Another tree felled.

Whenever I see a tree cut, I stop to wonder:  What has this tree experienced.  How long has it been there? What parts of the ecosystem are depending on it.  I also think of Aldo Leopold, an early 20th century conservationists, and his essay February: Good Oak in which he ponders the life of his felled oak as he counts the rings and then watches its wood burn in his fire.

November seems to be the month for cutting trees.  I follow my ears to find where the tree cutters are today.  Today just a few blocks from our home: a couple of old fir trees and an old cherry and a third site somewhere not far away. I realize in the city trees can be planted in the wrong place or that there is a fungus that is affecting the health of cherry trees.  Perhaps all the trees being cut down are for good reasons.  Nevertheless, it makes me sad.  Crows, owls, birds of all sorts have homes in those trees.  Tonight our local Audubon Environmental Learning Center is putting on a book talk on the new book called Subirdia- it is going to remind us of some of the birds we see as we are on the outskirts of the city.

Our developing neighborhood has always been near the outskirts and hence we have had great bird diversity in our community...but with each tree that is felled, I worry.  A recent article in our local paper on A fight for Urban Trees: Seattle’s Wealthier Neighborhoods Leafier and here is also a city link on canopy coverage maps and reforestation plans.

Paying Attention to Birds

A couple of weeks ago I started a post about birds that I never finished. I noted what was happening outside our house in the city.  Now I realize that I although this shows some understanding of the local ecology that with deeper investigation, observation, and a good mentor I could understand so much more.

Fall is an amazing time for birds in the city.  If you listen the trees are alive with them calling one another.  This past week I have seen a flock of cedar waxwings eating our grapes.  A Towhee under the Hawthorne.  Bushtits flying through the cherry trees in the side yard.  Black capped chickadees inspecting the empty bird feeder: as though they are saying "it is time for you to feed us again!" Flickers calling loudly & eating the grapes as well.  Meanwhile squirrels are scurrying all about: All but one of the sunflowers in our yard have been beheaded.  The crows are heading home to roost earlier and earlier. 

Last night I attended a talk by Jon Young on Nature Connection.  He has been working on getting children connected to nature since he was a youth and in 1983 as a culminating research project found common elements from cultures that exhibit nature connection. From that he named attributes and developed a model of Nature Connection that he utilizes in programs across the US and Canada and founded the local Wilderness Awareness School.   Although he now has moved to California he continues to study and write books  such as Coyote Mentoring and What the Robin Knows as well as be a speaker and consultant.

This consulting has led him to his newest endeavor a project called Bird Language Leaders with the National Audubon which will be trying out a new program in the coming year with twenty launch sites.  It is already being tested in places including a preschool in the Presidio in San Francisco to great success.  One of the reasons that Jon says it works so well is that as part of the sessions not only do the kids watch birds they also gather together afterward in what he calls a structured layered gathering where everyones voice is heard.  It also includes mentoring which Jon points out is a very important part of cultures that connect people to people, people to ancestors,  and people to nature.  He is working with UC Davis to test and accredit the program.  In April there will be an opportunity to take a workshop on the is program at Wilderness Awareness School.

I love the idea that even young children can learn the language of birds.  It is also critical that young children connect to nature.  Richard Louv identified in 2005 in his book Last Child in the Woods that our children are losing this connection.  He continues to research this problem with the Children and Nature Network. He also seeks out solutions.  Jon knows him and says that even though in the years since the "nature deficit" problem has been identified and many people have tried to create programs to counter this,-- that really the best way that has been to get children connected to nature is for families to gather together for potlucks in the park and let their children run off and play on their own.

This talk inspired me to continue to work on creating great livable neighborhoods that offer gathering places and nature in their midst so that families can gather, connect and build experiences for sharing and learning together.   It also reminded me that I am still working on watching the TED talks that were gathered on  placemakers which I discovered when I was recently sent an article about what makes a strong community.

It is all about CONNECTION!

Poetry

Autumn begs for poetry.  A local school choir that performed for the school board last night sang a song about autumn that they wrote after going out and looking at signs of fall and leaves around their school.  Songs are poetry combined with music and the choir was magnificent.

This month my children have the assignment to memorize several poems as well as write their own poem.  Poetry is a beautiful compliment noticing the world around you.   I am thankful that the poems they get to learn are accessible and relevant.  One of them is Rachel Field's City Rain Poem, with the beautiful line about rain "Slantwise where the buildings crowd"  The words allow a new way of looking and describing rain.  It also allow my children to think of their own words to describe rain. 

We don't always make our walks outside poetry excursions- but the experiences that our children are building allow for words to tumble out later especially when we allow them to notice the magic of the  world and their own experience within it.