Nature: The Natural Antidote • Abigail Simpson

Nature: The Natural Antidote

Abigail Simpson

It is a warm, sunny evening in Michigan with the September sun setting over the tall, luscious green grass swaying in the mild breeze. The sky is set ablaze by bright, fiery shades of red, yellow, and orange. As the sun sets over the field it looks as if it is torching the grass with its colorful rays. The treetops in the distance also succumb to the fire as the sun descends into the tree line. I am not far from the hustle and bustle of the city, yet this place feels like a remote, distant escape. As I walk into Asylum Lake Preserve, I am taken aback by the beauty and complexity of the landscape filled with various plants and animals. Kalamazoo locals rave about this place, its many walking paths, and beautiful yet small lake. I had not known of its existence until a car wash company wanted to purchase part of the land to industrialize it. There was major uproar, and public outcry luckily prohibited the company from developing the land. I continue to walk down the man-made path surrounded by waist-high grass, goldenrod, and milkweed on either side of me. The stubbly, cut grass along the path caresses my laced-up black hiking boots and the breeze fingers through my hair on this pleasant summer evening.

I reminisce on the legendary naturalist John Muir’s statement from A Wind-Storm in the Forests: "Most people like to look at mountain rivers, and bear them in mind; but few care to look at the winds."1 I feel as if this not only refers specifically to the wind but also is an analogy to illustrate that humans often fail to observe the finer details. The mountains, hills, and rivers are easy to gaze at but looking closer and deeper into nature takes time and skill. Muir’s writings incorporated tremendous detail, vividly containing all of his senses. To recognize your surroundings in a way that incorporates all senses takes great awareness and diligence. Focusing my attention on the intricate details and being more present both physically and spiritually was now a lifelong goal I aimed to accomplish each day.

Michigan is a magnificent state, consisting of over sixty-two thousand lakes that hold the largest amount of freshwater in the world, an abundance of trees, numerous shorelines, and four breathtakingly beautiful seasons. I often hear Michiganders ridicule the state because there are few major attractions, and the winters are brutally cold and snowy–especially if you live up North. I used to dream about moving out of Michigan. I wanted to live somewhere warmer and sunnier. Perhaps Florida or California, which seems to be where lots of people talk about moving to nowadays. Over the years I have concluded that my dissatisfaction with my birth state is due largely in part to not having massive metropolitan areas and tourist hotspots. My infatuation with finding a new

1 John Muir, The Coniferous Forests and Big Trees of the Sierra Nevada, 1878 & 1881: With Special Insert, “A Windstorm in the Forests of the Yuba,” 1878 (Golden, CO: Outbooks, 1980)

place to call home rested upon consumption, society, and yearning for something bigger and better. After all, Michigan was not the “fun” state, at least so I thought. I wanted a large house, many cars, and an above average job with the latest and greatest technology and clothes. This was the American lifestyle that most people viewed as success. I wanted to fulfill the so-called “American Dream” and then some.

While Michigan is not known for Walt Disney World or famous cities such as Los Angeles, we have something better and it has taken me until now to realize and appreciate it. We have nature and natural beauty, something in short supply these days. Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline in the United States: more than 3,288 miles2. Michigan is also 50% forest and ranked among the top ten of the most forested states with over 14 billion trees3. These are astounding facts if you are deeply invested in the environment and nature. But for most people I have encountered, these would just be fun facts and would not further their appreciation for our state. I have concluded that most people appreciate things that benefit them. Sure, we have loads of freshwater coastline, but what does it do for me? This is the mindset our American society has succumbed to and if major re-evaluation does not take place in the near future, we are surely doomed.

I must admit, a school assignment forced me to venture out and visit Asylum Lake Preserve. I unfortunately do not think I would have visited here if it were not for the push of one of my professors. My mindset on the way to the preserve was far from joyful and eager. As an overworked, exhausted college student I wanted to get back home to complete coursework and relax. Once I stepped into the preserve my mindset shifted. I thought back to the famous naturalist and transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. I had just read his cultivating essay, “Walking,” where he states, “I am alarmed when it happens that I have walked a mile into the woods bodily, without getting there in spirit.”4 I had set a goal at that moment to immerse myself in nature not only physically, but with my mind and spirit as well. This is when true transformation happens.

I did not find my passion for protecting and advocating for the environment until my late teenage years. I always cared about and loved the outdoors but was ignorant to the catastrophic environmental destruction around me. I knew the basics: do not litter, recycling is beneficial, and donate old goods to be repurposed. I grew up in a family that cared about the Earth from afar but did not actively do their part to make our environment cleaner or safer. My family’s lives, mine included, revolved around consumption. My last semester at

² "Does Michigan Have the Longest Coast Line in the United States?" Michigan.gov, accessed December 10, 2020, https://www.michigan.gov/som/0,4669,7-192-26847-103397--,00.html#:~:text=World Book Encyclopedia (v.13, p.500 of the 2000, has 6,640 miles or 10,686 kilometers of coastline) 3 "Native Trees of Michigan," Trees for Me, accessed December 10, 2020, http://www.treesforme.com/michigan.html)

community college consisted of an environmental science course that sparked my passion and changed my life forever.

