I realized quickly that we would not be walking through the swamp but on a boardwalk that goes through the area. I don't know if the bugs weren't out or if it was the bug spray but I wasn't bit once. It wasn't sweltering hot either. We walked through with Ryan, a guide, who told us about the birds and what he knew about the wildlife and plant life.
One of my class mates saw a snake just chilling in a tree. I am afraid of them but it was really cool to see it in it's own habitat. I have seen them in cages and aquariums before, but to see it where it lives was interesting to me. It didn't move, realizing that we couldn't get to it.
After the tour, we went to a clearing with a deck and the entire class was quite for five minutes. The result was hard to deny. We had been walking through the slough and had not noticed all the wildlife noises because we were talking. Once still and quite, we were able to hear SO many birds and other animals and fish jumping in the water and air through the trees. It was a bit moving for me. The honest truth is that I have been very stressed out with school, surgery/recovery and home life, that I often forgot to stop and breathe. As I sat there and took Professor Mendes's advice to forget about stress and responsibility, just for a minute, I began to listen to all the nature around me and felt a lightness that I hadn't felt in a while. After we left, of course my stress returned, but not as severe. It made me think of the discussions we have had about Nature Deficit Disorder and how studies have proven that we naturally feel better if we get natural air and sunlight. I believe that I had experienced that, even for a moment.
I feel that I have gotten a lot out of this class, not just information from studies or books, but more of an awareness is how I would describe it. I have always had an understanding not to waste things. I grew up really poor and learned to not waste food or water or electricity, but only for money reasons. I never learned that conservation was important or why. I learned bits and pieces as I go older, heard about Global Warming and such, but never really had a clear picture. THAT is how I would describe my feels about this class. Whether I "love" nature or not, I have a clearer picture of my environment and my place in it. Not at the top as others think humans are, but my own place. And it's more than that. Learning my place also means learning about my responsibility to use and conserve responsibly and to teach my kids and others around me to do the same.
I believe as a teacher I will be able to use my skills to help teach these ideas to my students. There are a lot of ways I can incorporate learning about nature, the environment and to think about what we are doing and using in different types of lessons. Even taking my students outside sometimes for lessons will help!!
Thank you!
