Making Nature "Better"?

Little Bluestem and Downtown Dallas                  Photo by Becky Rader

This seemingly disconnected image between Nature and the City has been a long standing factor, not only here but everywhere.  In the past 75 years we have grown from a country that was predominantly an agrarian society to one that is now an urban populated one.  We now have little connection to the natural world, as we once did just a short time ago. Yes, things have changed....but what have we lost?

In the constant rush to build it and they will come scenario, the value of natural open area is often ignored.  To a developer or an engineer, the land and the natural resources have no value unless there is a road or a building on it.  It is argued that this is part of economic development and I argue that without it there is a loss to our quality of life.  

I know many business people, lawyers, scientists, educators, bankers, and more that choose to spend their free time hiking trails, riding bikes, bird watching, and taking pictures of natural areas to de-stress from the everyday rat race.  Is this advantageous to the City?  You bet!  There are now studies that show a direct correlation in improvement of work or study when the availability of natural areas are offered and used.  These studies are not news to most educators that are connected with environmental education, for those of us in this field it is common knowledge.  But now we have those studies to back up what we already knew.

Richard Louv wrote a book that was published in 2005 that became a voice for this, " Last Child In The Woods".  A must read for anyone interested in the health and well being of our children.  The book became a sensation and has created an international following with nature clubs being established, and yes, even cities joining up to provide the best for our children.  It has become a movement, the Children and Nature Network or CNN, www.childrenandnature.org   The website is filled with the latest research and so much more.  And not only for children, his latest book, "The Nature Principle" is focused on the need for all of us, yes adults too, to have a connection to the natural world.

We have so much opportunity to be recognized as a City that realizes this is a value that cannot or should not be ignored.  The Value is in fact monetary, how much would it cost to re-create a system that cleans the water like a wetland, to try and create something that cleans the polluted air better than plants and yes, all plants clean the air and provide oxygen...not just trees, or to allow natural diversity which is necessary for a healthy ecosystem.  Each of these and more are part of the systems that are necessary for our health and well being; clean water, clean air, and open areas to allow diversity of plants and animals and places for us to walk...the bonus factor which leads to quality of life.

The City is taking strides to embrace this with the Trinity Project, but care needs to be given so that those systems that have been in place for centuries are still allowed to function.  Springs and wetlands are much more than beautiful places to visit and observe wildlife.  They provide clean water for the Trinity River which is used by millions of people and animals as their main source of water.  It is the source for the nurseries in the brackish waters of the estuaries at Trinity Bay in the Gulf which is the place for shrimp, fish, mussels and oysters to begin the cycle of life.  Care must be taken and responsibility for that begins here.

The open land itself serves as the place where rain water is absorbed into the ground, replenishing the groundwater and deep aquifers. Those sources provide the springs and creeks which flow into the river.  It is also the place where raptors and other predators hunt for their prey.  Open land with native flora and fauna is a place to connect with nature and teach our children to do the same.  Let's not destroy that which already exists to make it "better".  Nature has already accomplished that.

 

Why Should I Care?

 

 White Rock Prairie

It is a question that is asked frequently.  Why should I care?  Why should I care about what, you ask.  Well there are lots of things you already care about, your family, your friends, your job, how about where you live?  You do care about that don't you?  Part of that is caring about what is around you.

Would you like to live next to an industrial area, a busy shopping center or a quiet neighborhood.  How about a nice quiet neighborhood near a park?  With a pond and some trees.  And open space too so the kids can run and play.  How about that?  Does it make you care a little bit more?

These are things that we look for when we move to a new city or are looking for a new house.  At least we used to.  I know I did when I bought my house.  I care about where I live.  I care about the open areas because I like them and they are a place where I can get away, take a walk and relax.

My background was always connected to the outdoors.  Walking to the lake with the family on Sundays.  Playing outside and going down to the creek to explore, looking for fossils and fools gold.  This was my beginning to want to learn more.  Asking my father about the trees and wildflowers we saw on our family walks.  My mother pointing out the birds and butterflies.  I began caring about what I saw and was learning.  Especially when I saw places disappear.

Imagine, if you will, a place any young teenage girl, well a lot of them anyway, could walk across the street and be in a pasture full of wildflowers, grasses, trees and oh yes, horses!  That was so fantastic to be able to have that right across the street from where my parents built our house.  Little did I realize that this would seal the deal for me.  It wasn't just the walks to the lake from the first house we lived in.  It was this next connection that made all the difference.

At this prairie, which I had no clue what it was then, it was my awakening to the natural world around me.  This was a huge piece of land smack dab in the big city with meadowlarks, quail, foxes, roadrunners, raccoons, hawks, owls, rabbits and more.  For those of you familiar with our city it was the piece of land bordered by Lovers Lane, Skillman, NW Hwy and Greenville.  The corner of Greenville and Lovers Lane had a small driving range where a famous golfer once worked...Lee Trevino.  The rest of it was wide open space with creeks, tanks, and trails.  It was called Lovers Lane Stables.  A fabulous place where I spent many long hours watching wildlife, learning about wildflowers and yes, riding horses.   It was the bestest place on earth.  It was here that I decided I would learn everything I could about horses and what they needed.  Good pasture with native grasses, clean water, trees for shade - it all seemed amazingly simple.  At least back then it seemed that was enough.

After a few years of this heaven the flagging stakes began to appear.  I was of the age now where college was looming on the horizon and choices needed to be made.  Which direction would I go - veterinarian, agriculture---horses you know, or teaching.?  And why were all of these stakes being put through my stables?  What was happening to my paradise?  Then the road-graders showed up and section by section the stables began to disappear.  Owners had to find other places to board their horses. Not easy in a city where land is for development and not valued for open space. As I watched this happen and saw the wild creatures run for their lives, trying to cross busy roads, looking for another place to survive it was all too much.  I knew which direction would eventually be mine.  I care.