Inverted Perspective

Although Eiseley was one of the more difficult authors that we read this semester, I think that he was my favorite. I enjoyed carefully analyzing “The Judgement of Birds” and sharing my thoughts with the rest of the class. Understanding this piece was not easy, but once I figured out what Eiseley was trying to say, I found that his message truly resonated with me. Unlike Abbey, who claims that nature can only be found in extremely remote areas, Eiseley accepts the natural constraints placed within our modern world. I love how he describes finding wilderness within New York City. I also appreciate his use of the word “marvelous” to describe the powerful insight that can be gained from nature. 

Looking up walking to class

Throughout this semester, I have become much more aware of the natural beauty that surrounds me at any given moment. When walking to class, it is easy to get distracted by the hundreds of other students rushing past me or the loud, ongoing construction behind Neeley. However, Eiseley calls upon us to look past these distractions and search for the marvelous within our busy everyday lives. Even on TCU’s busy campus, I am able to find these glimpses of wilderness. From our “Art of Walking” exercise inspired by Thoreau to our time spent at the nature center, I have become much more appreciative of what is around me. After our first class, I remember walking back to my house much slower than usual, attempting to take full advantage of the nature observation time built into the class period. I looked around and saw things differently, almost like I was seeing them for the first time. I had never really noticed the greenness of the trees above me or the bursts of color coming from the flowers planted all throughout campus. Since that day, I try to leave a few minutes early when walking to class so I have time to slow down, take a breath, and admire what is around me. I have always thought that TCU was a beautiful campus, but this semester, I have come to appreciate it more fully.

Sunset on TCU's campus

This class has allowed me to view nature with an inverted perspective (as Eiseley would say), and I am excited to take what I have learned with me into the future. One of my biggest takeaways is that I need to be reading and writing more. I love to read, but it is difficult for me to take time to relax when I know I could be studying and doing work for my classes. I also have a hard time putting down a book once I start it. I really enjoyed reading these shorter pieces and want to read more from our Nature Writing book in the future. Writing these blog posts throughout the semester has been a calming experience. Although I know that part of the reason why I enjoy it so much is because it is required for the class, I hope to be able to set aside time for myself to journal even when this class is over. I have truly enjoyed this semester, and I have learned so much both within and outside of the classroom. 

Bees pollinating during our "Art of Walking" exercise

Final Project

 Final Presentation

Emily Dillon, Abby Sellers, Brianna Ross, Jack O’Neill

For our final project, we completed a video project in which we outlined our four key takeaways from the semester as a whole. To structure this project, we used a combination of voice overs, key quotes, and photographs that we believe visually depict the stories and experiences that we are sharing. We decided to make our project photograph oriented because nature photography has been a key theme for each of us throughout this semester, as it has been a component that has allowed us to better connect with nature. Additionally, photography has challenged us to capture different perspectives, such as choosing to focus on one tiny bee rather than an entire garden. We believe that our photography shows how our perspectives have changed this semester, so that in combination with other photographs depicting the quotes and authors we are referencing is the most powerful way for us to get our message across. 

Our four key takeaways from this semester include: Re-evaluating our relationship with nature, gaining a better understanding of our role in environmental issues, understanding that there are different ways to view nature, and acknowledging that all of life is united and connected. These takeaways were identified through reflecting and synthesizing our semester experiences to identify the most significant lessons we learned that we will carry with us long past this course. Additionally, we also referenced the course outcomes when identifying these takeaways to ensure they were the most relevant learning experiences from the course. For example, we have gained a great understanding of current and historic environmental issues and movements, which we referenced in our video through our discussion on transcendentalism, conservation v. preservation, and Standing Bear v. Lewis. Additionally, throughout our takeaways we synthesized information from the variety of authors and genres that we learned about this semester, analyzing their similarities and differences to connect the common takeaways that we could learn from all of them. Lastly, we also referenced our personal outdoor experiences and observations and the roles they played in our learning, such as in discussing the bison roundup, walking, and canoe trip experiences. 

Overall, we are confident that these four key takeaways encompass the most relevant learning experiences we had this semester and show a thorough completion of the course outcomes. We all had an incredible experience connecting with our fellow classmates through our nature opportunities and are excited to carry forward these learnings and new perspectives on nature going forward. Thank you for watching our video and for an amazing semester!

Link to video 

Pets

I have always loved animals. I grew up riding horses and worked for a large animal veterinarian for a year after I graduated high school. I am the type of person who will carefully remove any type of bug that enters the house and place it back outside without trying to harm it. We have miniature horses, goats, chickens, a cow, a miniature cow, and donkeys at the farm where we keep our horses. At home, we have three dogs and a pet pig. After reading White’s piece, I started to think about what it means to have a pet. I say that I have a pet pig because Gibby is a pet to me, but I wouldn’t necessarily call my horses pets. I think that I personally draw the line at what constitutes a pet when the animal lives in the house and is a part of the family (yes, Gibby sleeps inside at night). I guess this line can seem arbitrary, but to me a pet is an animal that we possess for the sole purpose of keeping us company. I think White would agree as he describes his pet snakes as confiding creatures. The animals at the farm all have a separate purpose – we ride the horses, get eggs from the chickens, and the donkeys fend off coyotes. Although all of the animals at the farm ultimately depend on us for survival, I wouldn’t call them pets because I think a different type of bond is formed with pets that live inside our homes. 

