The Natureless Nature Project

Thoughts of an Environmental Communications student.

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Non-Profit VS. Corporate VS. Government "Green" Web Communication

Prius does it right.

Toyota has an incredibly graphic-focused, engaging web page for their "green" car model, the Prius. If you look past the gimmicky photos of smiling people in gardens (because that's what it means to be environmentally-friendly, of course), you can find very interesting interactive tools on the web page. There is 360 degree tour of the models and, my favorite, a car builder. The website seems to draw your eyes in the colorful images and text, but it doesn't disappoint once it gets you there.

Toyota's job is to sell you a car, and they know it.

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What A Conformist

A certain kind of child can arrive home from the store with their mom, bust out their freshly-purchased board game, and go crazy without ever bothering to read the instructions. They make up their own rules. They don’t have any rules. They practice the freedom of creativity to play how they want.

This assignment is already killing me—I need more instruction! Without a rubric or specific guidelines, I feel lost when I’m writing. I consider most of my instruction-less writings to be ramblings, and rambling is what’s found in a teenage diary. It’s not concise, smooth, paced, or any other attribute of “good” writing.

In ramblings, I spawn the excess words that everyone warns you about. Everything becomes blue in color and my confidence ends up completely destroyed—just kidding! But seriously, I have a habit of writing excess words in any writing: technical, personal, poetic, or professional.

Passive voice often creeps up on me, particularly during Professional Service Project writings. I used to be convinced that passive voice sounds more “fancy,” i.e. professional. After reading the writing guides for this class, I’ve quickly changed my mind (for fear of the consequences otherwise).

My writing is not perfect. I ramble, I spawn, I digress. Writing creatively is not my natural talent. I prefer the boundaries of instruction.

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PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT - Just for fun :)

These were some intriguing subjects I found.

at Hueston Woods State Park

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PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT - Leading Lines with a Wider Depth of Field and good movement

This photo was a happy accident. I originally shot it to capture the "leading lines" of the fence, but the image expresses such movement beyond that: the draw of the fence transports your eyes around the curving road, only encouraged by a convenient arrow pointing your way and a walking girl leading you.

at Hueston Woods State Park

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PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT - Slow and Fast Shutter Speed

Attempting to catch the sunshine, my slow-shutter image became blurry. I think it makes the overall photo more intriguing, with a nice contrast of lights and darks.

The stream photo was taken to capture the reflection.

at Hueston Woods State Park

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PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT - 1.) Ant's Eye View  2.) Bird's Eye View and Fill the Frame

The bug lured me below the flower, only for me to realize that this shot was an ant's eye view. This is more creative than the tree photo I was planning to use instead.

The bird's eye view is looking straight down, which gives the photo a nice balance of symmetry.

at Hueston Woods State Park

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PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT - Repetition

This enormous field contain four tiny plants growing at the same height, which made for a unique capture of repetition, I think. The trees formed "wall" at the edge of the field.

at Hueston Woods State Park

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PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT - both Texture and Shallow Depth of Field

Textures are more obvious when viewed close-up. The green foxtail image is one of my favorites of the day.

at Hueston Woods State Park

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PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT - Rule of Thirds

I shot these because they have an element of interest. The mushrooms and the already opened walnut were great finds, and the flower exudes this curving movement that draws the eye.

at Hueston Woods State Park

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"Oh my gosh--that bird only has one wing!" That is what I first thought when looking at Bob Croslin's photo story, "Grounded: Winged Survivors of Florida's Gulf Coast." I imagine that is the reaction he wanted the viewer to have. The introductory caption claims that this story illustrates "the impacts of man's encroachment on native avian habitats." Did it succeed? With the exception of photos 1, 5 and 7, the injuries of the birds are not visible. This does not make the photos any less beautiful or interesting, but it does mean that they do not carry the same significance as the captions. Every photo simply features a bird of the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, causing the sequence of images to be unimportant, with the possible exception of the first photo (the one-winged pelican) that likely draws viewers into the story. It can be said, at least, that Croslin's photos are beautifully shot, with extreme lighting and chroma that give them a sharp, powerful appeal. The birds are all shot in different poses and angles, setting each image apart from its predecessor. At the end of the day, though, birds are birds, even crippled ones. I do not mind looking at birds, but they do not tell a story. The studio photos ultimately detract from this piece, I think, and the limited captions are left to bear the weight.

