Last month when I first started to explore Town Lake, I learned all about the ecosystem that lived there including the plants and animals (mainly different species of birds). I was hoping to see some changes this month when I visited the same area, but unfortunately, the temperature had only gotten colder. That meant that the plants were still dead and the animals were even scarcer. I was once again pretty much the only person crazy enough to brave the trail that day because it was 30 degrees outside. This time, instead of paying attention to every detail of the ecosystem around me, I wanted to focus on what forces were affecting that ecosystem. The two forces that I noticed were climate and humans.
The climate seemed to have a big impact on the environment. As I stated earlier, it was thirty degrees outside the day that I want to Town Lake. That really changed my experience compared to last month. For example, last month when I sat down at a bench, a huge group of birds approached me. This time, there were only about two mallards that were visible to me, and they did not seem interested in begging for food. They were actually swimming away from me, probably looking for a warmer area.
It was really interesting to think about how the climate could have affected the way that the birds behaved. The birds have probably learned over time that when it was warmer outside there would be more people that would likely feed them, and when it was colder outside there was no use in wasting their time. Besides the difference in the behavior of the animals, the only other difference I noticed was in the plants. Believe it or not it actually appeared like they had died even more. I didn’t even realize that was possible. Take this crisp leaf for example.
I touched it and it nearly disintegrated. This was definitely disappointing, because I was hoping by now some of the plants would have gained some color. Just when I had given up all hope, I noticed a pop of green in the corner of my eye. Deep in the all of the twisted branches was one sign of hope with little green leaves sprouting up.
It may be a long shot, but it makes me hopeful for what I can expect next month.
What makes me less hopeful is the second force that I noticed was affecting the ecosystem: humans.
The amount of garbage and human products that I noticed polluting the ecosystem was absolutely despicable. I don’t know how humans think it is okay to ruin a beautiful ecosystem with their trash, but I hope in the next couple of months with my volunteer work at Keep Austin Beautiful I will be able to help make a difference.
“It is inconceivable to me that an ethical relation to land can exist without love, respect, and admiration for land, and a high regard to its value. By value, I of course mean something far broader than mere economic value; I mean value in the philosophical sense”- Aldo Leopold.