\u201cKnowledge, Power, Passion\u201d\u00a0 \u201cKnowledge, Power, Passion\u201d<\/p>\n
-It was a chant that I performed before every Geography of the James quiz, hoping it would bring me luck from the environmentalist gods.<\/p>\n
Other than its use for pre-quiz rituals, \u201cKnowledge, Power, Passion\u201d has resonated in my mind as an effective principle for leaders to live by.\u00a0 A person of influence MUST have knowledge on their subject, motivational power to others, and passion for their cause.\u00a0 Each of these traits are keystones for highly effective leaders.\u00a0 They all work together synergistically.<\/p>\n
Besides being one of the most interesting Richmonders I have ever met, Ralph White is a unique example of someone who embodies this trifecta of leaderships skills.\u00a0 His knowledge, power, and passion which he has for the James River is what makes him such an influential environmental leader and activist.\u00a0 It is practically contagious.\u00a0 I think that few people out there demonstrate all three of these effective-leader traits.\u00a0 Ralph White is one of them.<\/p>\n
I think that Dr. Forsythe\u2019s model regarding awareness can also be applied to Ralph White.\u00a0 I think the majority of his career as the manager of the James River Park System revolved around him spreading awareness and promoting activism among the James River watershed community.\u00a0 Ralph White, during his 30+ years as the manager of the JRPS, transformed the James from something nobody thought twice about to something everyone knew and cared about.\u00a0 He still continues to give tours and spread awareness to the Richmond community.<\/p>\n
Our final projects are allowing us to exercise these principles of Knowledge, Power, and Passion as well as the Awareness Model.\u00a0 I think it is good that we are given this opportunity to reach out to resources and strive to meet certain goals.\u00a0 We have been provided the knowledge, we just need to work on the power and passion.<\/p>\n
We have learned so much in our Geography of the James class in a very holistic manner.\u00a0 From basic hydrology to the history of the James as depicted in \u201cIn River Time,\u201d we have almost covered it all.\u00a0 What was just simply a pine before is now a Loblolly.\u00a0 What was a sad, drowning branch is now a Snag.<\/p>\n
My favorite part of Earth Lodge was our outdoor educational trips.\u00a0 The Fall Break trip in North and South Carolina was absolutely amazing.\u00a0 Climbing to the top of Mount Mitchell\u2019s 6,683 foot peak was surreal.\u00a0 I am extremely afraid of heights but for some reason I felt extremely ecstatic the second we reached the glorious peak.\u00a0 No, I did not yell the clich\u00e9d \u201cI\u2019M ON TOP OF THE WORLD!!!\u201d but I was one of those people who were felt like they were \u201cliving now\u201d and \u201cconquering their fears.\u201d<\/p>\n
We did some pretty intense hiking after that, and I am honestly shocked that nobody was seriously injured.\u00a0 Really, though how did we all do that so well?<\/p>\n
South Carolina was wonderful.\u00a0 I am considering making it my home one day.\u00a0 It was really cool to see how much the Columbia River is like our own James.\u00a0 I mean, it is on the fall line!\u00a0 The giant loblolly that we saw\/touched\/hugged\/stared at\/took pictures with\/tried to name was something that my eyes took a while to process.\u00a0 I see loblollies everywhere but WOW 169 feet tall?\u00a0 Honestly the numbers do not mean anything until you witness the trees there for yourself.\u00a0 It was like we all turned into garden fairies like in \u201cHoney I Shrunk the Kids.\u201d\u00a0 The sight was a very Alice in Wonderland Syndrome experience.\u00a0 I cannot wait to go back to Congaree National Park and show people these majestic trees.<\/p>\n
The pipeline walk we took with Ralph White is also one of my favorite activities that we did together.\u00a0 I had no idea that this existed.\u00a0 The best part of the pipeline walk was being able to observe the Great Blue Herons in their \u201cRookery.\u201d\u00a0 The Rookery was so mystic and undisturbed that it served as the secret gem of the pipeline walk.<\/p>\n
Our canoe trip on the James a few weekends ago was a great experience.\u00a0 We learned the benefits of marsh and beheld Thomas and George as they smeared it on their faces.\u00a0 Taylor was a great canoe-captain.\u00a0 He put up with my indecisiveness of which side to paddle on and my persistent eating in the canoe.\u00a0 I really enjoyed our guide, Allen.\u00a0 He kept mentioning the Prothonotary Warbler Project being conducted by VCU\u2019s ecology researchers.\u00a0 I actually attended a seminar last semester at the University of Richmond given by one of the members of their research team.\u00a0 It is so interesting how they are used as indicator species for climate change.\u00a0 I am also jealous that their lab gets to canoe as part of their data collection.<\/p>\n
Our lunch-break science experiment on water-quality allowed us to measure certain levels of ammonia, dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature in the water that we had been canoeing on.\u00a0 What Allen told us about the ammonia was shocking to me.\u00a0 The fact that the methods used by poultry farms can have that much of an impact on the waterways is mind-blowing.\u00a0 I am glad we all have this information now.\u00a0 He went over many cause-and-effects that impact certain water quality levels in the James.\u00a0 Lucky for us, our results came out as \u201cgood.\u201d<\/p>\n
As we all know, Earth Lodge has been very fun and educational.\u00a0 It has added much to my collection of fond memories at the University of Richmond.\u00a0 Most of these memories involve things that our class did outdoors, and Mary Brickle\u2019s awesome mom.\u00a0 I love being outdoors- along with everyone else in this program; however, our outdoor experiences were beyond awesome.\u00a0 We have learned so much in Earth Lodge and it is all very useful and diverse information.\u00a0 I think that everyone in this program has had something that really stuck to them and meant something to them.\u00a0 I know I can say that for myself at least.\u00a0 It has been a great year.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowledge, Power, Passion\u201d\u00a0 \u201cKnowledge, Power, Passion\u201d -It was a chant that I performed before every Geography of the James quiz, hoping it would bring me luck from the environmentalist gods. Other than its use for pre-quiz rituals, \u201cKnowledge, Power, Passion\u201d … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/james\/files\/2013\/04\/553896_4128316373901_50835697_n.jpg\")
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