Nature and Me
Unit 1 Blog Post
As someone who lives in suburbia, I have always found it difficult to get involved with nature. I live in a row of “cookie-cutter” houses with a few trees surrounding the house and little parcels of untouched nature scattered throughout the rest of the neighbourhood. I had ventured into these fractured pieces of the forest a few times over the years, but I never felt I appreciated them as my visits were sparse and I was usually just traversing the forest to get to a different destination. I always thought I had a positive relationship with nature and spent time in it, but in hindsight, I felt it had been more of a neutral relationship where we coexisted with each other.
The advent of adopting my dog, Scout, at fourteen is when I felt my relationship with nature shift. She is a large breed dog and I felt she deserved the ability to go on long walks and not just in urban environments, I wanted to find forests where she could roam free. So, my family began to explore by driving to different hiking trails and environmental parks, discovering places to adventure and making a new natural environment the destination. Venturing out daily to explore certainly increased and then bolstered my affinity towards the natural world. I fondly think about all the new places discovered and the stories I have to tell about every location. All of that said, I am aware I am fortunate to be able to surround myself with nature whenever I can due to a lack of socioeconomic barriers and physical accessibility.
This I have been offered “a sense of place” by my family. Ever since I was an infant, my parents have encouraged me to explore the beauty of nature by camping at many of Ontario’s southern and eastern provincial parks and trekking across the many trails. The summer before university, we even travelled to southern Africa where I was witness to the breathtaking landscape, an unforgettable experience I would recommend to any who can afford it. Additionally, most summers, I head to my grandparents’ cabin in the beautiful Riding Mountain National Park located in Manitoba where I swim and enjoy the lakeside scenery or hike the Ominik marsh walk and various trails to get a breath of fresh air.
Moreover, surrounding myself with nature has always brought me a sense of calm, quieting the chaos of normal life. It makes me feel grounded as it reminds me that my problems are minuscule in the grand scheme of the whole natural world. I also observe how the plants can flourish despite the hardships the Canadian weather and wilderness presents and it reminds me to be resilient because if they can survive without nurturing and shelter, I should certainly be able to when afforded those comforts.
Due to a plethora of great experiences in nature, I have a great love and respect for nature that is unparalleled, so much so that I aspire to give back through pursuing animal or environmental law.
I am excited to join you all on this new adventure, talk to you soon fellow nature nerds!
Beck, L., Cable, T.T. & Knudson, D.M. (2018). Interpreting Cultural and Natural Heritage for a Better World. Sagamore-Venture Publishing.
