Naturalist Essay- Cora Marquez

I am always walking around Chicago and Lincoln Park area whether it is to go to class or to go to a friend’s apartment. For this nature walk I decided to just get lost in the residential area surrounding my house and take turn down streets I have never ventured to go before. The nature that I encountered while walking around Chicago and Lincoln Park area was mostly many trees on residential street surrounded by small plots and squares or grass. Some areas had lavish gardens and landscaping. I also passed a few parks with open fields and tall bushes. The wild life that I witnessed was a few birds and rabbits but not many at all. I did see a rat on my walk home in the alley, which is always fun to find. A few things that I noticed while walking for this assignment that I usually don’t notice was the variety of trees in Lincoln park as well and the exotic flower arrangements. People tend to care a lot about the appearance of their small grassy plots and put lots of money into them. I also was surprised that I did not see any squirrels because I am so used to seeing them everywhere at home in St.Paul. Minnesota. I love being out in nature and especially appreciate it way more then every while living in the city. Even though I live in the city at home we have much more green space then there seems to be in Chicago. I feel relaxed and peaceful when I am surrounded by nature and I try not to worry about the future life all of these plant species will have due to the entire crisis being discussed. My feelings do not change about nature whether I am inside or outside, I love it and wish I could always be in a huge forest or at my farm in northern Minnesota looking over the lake in our canoe. I ride my bike everywhere around the city; it is my main transportation .By riding my bike I am interacting with nature everyday and constantly whenever I leave my house. I ride past parks, animals, sunlight, trees, grass, flowers, insects and so much more everyday and notice strange bumps in the road and leave everywhere in the fall. I feel as though my walk was a mix between both the authors’ writings. I did tend to think about things on a scientific level as Kuo’s writing was about the science of the trees where as Muir's focused on the surroundings and turning the nature into a story and giving each animal and plant a character and new life. I tend to do that as well, think about the lives the animals have and how they act and move as well as the nature surrounding them.

Maggie Landon
9-19-09
Naturalist Essay
I decided to walk down a pathway that leads down to Lake Michigan. Living in Chicago, one might think there would not be a lot of nature but I encountered trees, plants, grass, dirt, birds and many bugs. I rarely take walks around the city. Usually, I am in a rush to get to class, work or home so I never take the time to study my surroundings and the nature that is included in it. On this particular walk, I did take the time to look around myself and was disappointed at all of the litter that I saw. People carelessly throw paper, wrappers and cigarette buts right on the ground. I rarely notice all of this litter but I did today.
I enjoy all the nature that surrounds me. I always feel revitalized when I am outside in nature. I love breathing in the fresh air and soaking up the sun. I feel healthier when I am outside in nature as opposed to cramped up in my apartment.
Nature interacts with me immensely on a daily basis. My moods are affected a lot by the weather. I am usually much happier if the weather is nice outside. I enjoy the sunshine and I feel like nature comes to life when the weather is nice instead of cloudy and rainy. The trees seem greener and there are animals out and about. When it is cloudy or rainy nature always seems dismal. Everything is grey and the trees and animals don’t seem as lively. When the weather is bad my mood changes; sometimes I get a little sad because of it.
I went on my walk after reading Kuo’s writing and I was thinking about his work a lot so I think my walk was more like the interaction described in his writing. I noticed how the trees were planted in the ground and how man-made they look. There is a perfect cut hole for the trunk of the tree and there are big metal grates surrounding the trees. I always wondered why these trees were even planted, but after reading Kuo’s writing I understand. The trees were planted to make the neighborhoods look nicer and to hopefully make people have more pleasant interactions with each other, according to Kuo’s study. I agree that the trees do just that, and it is nice to see them planted around my neighborhood.
Kuo’s writing was an actual study that was performed about trees and their effect on people and neighborhoods whereas Muir’s writing was a narrative describing nature using various metaphors.

Naturalist Essay

This weekend I decided to take a walk on a path that leads to a park near my house. In the beginning of my walk I encountered a lot of beautiful flowers and trees. The trees were all very big and it showed how long they had been growing here. I saw small animals such as rabbits, birds, and squirrels. On occasion if I’m lucky I even see groups of deer by the edge of the forest. At the beginning of the path the grass was a healthy shade of green and thick. However, as the path progressed the grass was damaged, yellow, and covered with weeds. There was garbage that people left all over the grass even though there are numerous garbage cans throughout the path. I noticed how careless people can be, they are ruining a beautiful park by throwing trash all over the place. That is the main reason I don’t enjoy walking on this path anymore, it used to be clean and relaxing but now all I can see is how much it has changed. As I progressed down the path I also noticed prairie grass and cornfields. When I normally walk throughout this path I don’t notice how much garbage is all over the place and how the scenery changes, as I get farther down the path. This is mostly because I walk my dog and only walk about five minutes into the path. I believe the beginning of the path is so clean, organized, and beautiful because my neighborhood is very nice and people don’t want their property or their location to be ugly or disgusting. As the path progresses the houses become apartment complexes and people start to become more careless about the land around them. When I look out my window at home I love nature because it looks flawless and perfect but when I am in nature I find myself becoming disappointed by the conditions of it. The grass is damaged because of what people have done to it and the air has even changed. People don’t pick up after their dogs and the air has a horrible stench.