Our pet pig, Gibby, taking a nap

White’s reading reminded me of my weird obsession with snakes when I was younger. Everytime we drove up to Ohio to visit my grandparents, we would stop at Reptile World and I would BEG my mom to let me get a pet snake (unfortunately, she said no every year). This reading reinforced my belief that humans are connected to other animals. If we weren’t, I do not think that we would form the types of bonds with our pets that we do. I also believe that animals can help connect us to the natural world. My family recently acquired a new puppy. Because he possesses endless amounts of energy, we have to walk him a ton. Over Thanksgiving break, I would take him on long walks everyday (although they didn’t seem to help with the energy issue). However, having a pet like a dog forces us to go outside. Although White appears to be against the notion of having pets, he just couldn’t seem to help himself. While I think that capturing and trying to domesticate “wild” animals is unfair to the animal, keeping these already domesticated animals, like dogs and cats, can only make us better humans. 

Our new puppy

Because the readings from this week centered around animals, I was reminded of this quote from Gandhi that I really admire:  “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” I find truth in this statement, and I think many of the authors we have read this semester would as well. I think that treating animals morally goes hand in hand with treating nature morally. While we can argue about preservation vs. conservation and whether or not visiting national parks does more harm than good, I firmly believe that having a respect for the natural world is a good place to start. Furthermore, this respect should involve treating animals kindly. Whenever I see an undomesticated animal, like a deer or a bird, I am reminded that wilderness persists even in the midst of our modern world.

Hawk near the Trinity River

Bees pollinating on TCU's campus

My Top 10 Photos

This blog post is dedicated to my Top 10 Photos from this semester. I would not consider myself a photographer by any means, and when I saw that we would need to take photos for this class I was honestly a little intimidated. I am the type of person who will go to events without taking a single picture. I get distracted easily and forget to take everything in at times. This class has taught me about the importance of taking a breath and appreciating what is around me. I remember Dr. Williams describing the nature observation component of each class. This really made me realize how I always seem to be in a hurry for no reason. I have thoroughly enjoyed taking these slower walks back from class, and I believe that I have become more cognizant of the nature around me when doing a variety of other activities like running or driving.

I believe that there is something so comforting about being able to look at a picture and be instantly teleported back to a specific time and place. Although we can always go back to these memories in our minds, I really think that pictures tell a story, and this class has helped me realize the power of a photograph. I have chosen these photographs because each one holds a memory. I can look at these individual pictures and remember the seconds leading up to and immediately following the moment captured in the photo. In addition, these photographs were taken in a variety of locations at different times throughout the semester, showcasing my journey over the past couple of months. 

Trinity River, Fort Worth, TX
5:25 pm, September 5, 2022

Benbrook Lake, Fort Worth, TX
7:25 pm, September 22, 2022

Benbrook Lake, Fort Worth, TX
7:52 pm, September 22, 2022

Fort Worth Nature Center, Fort Worth, TX
3:41 pm, September 28, 2022

Trinity River, Fort Worth, TX
8:07 AM, October 12, 2022

Driving in Cordova, TN
11:06 AM, October 17, 2022

Shelby Farms Greenline, Memphis, TN
9:52 AM, November 21, 2022

Shelby Farms Park, Memphis, TN
10:06 AM, November 21, 2022

Horseback Riding in Eads, TN
2:56 PM, November 23, 2022

Eads, TN
3:04 PM, November 23, 2022

Shelby Farms

Last week in class, we talked about Stegner’s Wilderness Letter, in which Stegner argues for the preservation of the natural world. Many quotes from this letter have really stuck with me, and I have been thinking a lot about them during the past week. I wholeheartedly agree with much of what Stegner presents in his letter. He asserts that without the natural world, there is no chance for “reflection and rest.” Last week in Fort Worth, the weather was horrible – it was cold and rainy and miserable to walk the short ten minutes to class each day. I am someone who tries to do something outside every day. I run in the morning a few days during the week and like to go for walks in the afternoon if I have the time. However, the weather last week prohibited my scheduled outdoor time. I know my high school cross country coach would laugh at me and say that my skin is waterproof. However, I truly hate cold weather, and I despise being cold AND wet. 

