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Journal, Oct 24 - Our Last Day making a Lasting Impact [Fort Worth Nature Center]

Journal, Oct 24 - Our Last Day making a Lasting Impact [Fort Worth Nature Center]

            By Tuesday, October 24^th, my honors class Treks and Texts had volunteered about 4 times at the Fort Worth Nature Center.  The 24^th was set to be the last day, and it happened to be quite an interesting one.  The recent rainy weather carried through the week into Tuesday afternoon, giving us grey skies and wet pavement.  The spontaneous weather almost ‘rained on our parade’, pun intended, but we made the decision to head to the reserve anyways.  Some rain wouldn’t stop us from ending our project on a good note!

            We would have to take care, though.  Our professor and the Nature Center staff spoke to the class in the Nature Center office about safety in the rain.  Today, we would be working on bamboo mostly, and in the rainy and muddy forest floor, slipping and falling on a bit of bamboo might cause an unpleasant injury.  However, we all came mostly prepared with rain gear and shoes, and we took the safety consideration quite seriously.

            This final day of work had us grab cutters from the garage/storage area, and we grabbed our tools, determined through the drizzle of rain to make a great impact in clearing the forest of bamboo.

            Admittedly, this was my first time working with the bamboo.  I had held some of it before when on the ‘woodchipping’ team rather than the ‘cutting’ team, but simply putting a branch into the woodchipper was a different experience than actually cutting and lugging the thing across the forest.  The section of forest we worked on was populated by plenty of bamboo, and I started on the leftmost side.  There was a large patch of bamboo that had been cut down, and it began to pile up.  I was glad to have brought a clipper/shear because I know a saw would have taken lots of effort.  The bamboo was strong and now I understand why it is considered a type of wood.  Close up, I could see the smooth cylindrical shape of the plant, and if it was a little smaller, I bet it could make a nice flute (and I’ve seen bamboo flutes in movies before).  Dealing with bamboo came in two forms: putting the clipper at the base of the bamboo and squeezing the handles to cleanly chop it, and simply pushing and pulling at the older and browner bamboo to knock it down because it was weaker at its foundation. 

At the time, for me it was hard to tell if our class was making a difference.  We simply were cutting down bamboo and putting it on the ground, with the woodchipper nowhere in sight.  It was a rainy day and there was a lot of bamboo collected, so I suppose it would be hard to bring that big machine out.

Cutting bamboo sometimes took a lot of muscle to do, because bamboo was not a soft material at all.  Occasional briar and branches dangling from trees distracted me a bit as well.  However, the greatest struggle of the day by far was the cluttered forest floor.  It was already dense with greenery, and having stacks of bamboo lying around really made it hard to walk without tripping.  Sometimes, the collection of bamboo acted like a fence or wall, making it nigh impenetrable and forcing me to retreat and find a different path to navigate the forest.  I went deeper into the forest at one point, finding a small tipi-sized area surrounded by trees that had a lot of bamboo.  Two hard workers were busy cutting and downing the pillars of bamboo, and I helped out by cutting and putting bamboo flatter on the ground (some had begun to lean against trees, which could then poke one’s eyes).  I found myself becoming a bit claustrophobic by the smaller area so I moved to a different location.

                                        

             Near the end of our time cutting bamboo, I went into the central and mostly open area in the section of forest we were working on.  There was a lot of bamboo cleared and stacked on the side.  I learned from the strategy of another classmate to (carefully) throw the bamboo like a spear so that they could stack neatly in a further away pile, rather than creep closer to our feet and trip us.  Today’s work took a lot of hand and arm strength and endurance, not to mention leg strength to navigate the dense and cluttered forest floor.  It was nice at least to not see as much privet and briar, although the bamboo and assorted sticks and plants noticeably took the place of it. 

