My entire childhood was basically spent outdoors. My sister and I would catch lizards during the day and go toad hunting at night. My mother would always take us on hikes through the trails near us, and there were always plenty since so much of the area I live in is national forest territory. I was always so amazed by trees, rivers, animals, and all of the noise in the woods (it was like a natural symphony (not sure about this wording)). My family also always had many animals in the house. Through the years we have had: an iguana, a hamster, a guinea pig, a frog, numerous fish, and many faithful dogs. I never got enough of the outdoors so I watched nature shows constantly. Jeff Corwin and Steve Irwin were basically my heroes and role …show more content…
It was just so fantastic being able to see them traveling the world working with animals; working to conserve their environment, teaching others about them, and even learning a thing or two themselves as they
As a child going outside was something that excited you. The freedom of running through the grass or climbing the trees was something that always excited you. As times change and technology improves going outside is not a happy thought anymore. In John Stilgoe’s Outside Lies Magic and Rachel Carson’s The Sense of Wonder, they both discuss the feelings you get while going outside and the importance why we should go outside. Though both have different reasons why we should both books are relevant to today.
I grew up along the beaches and in the woods of Long Island Sound. This was the country. And from then on I was terribly busy hitching up all the dogs I could find to pull me around on my sled in the snow, and picking cherries high up in cherry trees, chasing butterflies, and burning leaves, and picking up shells on the beach, and watching the new flowers come up in the woods as the seasons passed (Days Before Now)
Goodall had a supportive family, such as her mother, Margaret Myfanwe Joseph, a “writer who wrote under the name Vanne Morris Goodall” (Bio True Story, Synopsis Feb. 10, 2012). Joseph encouraged her daughter to pursue her dreams. Her father, Herbert Goodall, was a business man who only wanted the best for his family. Once Jane received her toy chimpanzee, her fascination with animals became surreal. She would start to watch birds and other creatures that existed around her that she found amusing. Even while young, she had a dog named Rusty; Rusty taught Jane that animals do have minds of their own and emotions. Meanwhile, Jane read the book The Story of Dr. Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting; (Jane Goodall Institute) this encouraged her even more to go to Africa to study the wild life. She was most fascinated by the fact he was a doctor who could talk to animals. Goodall wanted to connect to the wild life in a way no one else has had before.
Being out in the woods is meaningful to me because, of the excitement I get out of observing deer in their habitat and the challenges that are presented by the sport of hunting. Once that deer is close enough that I can see it my adrenaline starts to pump and my heart starts to beat a little faster. The excitement that comes with seeing a deer is great, but it is even better if the deer is in shooting range. I have been bow hunting for two years and am already hooked on it because of the anticipation of getting a shot off at a big buck, but watching the deer and how they react in their own habitat is ne...
‘‘Getting outdoors is a great way to get your mind off the things that affect your life and lets you enjoy the things you love’’- Hank Shaw, author of Hank Shaws Hunting and Fishing Stories. Shaw makes the statements because in the times we live in now, millions of people hunt, fish and enjoy the outdoors throughout the year. In this paper, I will talk about the benefits, and joys that people have when they walk in the woods to hunt or go out on the lake to fish. There are many events that come with hunting and fishing, such as competitions, chasing trophy animals, and catching the biggest fish. Many other articles and stories talk about these things that people should have in their lives.
Richard Louv, the author of, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from nature deficit-disorder,” talks about nature and its benefits to a healthy development. Time Experiencing with nature allows people to have healthy development since it promotes creativity and imagination. It does not take more than a couple of steps outside to see nature. It is all around us. It can even be right outside our window. Leaving the blinds open can bring peace of mind, just by viewing it. As people experience time with nature, no matter the age, they develop greater creativity and imagination. It is like people today fear nature.
Relationships with the natural world tend to dwindle as humans grow older resulting in disconnect. This relationship between humans and nature seems like it should be instinctive. When working on artwork and poetry, I focus on the political disconnect that humans have with the natural world. Turtle Mountain by Gary Snyder, The Rain in the Trees by W.S. Merwin, and Strike/ Slip by Don McKay also discuss the relationship between humans and nature, conveying the ever growing disconnect that humans have with the natural world. These poets express this disconnect through their personal connections. While Snyder has a spiritual and down to earth connection with the natural world and Merwin has an airy and non-physical connection,
As I sat in the boiling hot sun, the heat that had overwhelmed me throughout the day surpassed. I was engulfed by Lu Paul, a native Hawaiian advocate who was telling me the story of how Native Hawaiians loss their rights. “How did my people become a minority in their own land?” he asked me inquisitively. I found myself making many connections with this man’s story and my own. As he answered my questions about inequality in his community, he began to speak of many things that I had witnessed in my life, that I thought only my own culture experienced. “My people need to fight for equal education, language rights, and employment”, he stated firmly. It was in this moment I began to broaden my perspective of inequality and minority rights. This along with the many other field experiences I had during my semester abroad, help shape my desire to attend law school and work both nationally and abroad in civil and human rights.
