Ashley Irving: Lion's Bridge #2

Prior to this field trip I have never paid close attention to the amount of things that we can learn from nature. Usually when outdoors I just notice that things are there, I don't pay close attention to what they might be telling us or what story they might hold that is deeper than just their presence. For instance, on the trail we noticed a tree that was in considerably worse shape than the others around it. Typically I would have just said "cool, it's a tree", but when Dr. Redick pointed out that the tree has a difference in its bark than those around it and that that is a sign of sickness, the tree went from just a tree to a dying tree. Ok, big whoop. But when he went on to make the connection that it might be telling us something about life and how it is still able to provide life through walnuts despite its imminent death it got me thinking. Perhaps nature has more to show us than just the beauty or outward appearance that it offers an area.

I pondered this as we continued farther down the trail. Again I was made aware of what nature can tell us about life when we came across a tree that had vines encompassing it. Just as the case was before, at first I didn't think anything of it, I'd seen trees with vines on them before, it didn't seem like anything special to note. Soon after we stopped to observe it though, an observation was made that the leaves of the tree were a different color than the leaves on the vine This is a sign of a parasitic relationship. The vine is living off of the tree, causing the tree's leaves to change colors. This tells us something about life because often throughout our years, we find ourselves in multiple parasitic relationships. Whether we are the host who is being fed off of by others in the form of a friend who uses you for their own personal gains or if one acts as the parasite to another. Regardless of if one wishes to believe it or not, parasitic relationships are a part of life in our society and the tree/vine relationships serves as a reminder to that.

The observations made on the trail with nature and the interactions between it are symbolic of facts of life. Many of these facts often go unnoticed, but if one takes the time to observe the occurrences in nature, if only for a minute, they can become aware of many key aspects of life that can be taught and learned through interactions with the outdoors. I learned this through the time our class spent at the Lion's Bridge.