            At the end, we all took a group photo and reflected on the great work we had done.  The Nature Center staff were very happy with our efforts here.  I remember them saying one time that our hard work was even more than the work some environmental and biology majors did in the past.  The message of this quote was that we didn’t need to have a specific major or knowledge to help out at this place, we just needed to care about what we were doing and give it our all!  I’m very proud of our honors class because we truly care about service and engaging with the community and the world.  As we headed back on the truck, I remember two things.  The first thing was the sight of the forest, with many plants cleared, which made the place look cleaner and healthier as an ecosystem.  With our hard work in the last 5 visits, we made a visible impact, and I loved seeing that.  The second thing I saw was some deer in the forest.  Those deer reminded me that the clearing of privet and briar and bamboo was for more than just tourist appreciation, but for the wildlife that frequents the forest.  It was not easy work that we did, but it literally made a difference, and that makes me feel more grateful for the nature we have and the nature that we must preserve.

 

Journal, Oct 17 How Far We've Come [Nature Center Forest]

 

How Far We’ve Come (Into the Forest, and as Volunteers) – Oct 17^th

Back into the privet and plants I go!  On Tuesday, October 17^th, I headed back to the Fort Worth Nature Center as a part of my Treks and Texts class, volunteering to clear the forest of invasive plants.  While the gist of the event remained the same, many new things happened, such as becoming well acquainted with the three major plants to be removed and taking a bold step towards clearing briar.

In past times at the Nature Center, I had become familiar with two plants that we needed to remove.  First was privet, green plants with smooth circular leaves that grow low to the ground, and sometimes it grows a bit higher and expands across the forest floor.  This invasive plant looks nice and is good for décor, until it begins to overtake the ecosystem of course.  Second was briar, a vine with thorns that wrapped around trees and branches and sticks, so it would cover anything it could get its hands on, and it would originate from the ground and be difficult to yank out.  I quickly discovered how sharp and mischievous briar is when trying to remove bunches of it from certain areas.  I am glad to have prepared gloves and full-body clothing to protect me from the thorns, but occasionally it gets a little close and I feel a bit of a poke.  It’s probably one of the more difficult plants to manage because it isn’t a singular sturdy object like bamboo that one can hold and carry to the chipper, it is flexible and lengthy so it can drag on the ground or get caught on your sleeve.  Much like privet, briar easily takes over an area and really settles itself there.

Speaking about briar, on this volunteer day I found a particularly unkind bit of the thorny plant dangling from a tree.  It originated higher up in the branches and dangled downwards so that a person like me would get their head and upper body brushed against a ‘curtain’ of briar.  If I wasn’t watching where I was going, I could have had a nasty brush with the plant.  With this in mind, I decided this bit of briar could really use removal, so I fetched some clippers.  I attempted using gloves at first to bring it down, but it was so firmly attached to the upper part of the tree (as if tied with rope) that I knew I had to cut it to get it loose.  I didn’t use the saw tool because that works better on stable plants, and briar would just flail around if a saw was put to it midair.  It was not a quick task, clipping each of the connecting limbs of the briar, but eventually I was able to detach a sufficient part of it that a solid tug made the dangling danger give way.  It was nice to remove it and put it in the chipper, and although it was only a small thing that I did, I felt satisfied.

Privet and briar are indeed plants that cover a large part of the forest, but on this volunteering day we saw a lot of bamboo.  I remember being told that bamboo was brought here from China and it grew a lot, making it a powerful invasive species.  Since our work clearing the forest brought us further down the strip of road, we came across a big patch of bamboo.  With some clippers and determination, the Treks and Texts team started to remove chunks of bamboo which we collected for the chipper.  Bamboo posed a different problem than privet or briar.  It was not small and short nor vine-like and thorny, but it was lengthy, an elegant pipe-like wooden stick with some leaves, just what I envisioned as bamboo.  The greatest problems of bamboo were that it is heavy and that it is lengthy, much like tree branches that we’d removed before.  Anyways, even though it was an unwanted plant in the forest, I still thought it was cool that we got to see such a variety of plant life with different natural qualities.  Bamboo is the coolest and my favorite thus far.  Also, I find that bamboo symbolizes something more for us.  It shows that we’ve worked our way through the forest onto our next challenge, a testament to what we have accomplished and what we are determined to do in the future!  A glance towards the end of the road from which we had begun shows me a very clear forest floor which makes it easier for animals to navigate and makes it nicer for visitors to the Nature Center to look at and enjoy!

