EARTH Lodge

Earth Lodge Core Values

2011-02-02T11:22:00.002-05:00

Past and current lodgers got together to try to elucidate what makes the Earth Lodge so special. The following is a set of core values that lodgers identified.

Diversity of thought
• we celebrate free thinking and creativity
• we are accepting of all points of view and strive to understand other peoples’ perspectives

Learning about self and others by exploring the natural world
• We cultivate respect and appreciation for nature though outdoor activities
• We develop self-knowledge through both adventure and reflection
• we explore the connections between ourselves and the natural world by learning basic wilderness and naturalist skills

Imaginative edupunk
• “edupunk: a style of hands-on self-education that benefits the student without concern for the curriculums or the interests of schools, corporations or governments. In other words, an autodidactic approach that spurns commercialism, mass-market approaches and top-down goal setting” (Jim Groom)
• we encourage an inquisitive and relaxed atmosphere of collaboration, equality and honest communication
• we believe that people learn best through experiential and multi-sensory education
• we value close teacher-student relationships

Forming a supportive and open-minded family
• we foster an environment of genuine and honest communication
• we develop relationships based on respect, love and acceptance
• we create a supportive environment for exploring questions of meaning and purpose
• we value reliability and dependability
• the teacher is part of the family

Spontaneity
• we let curiosity and passion guide us
• we love to play, relax, and of course, drink tea!
• we celebrate life and share the feeling of hope

Quotes from Lodgers:

“Earth Lodge provided me with an amazing community of friends, all from different backgrounds, majors, and interests, and with freedom of thought. The program combines an amazingly thought-provoking class with solace of nature. It is truly an experience unlike any other offered at Richmond and made me so much happier and content as a student here.”

“The close community of individuals within the Lodge, with a common respect for each other's different backgrounds and thoughts, provides an atmosphere that is fluid.”

“Lodgers are spontaneous, inquisitive, and creative. They aren't afraid to take risks academically, and are more focused on learning both in and outside of the classroom than getting perfect grades.”

“Because all of the Lodgers are open-minded and inclusive, I think that participants feel free and comfortable to share their thoughts and feelings. Thus, we were able to consider things we wouldn't by ourselves and gained unique and important perspectives about our surroundings and our coursework.”

“Earth lodge completely changed my experience at UR. It is the single greatest thing I have done in college. I became a part of an extremely strong community full of intelligence, love, new ideas, honesty, determination, and motivation. It has shaped me to become who I am, and urged me to become a better, more involved, more thoughtful person.”

Reality Check

2011-02-01T14:46:00.002-05:00

The "pale blue dot" is our EARTH as seen from Voyager I at 3.7 billion miles away

*click image for documentary
*thanks to Laura Barry for sharing Sagan's text

In a market-driven, media-saturated, celebrity-lusting culture where the assembly line never stops and competition for attention or title often trumps the less flashy but more crucial work of compassionate community building, it can be instructive and inspiring to put ourselves in perspective with some basic, essential and absolute facts about human life on Earth. Carl Sagan, the brilliant Cornell astronomer provides a necessary and increasingly relevant re-orientation of our perspective in his famous work Pale Blue Dot:A Vision of the Human Future in Space.

Excerpt from Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot

Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every ‘superstar,’ every ‘supreme leader,’ every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there — on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.

Desalinization Breakthrough

2011-01-17T11:50:00.002-05:00

Our readings of texts like Stewart's Earth Abides, McCarthy's The Road or Callenbach's Ecotopia have sharpened our awareness of the necessity of water and the fragility of the infrastructure that delivers it to our faucets.
Today, much of the news is consumed with our decreasing oil supply and the potential crises resulting but the human body does not require petroleum products for survival - we survived for millennia without it. However, water is central to human survival and a mere 7-10 days without water would kill most people by dehydration.

Published in 1863, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge has left us with a line that many of us have heard and repeated:

"Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink."

While they almost seem cliche, with these lines Coleridge left us with an important reminder of a significant fact about life on earth: 97.5% of the water on Earth is not drinkable without reverse osmosis desalination processing which is very expensive and maintenance intensive according to a United Nations Environment Program Report:"...significant costs associated with reverse osmosis plants, aside from the capital cost, are the costs of electricity, membrane replacement, and labor."

Though reverse osmosis is the predominant technique for desalinization, there are several other desalinization processes used today. One of the most recent and most promising approaches to desalinization called "forward osmosis" is being developed at Yale.

For more info, listen to Living On Earth's report "Low Salt Water with Low Energy Technology."

Walking in Circles

2010-11-22T21:14:00.001-05:00

"walking in circles" by angrytoast

When we went on our Corbin Cabin retreat, one of our skill sessions was about map reading and cross-country navigation. Most hikers use topographic maps to find and follow various marked trails, but sometimes the view you want to see is off the trail and you need to "bushwack" or hike cross-country off trail. If the distance is short, this is no problem, but when humans walk long distances cross-country we tend to walk in circles.

And we're not sure why.