From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.
Despite the fact that Jane Goodall’s family was constantly moving place-to-place, her childhood was exciting. She was born on April 3, 1934 in London, England, and is still lives to this day in England (A&E). Jane owned a few animals while growing up, and recorded what they did regularly. According to an online source, Jane Goodall’s ambition was
In the essay “Children in the Woods”, Barry Lopez discusses how he encourages children to take an interest in wildlife and nature conservation. His methods include taking children on walking tours through forests while prompting them to make observations. Lopez places special emphasis on the abundance of knowledge that can be gained through observation. Lopez emboldens children to use their imaginations while discovering nature instead of relying on the author’s “encyclopedic knowledge” (Lopez 735). The author also focuses on how many components of nature work together as a whole. In “Why I Hunt”, Rick Bass writes about his passion for hunting. Bass describes how hunting, besides a means of sustenance, is an exercise in imagination. Bass observes how society has become preoccupied with instant gratification and has lost its sense of imagination, “confusing anticipation with imagination” (Bass 745). Both essays share common ideas, such as how an active imagination is vital to the human experience, the totality of connection in the natural world, and the authors’ strong spiritual connections to their environments. In contrast, the main focus of Lopez’s essay is conservation education in children, while Bass’s essay discusses how society has become disassociated from nature in a modernized society.
When I think of the perfect place, I imagine a cascading waterfall, a vast forest, a stunning mountainside, or a warm sunset on the beach. I look up around me, mesmerized by the vastness of the natural world and breathe in the fresh air. Over the course of my life, I have come to respect the environment and the earth’s natural surroundings in ways that most others do not in the industrialized and technological era of today. I can appreciate the beauty of the Earth and of all the different landscapes and organisms that surround me. The way in which I value and treasure the environment has evolved just as I have. I see the environment as something to be preserved and admired, not destroyed or exploited. My relationship with the environment is
When I was three years old, I spent my summer in a pond by my home chasing frogs and snakes. When I was five years old, my mother found me sleeping under a mare with her foal. When I was fifteen I spent my spare time working for a family friend’s thoroughbred farm. However, my first love for animal care was born when I was nineteen when I first held an owl. I was an extremely fortunate child to grow up in the Maine wilderness as I did, learning to marvel at the raw beauty of nature at a young age. I attended a nature themed summer camp every year throughout my youth, learning about the sciences of soil and water systems and how they impacted the animals around them. I took every opportunity to immerse myself in animals at any opportunity, from
The power of nature is all around us and can be found almost anywhere. One is able to study nature through experiencing it firsthand, looking at a picture, watching a movie, or even reading a familiar children’s story. I believe that by learning more about nature we can grow closer to God. Emerson states, “Nature is so pervaded in human life, that there is something of humanity in all, and in every particular” (Emerson 508). Like Emerson, I believe that humanity and nature were created by God and we can learn more about the Spirit of God by studying nature. I also see that nature has the power to influence our emotions and actions. I see evidence of this through various landscapes such as the desert, the beach, the mountains and the jungle. I thought about the vastness of the desert during a recent trip to the desert with my class. I think about nature and my love for it when I am scanning through my photo album and see pictures that capture me enjoying the mountains of Utah. When I watched the movie The Beach I was struck out how nature, specifically the beautiful beaches of Thailand, influenced the actions of every character in the movie. Of course it is hard to read a legendary story such as “Jungle Book” and not see what a powerful effect nature and its’ animals can have over humans.
Outdoor recreation is something that everyone needs. Finding that place within yourself that allows you to forget about everything. Whether that be playing with your kids in the nearby park, fishing with your grandfather, hiking with someone or just by yourself you learn something new about yourself. Some people use recreation to forget about something and they use being outside as a calming effect. Williams and Stewart (1998) believe that nature, as a place, creates an emotion bond, has a complex meaning to the person, and that people have this draw back to the place. To get the same feeling that someone would get while doing an activity in nature to simulate Williams and Stewart’s (1998) belief, I recently participated in an