My Top 10 Photos

        This post consists of my photo journal for the semester, and is made up of my top 10 photographs that I have taken during my various nature experiences. Throughout this course, I have been able to reconnect with my passion for photography. I have always loved taking photos, and even can vividly remember asking for a professional camera one Christmas while in middle school. However, in recent years I have fallen out of that passion, largely because I find it inconvenient to carry around a large camera. However, this assignment reminded me of how easy photography can be these days, as I have nearly a professional grade camera at the tip of my fingers at all time via my iPhone. I have intentionally taken hundreds of pictures this semester, which I have now narrowed down to my top 10 photographs for this blog post. 

        Through this post, you will see my experiences with nature this semester through my camera lens, depicting the beautiful sunsets, flowers, and animals that I encountered along the way. These photos were intentionally selected after analyzing the hundreds taken, and I think each presents a beautiful story of what I encountered this semester in my various nature experiences. I hope you enjoy the experience of looking through these photos! 

Colorful Minnesota Sunset

Blossoming Buckwheat

Sunlight Peeking Through the Tree

Caterpillar Hidden in Privet

Bright Egyptian Starcluster

Sunset by Canoe

Changing Leaves

A Resting Scorpion

Bees Pollinating

A Peek at a Bison

A Lesson on Walking

         I have enjoyed our last few class periods of lead respondent discussions on different authors and topics related to our study of nature. In particular, the discussion on walking and David Thoreau was especially thought-provoking for me. This class discussion began with analyzing the similarities and differences between transcendentalism and romanticism, which was interesting to me because these are topics I have frequently heard about, but never fully understood. Through this comparison, I learned that both concepts come out of the 18th century, but the main difference is that romanticism highlights the importance of emotions and following how one is feeling, whereas transcendentalism draws from God and the beyond for knowledge. Thoreau was a key advocate of transcendentalism, often expressing its viewpoints through his various works. 

        In this class discussion, we also analyzed several key quotes from Thoreau. In one quote, Thoreau states "Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads." We did not heavily discuss this quote in class, but as I reflected on it after class, I found it to be powerful as it seems to be open to a few interpretations. On one hand, I think that this quote speaks to Thoreau's view on nature, as he sees the ground beneath him as heaven in that it is God's creation. In my experience, people often look up at the sky to admire God's creation and see it as heavenly, but I think this quote opens up the idea that heaven is the entire Earth that we live on, and the nature God created needs to be appreciated as such. However, on the other hand, I think this quote can be interpreted through the eyes of transcendentalism and their discussion of good vs. evil. Transcendentalists believe that humans are inherently good but can be corrupted by society and its institutions, and as a result man falls somewhere between good and evil. I think Thoreau could also be touching this notion through his quote, in saying this inherent in between of good vs. evil opens up the idea that heaven is both above and below, rather than the traditional thought of heaven being above and hell being below. I am not sure exactly how Thoreau intended this quote to be interpreted, but I think the multifaceted aspect of it and other Thoreau quotes is what makes his writings so impactful, even in the decades beyond his life.

        Thoreau also frequently wrote about walking, providing a unique perspective on how one should properly walk to appreciate nature. Particularly, in one quote Thoreau poses the question, "what would become of us, if we walked only in a garden or a mall?" Through this quote, Thoreau is emphasizing the importance of looking for areas of true nature, rather than manmade areas including gardens. This surprised me, as I see gardens as still beautiful ways to appreciate nature, yet here Thoreau is stating it is still not true nature and instead we should look for areas that naturally grow and are untouched by humans. I would be interested to see what Thoreau's view would be on gardens in the present times world, as I think that today gardens are often being built to replace the nature that was long ago destroyed through human building. For example, when I was studying abroad this summer we visited Rotterdam in the Netherlands, which is a very modern looking city with little greenery. Because of this lack of nature, one concept environmentalists had was to build gardens on the flat roofs that characterize this city (see picture 1 of a garden we visited). These gardens allow for plants and vegetables to grow, and also give children living in the city the opportunity to interact with nature when they otherwise would not be able to. I think this is an example of a garden Thoreau may approve of today, and I think there may be other situations in which Thoreau may change his viewpoint on man-made aspects of nature given that they are bringing back nature into many areas.

