For the nature walk I choose to go back to a place near my hometown of Wheaton. I specifically choose to go to Lake Ellyn Park in Glen Ellyn. Lake Ellyn Park is located right next to my old high school, Glenbard West. It is a large park with a 10 acre lake. On my walk through the park I ran into a playground, picnic area, fishing deck, and open area to just enjoy the atmosphere. Nature is all around here. A majority of the park is made up of green scenery. As I looked around I saw an abundant amount of trees, plants, grassy areas, and flowers. Along with the green scenery, there were a lot of animals that filled the park, from squirrels and birds to domestic dogs with their owners. From any point in the park, nature was surrounding me. The moment I stepped out of the car and started walking towards the park, my mood definitely changed in a good way. I was very relaxed and calm while I was at the park. This walk was different than other walks I have on a daily basis because everything around me was quiet and less hectic. I really didn’t have any worries while I was there. I also noticed that all the people that were using this park really respected the nature around them. One man even picked up some trash that was on the ground as he was walking on the path. Overall, on my walk I may have encountered the same things in nature that I would probably see on my daily walks, the environment was quite different and changed the way I viewed it and its affect on me.
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I chose to conduct my nature walk in the same general area of my apartment, since I haven’t really taken the time to notice details in my environment especially related to nature. My apartment is located fairly close to the DePaul campus; therefore I chose to go more in the direction of Armitage. I wanted to walk around the area closest to where I live since, in my everyday life, I don’t always get to notice my surroundings.
ReplyDeleteWhile on my walk I realized that in my environment there is very little nature, and for what there is, man purposely placed it. When walking down N. Kenmore, the street is lined with houses and apartment buildings. There are a lot of well-kept gardens in front of the houses that contained very green grass, flowers and ivy that grows on some of the houses. There are a lot of trees that line the edge of the sidewalks. Some of the trees have brilliant green leaves on every branch, while other trees are lacking the same sense of liveliness and show discoloration. In front of most of the buildings there are garden squares kept by the people living around them. Most of them have simple plants and flowers. They are kept within black gating. Certain gardens are rather forgotten. The one directly in front of my apartment is filled more with dry dirt and gloomy flowers. Patches of grass along the various streets in my area are starting to look like a balding head.
These elements of nature I rarely interact with, except for when I graze past them. I will always breathe in nature’s air and be immersed in nature because it is near to impossible to completely take myself out of it, but how much I recognize it in my ever step is different. I have found it more difficult to notice nature after moving to the city. When living in Michigan, I was in a suburb that was covered in blooming trees, fresh cut grass, preserved nature centers, and flourishing flower gardens. The city to me is much more industrial, and I find it rare that I ever really take the time to stop and look at these deteriorating grass patches or even some of the well-kept gardens in front of apartment buildings. I think there is much beauty to city nature, but it is harder to notice in certain areas.
Before starting my adventurous nature walk I decided to map out my route based on what I personally thought would be the most scenic view. I live in Wrigleyville right near Graceland cemetery and a Wrigley park so the first place I walked to was through the park. Growing up in Dayton, Ohio and now living in the city, it is always enjoyable to see any patch of grass such as a park and even the cemetery. While walking I really thought about the park with children and mothers and the cemetery where people are buried. What I finally concluded was that this is a classic example of human nature viewing this I was able to view young children who were just starting their lives and on the other hand people who had either lived long ago or people whose lives have just recently ended. I felt that it was just ironic to see these two places so close together. While I was walking through both I was able to see an unexpected amount of nature such as trees, birds, and even the occasional rabbit. I felt that it was ironic that at home, I would see a rabbit and it was no big deal but now I see one and I got all excited and even wanted to run and catch it so I could pet it. As I came to Sheridan, I took a right and headed toward the lake it was the most substantial change in environment throughout my whole walk it went from grassy land with a vast amount of nature to concrete and the occasional pigeon. Also while making this change I felt as if I changed my mentality while walking in the grass I felt I was relaxed and walking at a leisurely pace. However, once I stepped out onto Sheridan I felt as if I picked up the pace and started to be more aware of my surroundings. As I reached the lake, I felt I started to slow down my walking pace and admire the golf course in the middle of the city. I walked along the water at a casual pace and looked for fish and anything else that might catch my eye. I noticed that there were many people playing with their dogs and just relaxing with no concern for time. In addition, there was nature once again; I even saw a raccoon during the day as I was walking by the golf course. Once I reached Fullerton, I walked over the bridge this is where I saw fish this made me feel better because of the fact that on my walk by the lake all I saw was dirty polluted water. Once walking over the bridge, I was able to walk through the nature preserve this was the most exciting part of the walk in terms of nature because there were many flowers and insects and other small animals. This nature preserve shows that man does do many careless things to nature but also some humans do try to keep nature intact. As I was finishing my walk toward DePaul, I started to come across more concrete and less nature but walking through Lincoln Park did not change my behavior. My walking attitude may have stayed the same because I am more familiar with the area also there is much more grass and other forms of nature than on many streets in the city. In conclusion, to my walk I felt that I do not usually notice all of the minor changes in my environment. In a city such as Chicago, people walk to get to a destination and most people neglect to take a few extra minutes every day to admire their surroundings. After this assignment, I feel that I will open my eyes to my surrounding more while walking around the city instead of just walking with my head down to get to a destination.
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