Well it has been awhile since I last posted and I apologize, but it has been incredibly busy here. Good busy however. I am doing things (taking classes mostly) from 8am until 10pm, but I am happier than I have ever been. I can’t stop smiling. Why? Well I guess it’s a combination of things. The hills and mountains surrounding me are part of it, as are the trees that make me smile whenever I look out my window. I am outside more every day than I have been in years and of course there are the amazing people I am living and working with. We are in week one, so we are all still in ‘nice stranger’ mode, I suppose, but at the same time I can see several people forming into some of the best friends I have possibly ever had already. About eight of us spent last night sleeping on the porch looking up at the stars, bundled against the near freezing temperatures and having the greatest of times. Everytime I woke up throughout the night I opened my eyes and saw more stars than I have seen in years living in the city.
The breadth of knowledge I am going to gain here is amazing (and exciting!) I will be learning and teaching classes on astronomy, phenology, the history of Lake Superior, tree identification, animal tracking, stream and lake studies, wetland studies, and my favorite: earthworks! Never heard of it? Well Earthworks is basically making art out of natural things in natural places that is meant not to last forever. It is the only art based class that is taught here and I fell in love with it when I took it. Here is the art that I created in the woods during the class, I call it “Against the Grain”.
I took a class on Renewable Energy that I will teach and I am a bit skeptical. In it there is a ton of information, which I am familiar with, but I am not sure I am okay with the overall message which seems to be that personal lifestyle changes can save the planet. I brought this up to several people in class and they asked how I would tell 6th graders that industry and military institutions cause the most pollution and problems. I am unsure how I’ll do this, and any input is appreciated here guys, but I am thinking I’ll do something like say: “Most pollution, however, doesn’t come from individual people or households but from the military and commercial industries. Next time you go to the mall or a store look around at all the lights that are on, and all the pavement that is stopping trees from growing.” That is where I get stuck, however, because what do I tell them to DO about it?
I had a really exciting conversation with one of my fellow naturalists last night when we were at a bonfire and we are going to work together to learn to tan leather this year. I am going to teach him how to make baskets that we will use the black ash for. There is apparently a community of people that live off the grid with no electricity not five miles from where we are living. We want to go up there and meet them and see if they will teach us about tanning or other rewilding skills. My friend hadn’t heard about Urban Scout before, and I talked about his book (which I of course don’t have up here with me) and he was really excited to begin learning things. We are also talking about making our own moccasins! He doesn’t seem to be as radical leaning as I am on environmental issues, but perhaps if I give him Endgame to read that could change…
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