Now we have three major plants to take care of, and I continue my determination to make an impact on the forest.  I can see the perseverance and hard work in the rest of the class, too.  I’ve noticed that students now take more ambitious handfuls and armfuls of plants to bring to the woodchipper, which helps with our efficiency.  Also, I’ve seen how we are more excited to venture deeper into the forest and really get into that bushy plant life to remove that which is invasive and undesirable, such as the plentiful chunks of bamboo.  I know that on my first day, I would not have taken the risk of yanking down that dangling briar, but now I have more confidence and perseverance when approaching the challenges of nature.  I’m proud of how far we’ve come, not just physically in the forest, but as volunteers for the Nature Center, because we are more passionate and hard working than ever! 

Journal, Oct 16 "Tree Walk"

TREE WALK - Todd Redman

Today, October 16th, is a chilly one, at least in my perspective.  I am not a fan of the cold, hence why I searched for colleges more south than Illinois, where I come from.  However, I felt that a good walk outside (with a jacket) could be refreshing this Monday morning.  So, I headed out for a little while and wandered campus.  We do have a beautiful campus, with perfect tan or sandy-brown buildings donning red roofs, and plenty of trees to line the walkways.  The trees are a special blessing, especially in the summer and spring when it gets very sunny and hot in Texas, because it provides shade for students walking from building to building for their classes.

Trees.  We take them for granted, but they are the lifeblood of our existence.  Literally, without trees to convert carbon dioxide back into oxygen for us to breathe, humanity would not continue to exist.  Appreciation for these pillars of support, figuratively and literally (in their shape), is much needed, and yet most of the time we do not look up to the tree and thank it as we walk across campus.

In my TCU campus wandering, I began to gravitate towards the Sadler area, facing University.  Along the side of some buildings, I saw some trees with little plaques, which at first I assumed was another recognition of a TCU donor.  But lo and behold, it was in fact a recognition of the tree!  On the little sign it said “TCU Tree Walk”, along with the name of the tree behind it.  For example, the first one that I spotted was the Mountain Laurel, with its scientific name alongside it.  

The Texas Mountain Laurel is a smaller tree than most on campus, only reaching about the height of my body, in contrast to how other trees are three humans tall with large branches looming above.  The Mountain Laurel tree's bark was rough to the touch, but not unpleasant to rub against.  To anthropomorphize it, I would say it was firm in its resolve to stand tall and proud, and yet it would not be rough or rude to others.  I observed how the base of the tree grew from the ground and branched out, and it did so similarly but differently to the other trees.  Trees usually follow the same formula: 1. connect to the soil 2. the wooden section reaches upwards 3. branches spread out and grow leaves to collect sunlight.  However, white following the 'formula', trees would have their own individual expression, such as how tall they grow, or how the tree branched out (one Holly tree had multiple arms sticking out from the ground), and these differences made each tree unique and special in its own way.  Just like with people, recognizing a living entity with its unique name and qualities creates a stronger understanding of and connection to that entity. 

            I didn’t schedule a tour to have a professional explain the trees to me, nor did I follow every tree as they were numbered (No. 1, No. 2 etc).  I did it at an unscheduled time, at my own pace, and I went back to my dorm when I was done.  Exploring the different trees let me see how unique and majestic each one was, and I gained more appreciation for these beings from nature.  It was a meaningful experience, and I did not need a scheduled time with a scheduled guide for me to appreciate the nature I was seeing.  Sometimes, all one needs to do to connect with nature is to step your foot out the door and go on your own little ‘tree walk’.

Journal, Sept 12th Flower Garden @ TCU

 

Sept 12th In-Class Flower Garden Experience - Todd Redman

            Sometimes, it is a required experience that helps nudge us towards a meaningful interaction with nature.  On September 12^th, we enjoyed an unorthodox class session for Treks and Texts.  In the afternoon at 2pm, we reviewed Abbey’s works and nature writing.  Although he does not think of himself as a leader, I find him admirable in his pursuit to escape the concrete jungle of civilization and find ‘heaven’ in nature, and I believe he is an encouraging example for all of us to follow and reconnect with the outdoors.