I feel that everyone treats with nature on a daily basis whether they notice it or not because we breathe in the air, walk to school/work, use natural resources to live every single day. The urban life obviously has a different impact than the suburban life because of he amount of people and the way people get to work or school. I find the suburbs to be quieter and nature is more noticeable while in the city the buildings and rush of the city almost over shadow nature.

My interaction in nature was more like the interaction described in “A Geologist’s Winter Walk” by John Muir. I liked how he described the animals in their habitat and the way he wrote it I could picture myself there. He describes nature in a way unobstructed by buildings and manmade objects.

The two writings differ because they are each taking a different approach on nature. One focuses on the urban lifestyle with nature surrounding it while the other talks about the animals in their natural habitat.

 

Naturalist Essay

Naturalist Essay

I chose to take my walk on a route that I usually use for my daily run, but this time I paid attention to my surroundings and nature which I never do during my runs. I came across many different types of nature while on my walk. Whether it was different types of trees, birds, or small mammals I notices a lot of things that I usually would have just blocked out. There were large trees overhanging Graceland Cemetery which was followed by much smaller ones on the grassy area in the park at the corner of Seminary and Irving Park. There were kinds playing in the park and birds chirping away, and it was hard not to notice all the squirrels running up the trees.
My feelings don’t really change while I’m outside in nature but the walk was sort of calming and peaceful, almost a get away from the hectic normal life. I feel that I interact with nature instead of nature interacting with me. I am able to interact through sounds and smells that are given off by nature; whether it is from animals, flowers, trees, or the smell of rain nature always has something humans can interact with.
I felt that my walk was more consistent with the piece I read by Frances Kuo. In his writing he made it seem that humans interact will nature the more appealing it is. For example, Kuo believes that the more green spaces outdoors is directly coordinated to human’s social interaction. I felt this exact way while on my walk, when trees and large green spaces were present I was able to see that there were more people around interacting. Whether it was little kids playing at the park, or people walking their dogs, the presence or green made for more social interaction. On the other hand I also felt that my walk was consistent with John Muir because his views consisted of the fact that humans should be grateful for everything that nature has to offer. I feel that nature is there for humans to use as long as they respect it. The only problem I have with Muir’s writing is I feel that he felt that humans were out to disrupt nature, while Kuo felt that it is necessary for humans and nature to coexist.

Naturalist

Because we had already discussed the man made effort to maintain nature around the Lincoln Park campus, I chose to explore a route I was unfamiliar with and chose to explore the Wicker Park area.
The nature I encountered was pathetic, and was only met when I took a wrong turn and got lost. As I tried to re route I noticed I was walking beside a wired gate that was mostly covered by a dark net. Behind the blocked wall was an unkempt and littered space. Aside from the obvious bottles and cans, the city was also using the space for damaged road blockers and traffic signs. I think the space I came across was the most interesting I had seen that day. Here was a native space where trees grew on their own and where natural grass struggled to grow but yet, not one thing was being done to benefit the area.
This walk and realization was depressing. Up until now, I had lived in New England for my entire life so the Fall season is the time of year where nature is most obvious. The fact that you can actually watch the process of the season change is astonishing and the lack of that sense in my life for the past two years is upsetting. But in my experiences with nature in New England and in Chicago I am able to recognize the differences in a city and can appreciate the effort being made to maintain nature anywhere in it.
My feelings toward nature changes with my location. For example, my feelings for my everyday routine in the nature I am most used to stays neutral and unthought-of. But if I am in a place like the Pocono Mountains or Vermont (where you are so visibly immersed in nature), my feelings in that environment are more appreciated and enjoyed. Where I interact with nature by living in and respecting a space, nature interacts with me by providing essential resources like oxygen and food.
The Kuo and Muir articles were different in that Kuo focused more on the cause and effect actions within an urban space while Muir wrote to depict the beauty of an submerged natural space. My walk around Wicker Park was more relatable to Kuo’s findings in ‘The Role of Arboriculture in a Healthy Social Ecology’. One point in particular was the ‘Sense of Safety’. He argues that the nature of trees provides city residents with a greater sense of security. Specifically stating that, “ individuals living adjacent to greener common spaces reported that they felt both safer and better adjusted than did their counterparts living adjacent to relatively barren spaces (152).” I noticed this on my walk and felt that the unkempt and non artificial spaces that I passed was resultant to a more dangerous area. I found that when I tripped and cut my toe, I was most concerned with which disease the nature of Wicker Park would give me. Furthermore, I would feel differently in Lincoln Park. There are trees planted everywhere, the parks are very much maintained and if I had cut my toe in Lincoln Park I would be less concerned with the possible diseases that could come my way.

