time, but further research confirmed my initial reaction; a seabird was fishing on the Westhampton Lake. And it seemed to be doing pretty well for itself, judging from the silver flashes I saw it pull up from its many dives. The Lake seemed full of life, much at odds with what I expected this close to winter. While the trees around the lake had lost most of their leaves, the water itself was alive with as much activity as ever. Ducks wandered the water nearest the shore, the geese foraged on the bank, and my cormorant friend flitted from end to end in search of more delicious morsels. This hour on the Lake reminded me that winter is not the death of nature for a few months, life continues on, and people continue to use their rivers and watersheds. Though in smaller numbers, people continue to walk their dogs, sit by the river, and the most intrepid might go kayaking. Our image of rivers might be of a lazy wanderer in the summer heat, flooded by people, but the river continues to exist and provide for both people and animals throughout the year. As the winter goes on, I hope that I will be able to get up the guts to brave the cold and enjoy the life in the water.

It’s been another 4 weeks since I had been to my reflection spot and it has changed even more since then. I’ve been to Pony Pasture a handful of times for other reasons than reflecting for my blog posts. But it’s always refreshing to sit down on the same exact rock that leans over the water and just observe.

Professor Lookingbill made a point during a trip the Wetlands section of the James River a few weeks ago that no matter where in the world you are, if you can find a river and just be there, you can re-center yourself. I’ve definitely experienced this feeling. As the semester begins to come to a close and all our assignments’ due dates are looming in the near future, I felt myself immediately relax when I sat down by the river. All the stress in my shoulders just melted away as I looked out over the water. I was able to reconnect with myself and put things into perspective.

Last time I visited my reflection spot, the leaves had changed significantly from vibrant green with lush foliage everywhere to autumnal reds, yellows, and oranges; now, almost all the leaves had fallen and the woods looked barren. There were only 2 ducks on the river the whole time I was there. An elderly couple sat on a bench nearby and met another older man later on; other than those three people, I was the only other person in the park. Even though it was relatively warm for a November day, there were definitely signs of autumn and the coming winter around. It was hard to find one of the paths that runs along the river because so many leaves had fallen on the ground.

During my first visit to my reflection spot, we had only begun to learn about the James River. Reflecting on how much I’ve learned about the James River and its long history, I can appreciate the power and complexity of the immense river. In our Geography of the James class, we’ve learned so much from the geology of the Fall Line, Richmond’s colonial history, the development of Richmond into an industrial city, and the current issues we face as we try to restore and protect our city’s water source. One thing I thought about as I sat upon my special rock was something Ralph White said when we met him in class a few weeks ago at Pony Pasture park: behind every rock in the river (and there are many of them) is a large fish waiting to catch its food; and for every large fish, there were many more small fish. Even though I can’t see into the water because the level is still at a normal height, I can try to imagine the amount of life that lives in the river. Even though it may not be in the best health, it still contains much aquatic life and biodiversity.

Though this is my last blog about my reflection spot, I will definitely be back to Pony Pasture many times in the future. I look forward to seeing it through the winter and spring months and watching it come back to life again before next summer.

The river changing from early September – Mid-October – Late November

My view from the my reflection spot has not changed much since the last time I visited it, but my point of view about the people surrounding this urban watershed has been altered. The first time I reflected about Little Westham creek, I thought about the ecosystem around the lake. I talked about the organisms within and surrounding the body of water. I noted the human alterations that had occurred over time and I talked about humans’ inevitable connection with the environment. I concluded my reflection wondering about what we are doing today to assist the ecosystem we have destroyed over time.

Now, after 11 short weeks of being in the Geography of the James River Watershed class, I speak with a new perspective. I have taken the time to learn from my teacher, my classmates, environmentalists and the land itself. I have visited the river at many of its access points. I have collected trash for hours and I have painted fences around the river. I am now AWARE of the James River. I can see now how much has been created to better the river.…Such as parks that are well kept, websites that educate the locals, and signs at each entrance point with knowledge about the James River System. This river has created a community and this river is bringing people together. By bringing people together as a community outside, it is not only strengthening the relationship between the people, but it is also strengthening the bond between the people and their local environment, including the river. With this awareness of the river, people are more apt to partake in activities that promote the health of the river and the surrounding land. This creation of place identity is crucial. The James River provides a local link within the city and the Westhampton Lake, is a part of that watershed. The signs around the lake at campus educate the students about the environment around them. I believe these signs create a similar awareness that is being fostered at the James.