Although Michigan possesses immense amounts of beauty, it has a human-induced dark side. We have major oil companies running pipelines throughout our delicate state, polluting the water, air, and land. Enbridge, a Canadian-owned oil company, spilled nearly one million gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River in 2010, causing the largest inland oil spill in United States history5. The spill occurred thirteen miles from Battle Creek, my hometown. The recovery effort lasted for years and stole people’s homes and livelihoods, along with the lives of numerous plants and animals in my community. Although the cleanup process is “complete,” the eco-system can never return to its pre-spill condition. The auto industries and paper mills have also wreaked havoc on our water, air, and land. These industries (and many other companies) pumped our water full of PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) that now bioaccumulate in the environment and have detrimental effects on living organisms. This peek behind the curtain of destruction shook me to my core. How could we be so careless and naive? Our poor choices have not only drastically harmed plants and animals but have simultaneously destroyed ourselves. I have concluded much of our destruction is not because we do not care about the environment but because we care more about money. Greed will become our self-destruct button.

As I continue my journey down the preserve’s path it begins to turn into gravel and dirt. Lack of rainfall has made the top layer of dirt dusty and powdery. It begins to cover my boots and some pebbles cling onto the bottom of them for a free ride. Two baby deer cross the path in front of me nearly unaware of my presence. They must be used to humans because they are un-alarmed as I walk past them and snap a couple pictures on my cell phone. I look around to see if I can find their mother, but she is nowhere in sight. Their brown noses are pressed to the ground rummaging for food. One persistently scrounges for food while the other occasionally peers up at me making sure I am not getting too close. After several minutes of observing them I continue onward.

Bio-regionalist and environmental activist Gary Snyder said it best: “Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.”6 Often we think of nature as a distant place full of untouched, overgrown life or a place where humans have not had substantial impact. The truth is that nature is all around us. Nature is us and we are it. Oftentimes humans think we are above nature and have to travel to seek

5 Rebecca Williams, "A Look Back: 10 Years After the Largest Inland Oil Spill in The U.S.," WKAR, July 23, 2020, |PAGE|, accessed December 10, 2020, https://www.wkar.org/post/look-back-10years-after-largest-inland-oil-spill-us#stream/0)

6 Gary Snyder, The Practice of the Wild (Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, 2010), p. 7)

it out. If we awakened to the idea that we are immersed in nature no matter where we are located, perhaps we will have more of a respectful connection to it. I believe greed has adverse side effects. These side effects have led to environmental destruction, pollution, and despair. Nature is viewed as a commodity with a price tag. Our environment has a higher worth than monetary value. It provides us with more than any human-made object could. Nature provides us with peace, harmony, and tranquility. What if we stopped yearning for wealth to make us feel better and instead yearned for nature? Nature is the antidote for our stress and worries in life, yet we disconnect ourselves from it when we need it most.

The sun is almost submerged below the horizon and the breeze is now cool and comfortable. I look up to see the nearly dark sky and I observe the outline of the tree line above me. I follow the same path out of the preserve to avoid getting lost. On my way out I encounter the two-baby deer again, this time with their mother. She keeps her focus on me, making sure I am no threat to her babies. I continue onward, hoping not to upset her. The breeze is a bit stronger now that I am walking through the field and there are no trees to shield me. Only the tall grass swaying in the wind accompanies me. I hear the crickets humming in the grass and the sound of vehicles driving in the near distance. The hustle and bustle of reality awaits me.

Bibliography "Does Michigan Have the Longest Coast Line in the United States?"

Michigan.gov. Accessed December 10, 2020. https://www.michigan.gov/som/0,4669,7-192-26847-103397--,00. html#:~:text=World Book Encyclopedia (v.13, p.500 of the 2000, has 6,640 miles or 10,686 kilometers of coastline. "Native Trees of Michigan." Trees for Me. Accessed December 10, 2020. http://www.treesforme.com/michigan.html. Muir, John. The Coniferous Forests and Big Trees of the Sierra Nevada, 1878 & 1881:

With Special Insert, "A Windstorm in the Forests of the Yuba," 1878.

Golden, CO: Outbooks, 1980. Snyder, Gary. The Practice of the Wild. Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, 2010, 7. Thoreau, Henry David. Walking. 1862, 3, line 13. Williams, Rebecca. "A Look Back: 10 Years After the Largest Inland Oil Spill In The U.S." WKAR. July 23, 2020. Accessed December 10, 2020. https://www.wkar.org/post/look-back-10-years-after-largest-inland-oil-spillus#stream/0.