“Harmony with land is like harmony with a friend; you cannot cherish his right hand and chop off his left.” – Aldo Leopold
I truly enjoyed going to Blunn Creek every week and observing the nature around me. Throughout my visits, I saw many things that changed while others remained the same. For example, the drop in temperature throughout the months was something that significantly changed the landscape. First of all, the color of the trees and surrounding landscape went from a strong green, to a light yellow and orange. Many of the leaves had fallen, marking the end of the fall and showing the beginning of winter. Another change I noticed in Blunn Creek was that as the weeks went by, I could hear fewer sounds. What I mean by this is that there were fewer animals in the area, leaving me with a sense of isolation. As winter approached, noises of crickets and birds gradually went down, and it seemed that the sound of the fallen leaves was all I could hear. I could hear the noise of the leaves stronger at the end of the year because there was more wind and leaves in the ground, leaving the landscape with a gentle breeze and sound of leaves crumbling together. It was certainly soothing to feel nothing but a brisk draft of cold air comforting me as I walked through the path. Lastly, something else that I noticed is that the amount of trash in the area had considerably lessened. Nonetheless, I am not sure if this is because as the colder it gets, the less people visit Blunn Creek. However, I am hopeful that people were beginning to find new sense of responsibility to take action and care for the environment by picking up the trash they find in the Creek.
One thing that did not change, regardless of the month, was the feeling of seclusion from the world that I felt whenever I went to Blunn Creek. In other words, you could not hear a sound of a car, person, or any other type of manmade sound coming from the creek. Subsequently, another calming aspect of the creek that remained the same was the noise of the water. In every occasion, I always spent time looking at the water running through the rocks. This scene still remains one of my favorite memories from this project. Initially, I did not think that this project would change my perspective on nature, since I felt that I spent a reasonable time each day outside admiring nature. However, I was wrong because visiting Blunn Creek gave me a deeper sense of nature and its importance to society.
When I observed the word cloud that highlighted the most used words in other people’s blogs, I began to see that my classmates also talked about similar observations. The word Blunn, which is one of the most used words, was there because many people went to Blunn Creek Preserve. From the words “beautiful, trees, and birds” I realized that most people had similar observations. These three words is the main reason that Blunn Creek is so astounding. Another word that was used repeatedly was “water”. I think that it has great value that many people talked about water. Water is one of the most essential things needed for life, and without it none of us would be here. I am glad that many people made observations about water because the current carbon emission rate of the world has put water in danger of being polluted. Companies are dumping their trash in oceans and as a result pH levels in the water are slowly changing. If we lose valuable resources from water, we could suffer by being unable to catch fish, a valuable source of food. We could also get sick from drinking contaminated water filled with leaked chemicals. Another interesting word from the cloud is “different”. To me this is significant; b although many people have visited Blunn Creek, they each saw something different. I read the blogs of various classmates who attended Blunn Creek, and noticed that although there were similarities in what we saw, there were a variety of observations that were unique to each person. What I also found in reading other people’s blogs is that they interpreted their scenery differently than I had, even though it was the same place. For instance, I read a blog where someone briefly talked about the different water levels of the creek that they observed from September to December. Moreover, the word cloud contains the word “see”. This entire project consisted of seeing new things and exploring new places in nature. In my experience, by going to the same place, I learned that every time I visited the same spot, I would see something I did not see before. For example, in my first visit to Blunn Creek I had not realized the extravagant trees and rocks that surrounded me. However, as I began to go more often, I began to see the different ways that rocks were carved as well as the remarkable heights of distant trees. In addition, I was able to explore new aspects of the area due to the different hours of the day. In the mornings, I could see everything with a clearer light; while in the evening, I could see the diverse contrasts given by the sunset.
Visiting Blunn Creek each week was an experience that led me to want to become a more environmentally friendly person. I know that it is up to people like me to reduce pollution and treat nature the right way. Being exposed to nature throughout the months really opened my eyes to the beauty that is around us, and how delicate and pristine nature is. This blog made me analyze my way of thinking towards the environment and how my actions can help or deter the cause to protecting wildlife. I conclude my blog by examining another word commonly used, “life”. After all, it is our life and our planet, and if we can all join together in the fight to save nature, we can provide a better life for us and help sustain our community.