            With most classrooms, the exploration of a philosopher’s ideals are left merely to textbook and notes, with no actual engagement.  However, our ‘Experimental’ course is the exception.  Our professor told us to take a trip outside, about 10-15 minutes, to engage with nature, take some photos.  The goal would be to connect what we see with a quote from Abbey, or another quote that resonates with nature.  I went with two peers outside, and suggested we head to the Veteran’s Plaza.  It is within range of sight, and it contained a beautiful assortment of flowers.  This was an optimal place of nature to engage with, but I also had my mind on it for another reason, that I often had to rush by this area of campus to get to my classes, and therefore never spent too much time immersing myself in the garden.

            The garden was beautiful.  To the side of the memorial plaques where veterans from TCU that fought in wars, was a patch of flowers.  These flowers were a variety of purple shades, and in the middle of the patch was a rectangular section of green bush or fern.  In retrospect, I realize that these flowers have a deeper meaning.  The flowers are appealing in their arrangement due to their varied colors, but they always remain purple, the symbol of our school, our pride and passion.  At a memorial honoring veterans from TCU who made the ultimate sacrifice in wars such as Vietnam, purple is a patriotic and emotional color and best fit for this place.  This also makes me realize how even nature can be used as a form of art or messaging by humans, to make a meaningful scene such as this ‘garden plaza’.

            We decided to create our own quote to capture the beauty of the garden, rather than constrain it to a pre-made quote.  We said something along the lines of that “the flowers help the inner butterfly in us blossom”.  Our initial idea behind the quote was that the beautiful flowers should be a focus of the message we wanted to create, and we saw some monarch butterflies among the flowers, so we decided to connect those two gorgeous images together into something meaningful for the people enjoying the view.  The concept of people blossoming in the world was inspirational, but in retrospect, I have discovered another meaning to this.  The fact that veterans have fought for our freedoms so that we can live our lives in peace means that we are only able to blossom due to their great sacrifice, adding a level of gratitude for me as I observe the beautiful flower garden.

Journal, 10/3 Eventful Nature Center Volunteering

 

Journal 10/3/2023 – Work at a Preserve

            The Fort Worth Nature Center is the location, and helping out is the goal!  Our class Treks and Texts is partnering with this nature preserve, and we head out to the location half an hour away during our class.  October 3^rd is the second time we will have visited the Nature Center.  I do not have a car, so I appreciate the ride offered by my professor.  We meet with the small number of staff there at the maintenance area, and they direct us to the bit of forest that needs attention.  I notice a sharp difference between one side of the path and the other, in that one seems clearer and the other seems cluttered with brush and plants.  We learn about invasive, non-native plants such as privet which tend to dominate an area.  If I was just a passing tourist, I might not have realized the greenery was actually something having a negative impact on nature, and instead thought it was a part of nature.  The invasive plants and clutter of sticks and branches cover a large part of the forest floor, and we learn from the staff that it is harmful to the animal life as well, such as deer who will find it troublesome to navigate that part of forest.

            There is much to clean up, hence why we volunteered to help out!  The Nature Center is prepared for the amount of work we will do, as they bring a wood chipper that can turn privet and large sticks into chips that can be safely spewed back into the forest, perhaps as a form of mulch.  Another way the staff prepared was by providing gloves and earplugs, because plants can be sharp to hands, and the wood chipper can be loud.  I appreciated the earplugs especially because I want to protect my hearing, especially with a certain condition I have in my right ear.  It was not the most comfortable work, but I came prepared with water and a hat and clothes that protected from the sun and the sharp sticks and thorns.

            About halfway through picking up and shredding undesirable plantlife and wood, the chipper failed to start up.  Perhaps it was because it ran out of gas, or encountered a technical issue.  Thankfully, the Nature Center provided us materials to keep up our work, saws and clippers that we could use to clear the forest, and put extracted plant waste along the side of the path so that next time we could load it into the prepared wood chipper.  Despite this sudden change in plans, I thought it was neat to try a new avenue of helping the forest.  Armed with more than just gloves, I felt confident enough to start removing waist-high plants and sticks as well as those dangling from the trees.  Removing much of that made it easier for me and classmates to navigate the forest, and so I believe it will help the wildlife as well!

            Another nice aspect with this different form of nature-clearing was that we all could see the piles of plants and sticks we collected along the side of the road, helping me better visualize what we accomplished as a team.  Having more hands on deck definitely helped the Nature Center, especially since the small staff of about 4 members had this task as well as plenty of other projects to work on. 

