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Journal Entry #14

With the stress of final exams, projects and presentations, I often find myself overwhelmed and riddled with worry. In the past, before this semester, to cope with these emotions I would typically go take a nap or watch a show in Netflix to distance myself from current state. However, this semester in the midst of finals prep, I decided to go talk a walk instead. Sunday afternoon was a random, beautiful, sunny day in the midst of the cold, December winter, so I figured why not take advantage of it. I even encouraged my friends to come with me and take a break from it all. We didn’t talk much during the excursion, but just walked and admired all that was around us. I think we often forget about the little, extraordinary things around us. We are constantly looking for the bright, shiny, new things to fawn over but so quickly to forget to acknowledge the beauty in the minute details. Every single one of them talked after about how helpful and needed it was. I think that speaks to the p...
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Final Nature Essay

Sam LaCoste December 14, 2019 Williams Final Nature Essay: A Summer in Galena, Illinois                 The summers in Texas begin the same every year. Temperatures reaching paralyzing altitudes, nights become longer, and outdoor activity is substituted for the comfort of the air conditioning and indoor amenities. Days go by and the routine is the same. Aside from the occasionally dip in the pool, or wade through the lake, there are few outlets for an outdoor escape from the heat. Aside from the heat, the air becomes heavy, riddled with humidity and the tease of a much wanted ran that never comes. At night, the bedsheets cling to you as if any drop of sweat would cool them off as well. When the pinnacle of the heat wave begins to hit in July, it’s finally time for an escape from the sweltering confinement of the summer heat.             In ...
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Journal Entry #13

I found the readings from A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold to be interesting for a variety of reasons. His concept of this economic sense of worth stuck out to me the most. I had never thought of nature and conservation efforts in this way before. He makes the point that we only consider something of value worth saving when we tie an economic worth to it. Items that do not propose any value to us for future sales or revenue gain, often receive little attention and conservation efforts from us. He details elements of the marshes and points out that so few elements from them would uphold a certain dollar value and therefore, we disregard them and do away with them. However, we do this not realizing that it effects the parts of these ecosystems that we do associate a value with. In general, we need to look beyond the dollar value of the components of these ecosystems and look at them holistically. Additionally, we need to somehow overcome this business centric, economy driven vi...
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Journal Emtry #12

Our discussion of Ackerman and her piece Why Leaves Turn Color in the Fall provided thoughtful conversation about the balance of science and human story telling. Honestly, I have never read a piece that offered such a great balance of the two components. I feel as though I often read excerpts that are one or the other and I don’t take away as much. When an article is purely science and fact based, I think the reader can lose focus of the article, despite the important message it supports. However, when excerpts are purely memory reflection, the reader often loses the technical support of the scenario, and depending on the issue being discussed, not fully understand the gravity of the topic. While Ackerman discusses the falling of leaves and the seasonal transition, she was able to make the science of the topic relatable for the reader by incorporating the memories of children and playing in leaves. In doing this, the reader is more likely to make a connection to the piece with memori...
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Journal Entry #11

  I enjoyed going to the Amon Carter Museum during class today to admire and learn about the art work depicting the natural world. The detail displayed in some of the paintings was remarkable. The immersion that the artists had to complete to capture every detail of that which they painted, is comparable to that of the authors we read in class. Highlighting the smallest of details in perspective and lighting, illuminated the flora and fauna of the scene in which they painted. However, despite the obvious beauty of the artwork we saw, it reminded me of the quote from Aldo Leopold, “Our ability to perceive the quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty.” These artists do a masterful job at creating these exquisite pieces of art and showing the beauty in nature, but that’s just it. Most of the paintings and art we saw were of these angelic glimpses of scenery, but little required much thought of interpretation of critiqued the treatment of the natural world. While granted, ...
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Journal Entry #10

Our review of Barry Lopez and The American Geographies made me think a lot about how I interact and view nature. I will be the first to admit that I have a horrible awareness of what is around me geographically. I have not taken the time to educate myself on places and landmarks around the world, and in my own community for that matter. Lopez talks about “a numbing casualness….and commercial frame of mind,” and when reading this, I felt like he was almost talking to me. I have taken little time to create emotional ties to places in the environment like Lopez talks about. Our discussion in class has made me realize that I need to set aside time to allow myself to explore and create memories in these natural places. Being able to go volunteer at the nature center, was the first environmental immersion that I have had in a very long time. On another note, I saw the structure and perspective of this class displayed in the writings of Lopez. His comment regarding looking outside of book...
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Journal Entry #9

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Our canoeing excursion was one of my favorite days of the semester. I had not been canoeing since I was in grade school. The last time I went canoeing was with my grandpa when I was probably 10 or 11 years old. It brought back a lot of old memories from when he and I would go out on the water together and spend hours out there. This was a great break from the routine of being a full-time student and the day to day monotony that comes with that. I think every student in our class had a smile the whole time we were out there. It is important that we are able to find the joy associated with being in nature and the environment around us. Experiencing nature is more than just going outside, standing and observing. Doing activities that require you to be outside, not only increase your overall awareness of the natural world around you but creates an association of entertainment and the natural environment. In doing this, people are more likely to go out and interact with their environmen...
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