I hope that the student body can understand that even though our lake is small, it flows into something much larger than what we see. I hope we can continue to focus on making the entire student body aware of our local surroundings, because with this knowledge we can live our lives and protect our water at the same time. I hope I am able to see this lake many years from now and I hope that it is even more beautiful than it is today!

My reflection this time is heavily influenced by the events that have taken place at Pony Pasture in the last couple of weeks. I refer to cleaning the river and our meeting with Ralph White. Both of them showed me how much the perceptions of rivers have changed over time, from places that were dirty and undesirable to places that people could rally around and care about. As I said last week, I went into cleaning the river thinking it was going to be incredibly dirty. I had been to Pony Pasture many times and to be honest, I had never seen that much trash, but I had also never really gone out of my way to look for it. But I definitely assumed that because a lot of people went there for recreation, they would likely leave trash all over the place and not even bother to put it where it belonged. However, when I did actually start to look for it, there wasn’t even much to pick up and I felt pretty proud of the community for understanding why it was important to keep it as clean as possible and how easy it was to do that. This feeling was only furthered after our talk with Ralph White, the former director the the James River park system. It was really touching to see how passionate he was about the local environment, how much he knew, and how many ideas he had to try to protect it. It seemed like everything he did and everything he thought about was something that would help protect the river. I understand that everyone in the area cannot be expected to feel this way about the river, or at least to Mr. White’s degree. However, I think, judging from what I saw when we cleaned up, that things are moving in the right direction. Yes, you can see houses poking out through the trees on the banks of the river, and yes, there is the occasional bottle here or there. But the reality is that the river is the closest thing we have here as an “escape” from our every day urban lives and I think the people in this community are starting to not only understand that, but to also respect and promote that. With that respect and understanding, we can continue to move forward in protecting our local environment and to a larger extent, the bay and the ocean as well.

This past weekend I participated in my second session of community service for Earth Lodge this semester.  While it was nice to help out at the William Byrd Community House and I felt that my work was truly appreciated, I feel as though I got more out of the self-directed trash clean up I did for my first set of hours on Belle Isle a few weeks ago.

By going out to Belle Isle and picking up trash, I got a better sense for how people feel about the James River Park System and places such as Belle Isle than I ever could have in a classroom setting.  I went there expecting to find tons of trash, and was shocked to discover that the exact opposite was true.  Whenever I think about cleaning up trash, I always flash back roadside cleanups I have done on my own street at home or other things of the like.  A perfect example of the type of cleanup I am used to doing happened just last year when a few of my fellow APO brothers and I did a cleanup in a park nearby outside of Richmond (of course I forget the name of it now, but it was not in the JRPS).  It was a roadside cleanup, and the amount of typical litter (beer bottles, fast-food bags and cups and other miscellaneous items) we bagged up was absurd.  At one point, we found so many small bottles buried in the leaves we all became suspicious of what actually was dumped there (Criminal Minds-Richmond episode perhaps…?).  The complete disregard for the environment was prevalent everywhere you turned and your eyes fell on yet another item of litter.

This was not the case at Belle Isle.  In fact, it was almost hard to find litter at some places along the trail.  There were the typical beer bottles and cans and cigarette butts and boxes that I expected, but overall, the trails on Belle Isle were in great shape.  It was definitely not the high point of the tourism season for this portion of the park when I visited, but even still, I was shocked at how clean and litter-free the area was.  The lack of litter is a clear reflection of how the people of Richmond feel about their local parks and the JRPS as a whole, and it created a sense of happiness and a hope for the future in me, especially given the history of the lack of regard for keeping the James River healthy.  It is obvious that the people of Richmond have come a long way in terms of environmentally friendly habits, right down to choosing not to litter in their parks.  Getting involved in community service in this way in Richmond has made me wonder a lot about opportunities in my own  town, and I cannot wait to check out the opportunities and hopefully make a difference in my hometown.