Picture 1: Rooftop garden in Rotterdam, Netherlands

        At the end of the class period, we also were given the opportunity to "walk like Thoreau." Essentially, we were given the following task: to walk with no distractions and look for both areas of nature that Thoreau would approve and disapprove of given what we had just learned. Picture 2 depicts one area that I found fascinating, in which the TCU landscaping has hidden piping in a large bush area. Inherently, I think Thoreau would dislike this due to the human development components. However, I personally think this is a really cool aspect, and I think it shows how TCU truly does try to maintain a beautiful and nature filled campus, even to the point of using that nature to cover some not so pretty, man-made aspects. Picture 3, on the other hand, depicts bees pollinating flowers, which is an activity I think Thoreau would greatly approve of. However, I do think it is an interesting note to point out that this is a man-made garden that the bees are pollinating in, so I did find myself questioning if Thoreau would have an issue with that. Nonetheless, I thought this activity was interesting in that it prompted me to think and walk like Thoreau, and since then I have found myself continuing to do so on my walks.

Picture 2: Pipes hidden by nature

Picture 3: Bees pollinating in man-made garden

Thank you for reading!

Emily

Our Final Day Volunteering

         Today was our final day volunteering at the Fort Worth Nature Center, and I also think it was our best day since it was filled with fun and connecting. We split into two groups, with some students working on inserting poles for the fence, and the other group working on clearing brush located alongside the path. I personally decided to help clear brush, as I felt more confident doing that since I was a little intimidated after she describing the fence being physically strenuous. Despite that initial thought, our job ended up being quite physically demanding as well since we were carrying heavy tree stumps and branches. We first emptied out the trash in the trailer and brought it to a nearby dumpster so that we had an empty trailer to begin with. Then, we began picking up the cut down trees and branches alongside the path. We worked for about an hour or so on this task until the path was completely cleared of all the major brush. By the end of our task, the trailer we were pilling the shrub in was completely filled and overflowing, which was satisfying to see as it clearly showed how much progress we made during that short time period.

Picture 1: Pathway cleared of all brush

        Then, we went to join the other group in inserting the poles for the fence in the new bison enclosure. I enjoyed observing this process, as I found it to be a great demonstration of teamwork. The pole insertion required teams of 4-5, who all had to be coordinated to ensure that the pole went in level and in the correct spot. Even when a mistake did occur, such as a pole having to be replaced, the staff was understanding and the team adapted by continuing to work together to remove and re-place the pole. 

       I was also excited today to learn that the grand opening for the new bison viewing deck will be next Thursday with a formal ribbon cutting ceremony. It is surprising to me how fast this process is moving along, as the pathway had not been started the last time I was volunteering, but is expected to be completely finished by next week. I was amazed by the framing process that had already been done, and I can see the vision in how amazing this experience will be for future nature center guests. I, for one, plan to return to the nature center so that I can see this completed project, and also admire our classes hard work in the surrounding area these last 6 weeks.

Picture 2: Framing for bison viewing deck

        As we concluded all of our assigned tasks for the afternoon, we were told the staff had one final challenge for us, which was to remove some poles within the enclosure. I was slightly behind the group walking over, which was actually a lucky coincidence as I got to see the hilarious and movie-like scene of all my classmates trying to loosen the poles (see picture 3). I did ask the staff about why no one had invented a tool to more quickly remove these poles, to which she responded such tool did exist, they just did not have it with them at the moment. I found this funny, as this activity that is small to them ended up being so much fun for us and a favorite activity out of all our time volunteering at the nature center.

Picture 3: Class Challenge

        Overall, I really enjoyed this last day! I feel like it was filled with fun times and laughter, while also successfully completing all of the work we were tasked with for that day. As we walked back to our cars, I took a picture (picture 4) of the view we see on our pathway. I appreciated this view every day we volunteered, as I think it reminds me of the tree-filled Minnesota that I grew up in, so I am happy I finally snapped a picture of it. I am excited to get back into the classroom for the rest of the semester, but I will also miss our weekly trips to the nature center!

Picture 4: The walk to the cars

Thank you for reading,

Emily