Naturalist Essay

Nature has always sat differently with me, sometimes it’s my best friend, but other times it is not. Growing up in the Northwest suburbs of Illinois has given me a very unique view on nature when compared to those who live in any other area on Earth, rural or urban. I walked from River North to Oak Street beach and back last week, a walk that I’ve traveled many times before. Knowing that I walked to the beach many times in the past, I didn’t think I would see anything new about nature, I was half wrong.

I’ve always noticed the birds hopping on the sidewalk, the pigeons pecking at trash, but since reading over Kuo’s article I noticed what she was explaining while on my walk. River North is filled with trees, but the Gold Coast has even more greenery which I noticed. This neighborhood has very expensive sidewalk gardens down Michigan Avenue, with tall trees and gorgeous plants, stores and restaurants have planters, little flowers, and mini-trees all contributing to bringing nature where it fits. I even walked past my favorite park in the Gold Coast on Rush and Chestnut, which has massive trees which adds natural beauty to the city.

Noting that these wealthy neighborhoods have plentiful trees, bushes, and flowers certainly connects with what Frances Kuo writes in The Role of Arboriculture in a Healthy Social Ecology. Kuo writes in a modern time, using English that is easier to understand and uses scientific facts that were intriguing and noticeable on my walk. John Muir on the other hand, had more observations on nature instead of science, which had me drift away from his dated and confusing writing, leaving me with the relationship Kuo had on my naturalistic walk. I agree with her knowledge that adding trees and open green spaces helps people in neighborhoods gain strength in social ties and community by utilizing these places in nature. Strengthening these social ties makes the community stronger and more willing to help one another, which causes a decrease in crime; notable in the Gold Coast and River North. These neighborhoods are inviting for people to spend time outside, shop down Michigan Avenue under the green trees on the sidewalk, or eat outside under canopies gated in by beautiful potted plants and flowers.

I noticed that places in these neighborhoods are much more inviting if minor landscaping or greenery is abundant, and it has certainly allured me into joining nature outside at time. I like to sit in the sun and warm days, and listen to the rain fall during stormy nights, but I also love seeing and feeling what Frances Kuo has noted in her article. Nature is always affecting my life; it affects me as a student, an employee, and a human being, living hand in hand with nature and its surprises.

Naturalist Essay

Naturalist Essay

For my nature walk I decided to go to one of my favorite spots in the city: The Eagle, located at the center of the Logan Square neighborhood. The Eagle is one massive statue that hovers above the neighborhood and is located right by the Logan Square blue line. My experience had consisted of me walking down the Logan Square Boulevard. The nature that I had encountered on my trip was still apparent despite the fact that the surrounding setting was that of an urban landscape. Down the boulevard there were trees and much of the area was covered by grass however the areas that were not were being used up by cement and/or cement-like structures and even for housing. The wild-life that had inhabited the area were basic animals that one would expect to encounter in an urban setting. It ranged from squirrels, pigeons, and several dogs, however, these canines were domesticated by the people that lived in the region. Along with the variety of animals present, there were also several people out and about. The only difference that had stuck out was that there was an organic food market taking place right by the statue itself, however this was nothing different due to the fact that it took place every weekend, but through a daily basis perspective it was a change of scenery. As for the feelings I had towards the nature around me, they were somewhat mixed. I did find it relaxing because of the fact that it was a comfortable setting that I had known for all of my life. However, I also found it aggravating because there were many people walking around and I felt like being secluded for the time being. What with the food market along with the people walking their dogs, there was not much room for my seclusion. I interact with nature in the sense that I can determine its upheaval or demise by the actions I take: the more water bottles I use, the place where I throw my trash, even the places that I walk on can determine the survival of the grass or plants that are present. The relationship that nature has with me is one that relaxes me. As stated earlier, there were too many people present for me to enjoy the experience to the level that I wanted to.

The experience was relatable to the interactions of both authors. I did enjoy what amount of nature that was present in the area however I did pick up the technicalities involved with the urban environment. The birds swooping down and the squirrels climbing up the trees I had always enjoyed and found intriguing for some reason and yet I also picked up the relationship among people and the ways they have left an impact in the area. People had left a mark, be a negative or positive one, which is almost artificial. Right at the center of the neighborhood was a massive statue and going east on the boulevard are long strips of grass and trees, although natural in essence, were placed there by humans, making it artificial in a way. The two authors, I felt, differed greatly mainly due to the amount of actual nature they had come across. Muir’s had walked all along an environment that had little if any human involvement, where as Kuo had settled in a location where everything seemed more artificial and carefully planned. In Muir’s experience it had seemed as if everything just came together on its own, while in Kuo’s it would appear as if everything had a design behind it.