Varying Paths and a Similar Goal

The small portion of Nature Guide to the Northern Forest that we read this week was quite interesting to me, largely because of Peter Marchand’s introduction. In the introduction, Marchand’s immense love and respect for nature is clearly shown. What interests me about Marchand’s description of himself as a young child is how different his actions and passions were from my own when I was a child. As a disclaimer, when I compare Marchand and myself throughout the rest of this post, I am merely comparing us for the sake of example, and not because I feel that I am nearly as skilled or accomplished as he is. Regardless, I now feel similarly to Marchand in the sense that I am attached to nature, though it is evident that this passion was not derived directly from my childhood experiences. As a child, on the occasions I would hike with my family, I would constantly complain that we were simply walking for walking’s sake, and that we had no end goal in mind. I believe that a significant part of the reason for my discontent in these situations was because I was raised in New York City. This is where my experience differs sharply from Marchand’s, and it is what interested me most when reading about his childhood. As a result of growing up in New York City, I felt disconnected from nature for most of my childhood. This apparent disconnection did not bother me however, nor did I even notice it for that matter, or I likely would have done something to remedy it. Instead, I was content to live an urban lifestyle without much focus on nature. Near the end of high school, I recognized that my lifestyle was relatively detached from the natural world, though I obviously was no different from anyone else in the way that I depended on its resources. Due to this realization, I decided to get involved in outdoor activities in college.

            In my time at Hamilton, I have learned so much about the natural world and had great experiences in the outdoors. I now see myself as quite similar to Marchand in the sense that I derive inspiration from and deeply appreciate nature. The vastly different paths Marchand and I took that resulted in us both respecting the natural world fascinate me, as I think it is a great example of the way in which people can converge at common goals despite having completely different experiences and backgrounds. More important however, is how this phenomenon can help shape our future. In relation to the conclusion of my first post, I sincerely hope that humans will find a way to protect our planet for future generations and for other species that reside here as well. I feel that attacking the issue of environmental degradation from many different angles will be essential in allowing us to alter our lifestyles to become more sustainable. Because of the need for many different perspectives, I believe environmentalists must come from all different backgrounds and have varying supplementary passions. This is the main reason I find the difference between Marchand’s and my life to be important. It shows that people with different experiences, and therefore different skills, can come together and fight for the same cause.

Citations: 
Marchand, Peter J. Nature Guide to the Northern Forest: Exploring the Ecology of the Forests of New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. Boston, MA: Appalachian Mountain Club, 2010. Print.