My Land Ethic

When beginning my final essay I tried first to think about how important the environments I know are to me and why. I discovered that I have an equal--yet completely different-- love for the red rocks and sandstones in Arizona, the marshy wetlands, beaches and rivers of Maryland, and the lush woods and rolling hills of Ohio. Upon further introspection I've found that it's the experiences I had as a child that really made me love these places. I can remember going to the beach every weekend of every summer in Maryland and how every experience was better than the last, from the "sand crabs" we would dig for at the edge of the surf to the wild ponies that lazily strolled down the shore grazing on sea grass here and there.

When visiting my grandparents in Arizona every year for Christmas I can remember being amazed at the polar differences between Maryland and Arizona. The desert creatures we would rescue from the pool (mice, rabbits, armadillos, lizards, etc...) seemed so different in both appearance and behavior from the ones I knew. Every trip to the botanical gardens was an adventure in which we were surrounded by 100 year old Saguaros and tempted by the delicious yet dangerous Prickly Pear Fruit.

Finally, Ohio (Southeastern, to be precise) holds a special place in my heart. Almost every memory involving Athens from my childhood involves nature, the environment, or the land in some way. I can remember nothing that would excite me more at five or six years old than the prospect of hiking with my grandfather. On the farm we own out near Mineral, I was taught to appreciate things that grow as much as any living animal you could witness. It seemed as though my grandpa knew every flower, tree, and weed that grew on those hills better than any encyclopedia  and it made those things precious to me. Suddenly each Buckeye he patted as he walked by, showing us the shape of the leaves without plucking them from the branches, had a personality, feelings, a purpose, and most importantly a distinct right to be there. Each beaver-made walking stick he found was as precious as the animal that spent so much time making it.

This exploration has made me realize that my favorite places in the world--those closest to my hear-- are the ones in which I have strong ties to the environment. In truth, it is the first thing I think about when I picture these places in my mind. Our family had to sell the farm, so we are currently in experiencing the last summer we'll ever have at our family farm and it hurts me more than I can express. One of the things that upsets me the most is that I just don't know how the next caretakers of that property will treat the land. I'm in no way saying my family was the best that's ever lived on that land but we absolutely love it and that is what I've realized is important. You can love the land like a sister or brother, or grandparent and that is how humans are meant to live in the environment, in my opinion. These resources are here for us to love and respect and use but not to deplete. Give what you have and take what you need, it's what the land has been doing for us since the dawn of calculable time.