            On this day, I enjoyed knowing the definite positive impact my class and I made on the environment.  I also discovered that coming prepared and determined moves a project along smoothly, and I think it is thoughtful and efficient for the Nature Center to provide materials to help us volunteers.  It makes me think about how people can make a great impact when volunteering, but oftentimes people are too busy or unmotivated to go out into nature.  This class helps serve as a catalyst for young adults to get engaged in the community and volunteer to help Nature Centers such as this one, because sometimes, meaningful work just needs a little push to get started.

Photo

 

This October photo on TCU campus shows the bottom of the tree's leaves are beginning to yellow, a hint that the Fall season is just around the corner.

Photo, TCU commons 'aerial' photo

 

A bright blue sky, grassy commons, and trees lining the sides.

Journal, 9/19 Canoe on Wild Waves experience

 

On 9/19 Tuesday, I had a wild adventure canoeing with my Treks and Texts peers.  We met at the REC center, which is what I did for my Moonlit Paddle excursion I did last spring.  Last spring was an evening experience with the Rec center, and the waters were still and dark.  However, today’s trip was in the late afternoon.  I heard that the forecast predicted a storm, but it didn’t look that bad as we lined up in front of the Rec center transport and brought canoeing materials.  We drove a half hour out to the waters, and it started to seem a bit stormy.  The waves were crashing against the shore and I could feel the wind in my hair. 

I partnered with my professor to canoe and we set off on the water as soon as everyone else had paired up and set sail.  Rather quickly, I realized that it was not going to be an easy trip.  My past experiences at a campsite or two mainly consisted of kayaks, which are less wobbly than the canoe, which already had me feeling a bit anxious.  The water became quickly tumultuous and waves began to shove into the front of the canoe, where I was stationed.  The website Wikihow tells me “[w]ho should be in the front and back of a canoe… the bowman at the front of the canoe should set the pace, and the stern man should adjust their paddling to match them”, and I agree with this conclusion.  I was not too aware of this information, but the professor gave some pointers earlier when we were on land, and with his guidance we were able to keep the canoe in a mostly consistent path forward. 

Nearing the middle of the body of water, we came to realize that the waves were becoming stronger, and it would be the best course of action to head back to shore.  Signaling down the other vessels, we began our course towards the opposing side of land as it was nearer.  The land was sticky and muddy, and splashes of water leapt at me as I disembarked my canoe, making me grateful to have donned crocs rather than my only good pair of shoes for this adventure.  Other students were not as lucky, as they brought their white sneakers.  I have for a while been interested in purchasing my own pair of white shoes because it appears to be the most popular choice of footwear on campus, but as I often step into grassy areas like the commons (with the outdoorsy and confident spirit I possess), I fear that I might soon soil the expensive shoes. 

As the class had to take a moment to collect themselves and prepare for the voyage back to the Rec center van, which would entail crossing the moody waters, I was left for some minutes to myself.  I took this time to observe the rocks and shells on the muddy shore.  All of a sudden, a pair of daring sailors from our class who had begun to embark found the powerful waves near land to push their canoe over!  It was filled with water and the students were soaked, trudging back with wet shoes and cell phones.  Despite the unfortunate and shocking circumstance, they soon laughed it off, and it would be a memory of an adventure they would not soon forget.  I felt two things at this moment.  The first, gratitude that I was not in their shoes, literally and figuratively, for it would be cold and wet with no towel to dry off.  The second, admiration, because I don’t think I would have been able to return to bright spirits after such an event, and I appreciate how they could bring a positive outlook at that moment.

            In the end, everyone got back to shore safely, even though it took awhile to brave the waves that kept knocking all canoes off course.  I put double the effort into rowing that I had on the way there.  Some of us found our canoes a bit further down the shore due to the push of waves, but with some teamwork, we all brought the canoes back to the Rec center transport and prepared for our journey home.  In a later email, our professor would express how this was not the most optimal canoeing experience for many first-timers, and I agree that it was definitely a wild ride.  However, the thrill from the waves, the positive vibes students gave off, and the group effort and mindset all came together to make this a good experience in the end, or at least, a memorable time.