Naturalist Essay

When I took my nature walk, it was a gorgeous day in Lincoln Park, as it has been for the past few weeks here. I went to Oz Park, a few blocks away from campus and saw for the first time since being in Chicago more than a few types of flowers and trees. In the park itself, I was excited to see pine trees that reminded me of home in Michigan, and in the Emerald City gardens, there were coneflowers, hydrangeas, and I believe sunflowers as well, among others. One of the things that I thought about while I was on my walk through Oz Park was that even though the amount of nature isn’t as concentrated as I’m used to, it is still readily available for my enjoyment, as long as I take the time to recognize it and appreciate it.

Throughout the school week, it’s rare that I take the time to notice nature, mainly because we are in such an urban area. The buildings dwarf trees and other aspects of nature so much so that you can completely forget that they are there. After spending some time in the park, I noticed a lot more about the buildings and front yards on my walk back to campus than I did before. Even the flower shop I passed made me smile when I walked by.

I have spent a lot of time in nature because I was raised in a very “out-doorsy” way. I have always loved camping, and my parents’ house is on a lake, and one thing that I have noticed about being in nature is that I am always in a noticeably better mood. Maybe it’s the sunshine that cheers me up, but something about being outside in nature makes me smile and think about the good things in life. I noticed when I was in Oz Park that I would have been completely content on just sitting down on a bench and relaxing for an hour or so.

My interactions with nature have been limited since I have started school at DePaul, but I have noticed I need to consider more of my everyday activities as an interaction with nature. Being in nature doesn’t necessarily mean forgetting all about the modern comforts and turning into Thoreau for a few weeks. Just by walking to class in the morning you can still experience nature, even if it’s as simple as the grass and the spiders and bugs living there.

The writings of John Muir and Frances E. Kuo are different in one major way. Kuo focuses more on the urban issue of incorporating nature into everyday life, while Muir is more focused on being in the absolute wilderness and being completely immersed in nature. I think that my experience mirrored more of Kuo’s writings, because it was difficult for me to forget that I was still in the city, even if I was experiencing nature. It’s hard to feel completely like a part of nature when such a large and powerful city is only a few blocks away.