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"The Last of the Viking Whalers" is a photo story by Marcus Bleasdale that explores the blurred lines of how certain environmental rights can negatively impact the human communities juxtaposed to them. This can make it contentious to justify the advance of those environmental rights that infringe upon the human culture and historical heritage also at risk of extinction. The story of the "The Last of the Viking Whalers" is complete, barring the potential desire for one photograph capturing the desolation of the remaining Norwegian communities. The sequence of photos is appropriate; there is a story inherently told in the visuals, but the captions do not detract from this. The first photo is arresting--at first glance, the viewer may be unsure of what is being depicted, but the sinking realization of the mutilation is there. The remaining photos are equally as compelling. The second to last image is my favorite; it is at odds with the entire story, capturing the innocence of the Norwegian youth. The caption put this into perspective--families who do not enter the whaling industry are forced to leave the community to find work elsewhere. It is a dying place. The photographic story shines artistically. Bleasdale's photos express movement and action; the third photo is an exemplar of this. Each image is composed with elements of design to keep the viewer's eye moving and enthralled.

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Hard Truths From The Moon-Eyed Horse

To me, the story represents the hard truths oftentimes found in nature. The protagonist journeys to find the Moon-Eyed Horse out of “sympathy and understanding.” He wants to bring the horse home and save it from the death he describes in his sermon, but that outcome is inescapable. Life isn’t a Disney movie—owls aren’t friends with mice and bunnies and the bugs will eat you when you’re buried. That’s the hard truth.

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I REMEMBER MY LIMBERLOST

I remember my Limberlost. From the time I could walk, I loved animals and being outside. I grew up with the neighbor girl, spending our hours climbing trees, playing in the unnamed creek that ran behind both of our houses, keeping a steady rash of poison ivy and mosquito bites. We caught crawdads and lightning bugs; we greedily licked the honeysuckle stamens.

My Limberlost went the way that I imagine those before it have been lost by the American teenager. The older I grew, the more distant I became from my neighborhood friend and from the natural world. I found myself racing home from school not to celebrate my evening freedom outdoors—the freest place you can be, but to sign into whatever version of online chat was popular at the time and spend hours imprisoned by the inorganic teenage drama on my computer screen.

As an adult, I started to re-place myself. Pining for my lost Limberlost, I eagerly enrolled in natural science courses at college. One class of field botany and field zoology was all it took—I remembered the trees, and the creek, and the mosquito bites—and I realized I had missed them all!

Pyle’s essay obviously stuck a chord within me, I can relate to every word he wrote. Working at a Conservation Camp for two full summers, I feel disheartened by the lack of natural history in public education. As Pyle said, “one week of environmental education camp in the sixth grade, or the occasional field trip is not the same thing as doing nature study on a daily basis.” The children who arrive at camp are eager for it—they name the salamanders, wildflowers, and trees with cheerful satisfaction. They fish the ponds, and explore the woods. They all remind me of my young self and my old Limberlost, and I only hope that they can keep theirs.

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"To find new things, take the path you took yesterday."

-John Burroughs

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Dave Bertelsen's enormous data set in Tim Folger's article, The Data Trail, reminded me of this classic population ecology study. A researcher used historic pelt data from trappers to graph the snowshoe and lynx cycles over the span of 100 years.

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Saguaro cacti only grow in the Sonoran Desert. It may take up to 75 years for a growing saguaro to develop "arms."

Photo by Jill Richards Photography.

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A Long, Continuous Walk