When I was driving home for Thanksgiving break, I was relieved to see that the weather at home was going to be perfect – sunny and 60° for a few days. I mentally started making a checklist in my head of all the things I wanted to do during the week, which I knew was going to flash by in the blink of an eye like it always does. At the top of my list was to go to Shelby Farms, a big park on the outskirts of the city. I spent a lot of time here growing up. My mom would take my brothers and I to play at the park when we were younger, and I had cross country practice and meets here as well. This time last year, I was training for a marathon and remember my dad run/walking and going to pick up Chick-fil-A for me as I trudged along the trail on my 15 mile run. This year, I didn’t have to worry about training for a race, so when I went to Shelby Farms, I walked a little, ran a little, but spent the majority of the time just wandering around. One trail had a variety of trees planted and labeled with their different names, a new edition since the last time I had been there. I saw a ton of animals during my time, at least three different groups of deer, a bunch of different birds, and even a little bunny. 

It made my heart happy to see so many other people outside too. While it seems like our society is obsessed with industrialization and technological advancement, there must be a few sane people left in the Parks and Recreation department who make sure that places like Shelby Farms continue to exist. Stegner boldly claims that “One means of sanity is to retain a hold on the natural world.” I think that the other people outside enjoying the park would agree with this statement. Being outside brings comfort and tranquility that cannot be found anywhere else. Those few days last week where I was trapped inside made me feel like I was going a little bit crazy. As Stegner also points out, we are not meant to live the way that we do. While our societal advances have brought increased comforts, these comforts have come at a cost. Stegner argues that we have tried to domesticate ourselves. However, preserving the natural world helps us to maintain the mental clarity that can only be achieved through nature.

Back Home

Stegner discusses his reluctance to return back to Glen Canyon because he fears it will not be the same as he remembers it. I have also felt this uneasy feeling, especially when coming home for breaks. It is weird to come back to Memphis and see how things have changed since I have been away. Some of these changes are small – my mom hangs a new photo in the living room and a new restaurant opens down the street – while others are pretty big – another lane has been added to a road to accommodate more drivers and a new building is under construction at my high school. Although I don’t love change, I also don’t hate it. I think that change is good because it allows us to see things differently and grow as people. I truly believe that humans are great at adapting. We quickly accommodate to new technologies and ever-changing trends. If anything, the COVID-19 pandemic has proven that people can adapt to a completely different way of life and do so relatively quickly. 

While change can be scary, I think that one way to cope with newness is to return to places that have remained unchanged. For me, one of my favorite places to go is a farm a few minutes from my house where we keep our horses. For over the past decade, this place has been a constant in my life. The driveway looks the same each time I drive down it, and the same horses have been in the same stalls in the barn (for the most part). Although my horse has gotten older and has a few more gray hairs than he did a few years ago, he still eats the same hay every morning and gets turned out in the same field every afternoon. There is something intrinsically comforting about going back to these types of places. I find even more comfort in knowing that this place exists outside in nature. 

My horse, Samba, and I enjoying the view.

One thing I miss being in Fort Worth is getting to see the leaves change color. We don’t have much of a fall in Texas. The weather seems to go from miserably hot to cold with not much in between. Memphis always has a beautiful fall, and I truly enjoyed seeing all of the trees before Thanksgiving. The transition through the seasons is another example of change, but most people aren’t as scared about this type of transformation as others. When it comes to nature, change is not only expected, but it is also necessary and normal. I think we can learn a good deal from being in nature. Sometimes we must go through uncomfortable situations, similar to the leaves falling from the trees, in order to come out better on the other side. Whenever I start feeling nervous about the future and whatever changes are in store, coming back to nature and these outdoor places of comfort always ease my mind and make me feel at home.

Driving

 Last weekend, I went back home to Memphis to visit my family. Even though one of my brothers goes to TCU, and I have seen my mom and dad this semester, I had not seen my two youngest brothers since the end of summer. I booked a flight last minute after looking at the calendar and realizing that I wouldn’t be able to see them until Thanksgiving. I tell everyone that I am from Memphis, but I really live about thirty minutes outside of the actual city in Eads. I would consider this suburb to be more rural. We live five minutes away from a farm where we keep our horses, and the houses are all spread apart by lots of land. Coming to TCU and experiencing Fort Worth made me realize how close everything is. At home, I would drive at least forty minutes to school every morning depending on traffic, while everything else is at least twenty-five minutes away. I got used to driving a lot in high school, and I have found that I have become less patient since coming to TCU. I really can’t think of anything around here that is more than ten to fifteen minutes away (except the Nature Center). 

Driving through Shelby Farms

When I was home last weekend, I spent a lot of time in the car. It was nice to look around and see things that I hadn’t been able to see the last couple of months. In Memphis, the weather is a little cooler than it is here, so the leaves have just started to change color. I love fall in Memphis because we have so many trees. My favorite place to go while I am at home is Shelby Farms Park. It is one of the largest urban parks in the country and has a buffalo herd like the Fort Worth Nature Center. Unfortunately, it rained most of the time when I was home, so I wasn’t able to go. We drive past the park to get to the city, so I was able to see it from a distance. I think it is comforting that even when we are separated from the wilderness by the comforts of our cars, we can still appreciate nature by simply looking outside the window.

Driving past a cotton field