Are We Losing Touch with the REAL World? Commentary by Larry Hamilton 1/14/10

        Our ancestors were hunter-gatherers and therefore had to look closely at and give some kind of a name to those elements of their surrounding environment that were good to eat, were toxic or otherwise harmful, or were useful in some other facet of sustaining their lives. These were mostly plants and animals, but included potable water sites and useful rocks or minerals. Perhaps we have inherited some of this hard-wiring in our genes and feel most natural and comfortable when we have contact with nature?

        I believe that we feel even more harmonious when we can identify and have some knowledge of some of the natural elements that surround us in Charlotte or wherever we may be. But, society’s increasing separation from the natural world is destroying this relationship in favor of purchasable goods with recognizable brands and logos. Shopping in the malls or on the web and surfing the web for “virtual reality” seem to be consumerism’s replacement for learning to take care of ourselves in the natural world. A majority of folks now can recognize immediately eight different brands of snack food and five kinds of salad dressing, but perhaps not more than two species of bird neighbors. Nowhere is this situation more evident than in our youth of today. Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder scares this nature lover and Tree Warden.

       We are fortunate in Charlotte in that there is still a good deal of nature in our environment and opportunity for interaction and learning about soil, water, plants, animals and the valuable services provided by natural ecosystems. Also fortunate are we in having some organizations and individuals who can guide us to greater familiarity with our life roots, counteracting the seductive marketing of “stuff.”

       The Conservation Commission sponsors a regular series of articles in The Charlotte News called WILD LIFE, written or commissioned by Linda Hamilton and UVM’s Alicia Daniels. They promote people’s understanding of both large and small marvels of nature right here in our backyard. Students at CCS have opportunities under the guidance of fine staff to participate in the Pease Mountain Stewardship Program and the Four Winds Project and to plant trees at the school each Arbor Day. Conservation and Recreation Commissions have run a series of easy nature outings called “Charlotte Walks” to guide residents up close and personal with nature, including for instance, tree identification outings that I and others have led. A fine source of information and stimulation to get out-of-doors is Elizabeth Bassett’s Charlotte News column “Out-Doors” that provides tips and information about places to hike both local and regional.

      The Trails Committee also urges people to put on their boots and take a hike. However, I encourage you to slow down from hiking occasionally to observe closely your surroundings! Don’t forget there are self-guided nature trails in Charlotte at the Park and Wildlife Refuge, at Nature Conservancy’s Williams Woods, and there are labeled trees on a trail at Thompson’s Point. The Nature Conservancy conducts natural history walks at Williams Woods and the two recently conserved areas of Burleigh Woods and Raven Ridge.

       These and other family activities offer the oportunity that there is No Child (or adult) Left Behind at the computer screen or in the mall. Our genes and spirits crave contact with the environment of the REAL world! It makes me distinctly uncomfortable that most persons seem to be able to recognize and distinguish between a Toyota Camry and a Chevy Impala at 120 feet (or Frito-Lays from Pringles at 10 feet across a supermarket aisle), but not know a basswood from a red oak when standing next to them. Perhaps it is time for greater nature literacy, and more tree identification and other nature walks??

Professor Lawrence S. Hamilton, Senior Advisor, Mountain Biome World Commission on Protected Areas/IUCN