The chair you’re sitting on, the floor beneath your feet, the roof over your head, the food in your belly– none of it is meant to be there. We live in artificial infrastructures in artificially constructed neighborhoods and cities and our food is shipped and our gardens are filled with transplanted species of plant.
Here at Cal Lutheran it can sometimes feel overwhelming to be cooped up in the dorms. Going outside is supposed to be a way to reconnect to the planet. But how strong is our connection when we are sitting on sheets of transplant grass under a sky stained with jet streams? Going to Kingsmen park connects me with memories of the parks I grew up with in Colorado, but it doesn’t ground me to Earth.
In 2007 the Oxford Dictionary deleted nature related words based on their lack of importance and usage in the average childhood. Robert Macfarlane shares that the deletions included acorn, ash, bluebell, buttercup, dandelion, fern, hazel, heron, ivy, kingfisher, lark, mistletoe, nectar, newt, otter, pasture and willow in his article “The Word Hoard” and will be replaced with technology related words. However, not everyone agrees with these changes. Over 50,000 people petitioned for reinstatement in December 2017. As a kid, dandelions were an especially magical find. If the word is no longer relevant to childhood, who will wish upon the remnants of these yellow weedy flowers? What is replacing the sense of hope that comes from blowing the fuzzy top into the wind?Margaret Atwood, along with a team of writers and naturalists, pled for the reinstatement of nature words, stating: “compared with a generation ago, when 40% of children regularly played in natural areas, now only 10% do so, while another 40% never play anywhere outdoors (…) according to Public Health England.” Playing outside was such an important part of my childhood and it is so unfortunate that it is in decline. Technology has offered an escape for parents that will be safe for their kids, but has increased fear in letting them run around outdoors. Last week my friends and I stumbled across a kumquat tree and I was very hesitant about eating the fruit. Pesticide ridden prepackaged food from foreign countries is depicted as the safer option. Denying the fruit of local home-grown trees goes against centuries of human nature. When I finally caved I was surprised by its initial startling bitterness that faded into a sweet and tasty snack. My roommate is shown below holding some kumquats that we brought back to our dorm.So how do we connect to the land when it is so artificial and ridden with fear? I propose that it becomes a part of our education. Not every parent has the time or means to spend time with their kids outdoors. Cities prevent kids from spending time out in their nature filled backyard. School is the best way to give every child the chance to interact with the outdoors. Not only with proper playgrounds and grassy parks but possibly with field trips to land that is native to the area. Because if we raise generations that have not interacted with their environment, what will drive them to protect and cherish it? Education should raise kids to better the world. I believe that experiential environmental education will do just that. Pictured: Wildwood Regional Park (only two miles from Cal Lu!) taken by me.
*Bottom two photos taken by the writer.