A Walk In The Woods
September 9, 2008 by Intrepidteacher
One of the regular participants here at Intrepid Classroom, Hannah, wrote a post a few days ago that I feel really elucidates the ethos we are trying to exude here. (How do you like that alliteration?) I completely agree with her simple sentiments below:
I marvel at nature. Have you ever stood in the middle of the woods and just looked up at the trees? It is humbling.
I will always remember the hours I spent sitting by a creek, shaded by tall stately trees, writing poetry about the sheer beauty of my surroundings.
We need to slow down and appreciate the splendor of nature.
It is refreshing to see young people connect with nature. It seems so many times today that young people are getting farther and farther from the natural world. Do you have any experiences you would like to share? Write about them on your blog and link here, or paste them onto this page of the wiki. Add pictures, video, music. Go shoot some video of your favorite nature spot, add some music, write a poem, create some art. Let us see what nature means to you….
In the tradition of doing what I ask of you, let me say that I have been working on a short film of an amazing hike I had at Samuel P. Taylor Park in California over the summer. Here is a taste:
Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and more!)
I loved the book. By Bill Bryson. A Walk in the Woods?
Anyways…
I guess thats one of the reasons Japan is sort of.. compressing. There’s nothing around for hours but skyscrapers… and the trees in back yards aren’t really the same
What would I give to be able to sit by a creek for hours, to walk my dog under shady trees, to ride schoolhorses down trails? Oh, just about anything.
I do understand that there are an awful lot of people who have just forgotten that there is such a thing as nature, but there is a second part to that group: the ones who would love to just stand in a field (though you’d never catch me skipping through flowers, lol) but don’t have the oppurtunity.
Sure, I’d love to go to Japan (but I don’t think I could live there – too compressed, as Aron said), but part of the reason that I would love to travel Europe – France, Italy, Spain, etc – is the fact that it is breathtaking in terms of scenery and the environment.
I was just going to upload some photos from my visit to Coughton Court back in the summer to Flickr, so I’ll tweet the update when it’s done. xD
Thats awesome, looking at the trees soar high and mighty. I usually look and wonder, think, or relax. It is a magnificent site to see trees so high that they can touch the sky. Don’t you just wish that you could taste the sky in every breath and brush through the clouds while you stood. I know I do.
It is late. I am tired. Excuse any typos:
I am so glad that some of you are responding to the sentiment behind this post- it is natural to connect with nature. I think instinctively human beings need that correlation with the natural world to keep us sane. The problem I see as the world becomes more and more industrialized and urbanized, humanity is faced with a sort of neurosis or in some cases psychosis because we are so removed from our environment.
@aron I understand what you mean about too many buildings, but nature is how you view the world not necessarily what you see. Take it form me I live in a desert and there isn’t much nature here. So I have chose to consciously make choices that connect me with the ecosystem in which I live.
I focus on the sun and the moon. I am aware of the doves outside my window, or the tiny shrubs that grow in the sand. This may not be the Malaysian rain forest, and what is really, but it is still the earth. I feel great when I notice a wisp of a cloud, or spot a flock of wild parrots that occasionally fly through town.
Take your time and scope out nature in your everyday life even in Japan. Raise a plant. This is a great way to really connect with the power of life.
As we head toward the future and more and more of our measurements of success are measure though our technology and urbanization, it would behoove us to remember that we are still animals, and like all animals we are nature. Take a look in the mirror and think on that for a while.
I have to point out: nature is not necessarily green.
I would think that the desert environment in which you currently reside is nature as well. Sand is natural. It is the natural environment there, and so is nature.
@Hannah – Yes, sand is nature, but it’s not quite as lovely as green grass and trees, imo. I don’t think that sand and sandstorms would be quite a irritant to people if there weren’t piles of rubble everywhere you look, scrawny stray dogs and cats, boxes of starving, abandoned three-day-old kittens, and assorted animal caracasses/skulls.
Not only that, but from what I’ve heard, where the beauty of the sand and dunes could be maximized, litter runs rampant. So, I guess when people say they dislike the area, I don’t think it’s just because of the sand.
I’m assuming that most people would like to say they appreciate the sandiness, but just can’t.
Speaking of that, though, I cannot describe the feeling when I see one of the two lizards that have taken up a home in my garden scurrying up the wall, or the birds that have nested in the one habitable tree. I reccomened taking joy in what you have, not mourning over what you don’t.
(Btw, those pictures are coming – the camera’s being a little *iffy* at the moment, lol!)