In a recent NPR story "A Mystery: Why Can't We Walk Straight?"
Robert Krulwich interviews Jan Souman, one of the co-authors of "Walking Straight Into Circles" published in the August 2009 issue of Current Biology. In blindfold experiments run on various topographies from the Saharah Desert to the Bienwald forest in Germany, subjects invariably ended up walking in circles.

During our Corbin Cabin retreat we addressed one way to avoid such circling using map and compass. For example, if we wanted to bushwack from Corbin Cabin to Camp Ridge Trail, first we would lay the edge of our compass on the map so as to connect the cabin with the point we want to hit on Camp Ridge Trail. Next, we would turn compass housing or outer ring of the compass so the underlying red orienting arrow lined up with the compass needle pointing North. On some compasses this gives us the direction of travel in degrees, but even without them, the hiker can stay oriented. Holding the compass so that the orienting arrow arrow aligns with the North (red) end of the compass needle, you will be faced toward the goal. By choosing a series visible landmarks like notable trees, large rocks or other obvious features that are directly in line with the direction of travel arrow, the hiker can travel in a relatively straight line to the chosen destination and avoid ending up walking in circles. The success of this involves stopping to realign the orienting and magnetic North arrows at each landmark to re-orient to the goal before choosing the next landmark.

To accomplish this, the hiker must be a close observer of detail on his compass, his map and his terrain. Such close reading is also important in literary studies where interpretive moves require attention to detail and occasional re-orientation. For example, our literary "bushwack" might involve using our reflective compass to trace a line connecting narrative events that are not directly connected by the writer. In Cormac McCarthy's sobering novel The Road we might wish to connect the occasional but disconnected geographic details and descriptions McCarthy gives to see if we can recognize and identify the specific route the characters take.
Wesley Morgan of the University of Tennessee does this in his hypertext "The Route and Roots of the Road" where he tracks these details, landmark by landmark, to reconstruct the route and locates it in the southeastern US.

For more detailed instructions about map and compass orientation see Kjetil Kjernsmo's illustrated guide on how to use a compass or Princeton's excerpt on map and compass work from The Backpacker's Field Manual by Rick Curtis.

Chesapeake bayside camping trip

2010-11-15T23:42:00.001-05:00

Our most recent camping trip was in early October at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach where the first English settlement was established in 1607, from which Captain John Smith explored the Chesapeake Bay.

An advance crew left early on Friday and got camp set up but the second wave got caught in traffic and then I missed an exit after the CBBT so our arrival was delayed a bit, but when we arrived we were welcomed enthusiastically.

Lodge vet Parker Hawkins started the fire, and we set up the remaining tents and got the kitchen started so we could have dinner (spaghetti al Rubino) with fireside s'mores for dessert....

...while we circled the fire sharing jokes, stories and even a little dancing.

Our campsites were near the road but still in the dunes and under the shade of the beautiful sprawling Live Oaks native to the area.

The weekend weather was superb and after some early morning review of knife, saw and axe safety we headed for the beach.

The sand was littered with horseshoe crab shells, seaweed and mermaid's purses, and the winds kept my kite flying high.

With huge container ships anchored in the distance and the inspiration from a pod of dolphins that playfully frolicked nearby, several intrepid Lodgers spontaneously formed what looked like a group of playful pagan sea goddesses doing a ritual dance complete with horseshoe crab crown and mermaid's purse rattles. They were impressive, but I think they scared the crap out of those poor guys playing bocce on the sand.

Such spontaneous play is an important but increasingly rare activity in our often over-scheduled, "productive" lives. The good news is that it's free and we can tap into the surprising power of play any time we want to.

(I wouldn't cross 'em, would you?)

Playfully building on the collaborative skills developed during our Corbin Cabin retreat, our Chesapeake bayside weekend turned out to be a much-needed stress-buster and a delightful success.

Getting to Know Your Neighbors

2010-09-07T15:56:00.010-04:00

"Hello black gum tree. It is nice to meet you. I hear you are one of the first trees to change color in the fall. I look forward to seeing that!" I enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones today on our plant walk around Westhampton Lake. "Hello willow oak, sycamore, tulip poplar, river bird, beech, sweetgum and so many more! And you, sassafras, would you have chosen such a fun name on your own? I shall visit you soon for a tea date." Talking about the names of trees on campus today reminded me of a passage from Twelve by Twelve, where author William Powers writes, "Sociologists point out that American kids today can identify a thousand corporate logos but less than ten native plants and animals that live around their homes." He goes on to wonder, "are we, like Gold Kist [a giant poultry production company] chickens evolving in artificially manufactured, rather than natural, ways?" (44). At first glance, the idea that kids can identify so many logos and so few natural things is a bit horrifying. But the more I think about it, it makes sense. We didn't lose the ability to recognize patterns and use our powers of observation, we just use them differently than a hunter-gatherer culture. We pay attention to what is important in our lives. Instead of learning the land and knowing the plants and the animals and transmitting the tribal oral history, we know how to use computers, relate to popular culture, do well in school, keep up with the national and global news, get around the city, buy food and navigate the complexities of modern life. I do not think these are lesser achievements. In fact, an indigenous person might be in awe at the amount of stress the average person endures just to live a modern life. They might also think it is ridiculous.

I don't think being a modern, savvy person is a bad thing, but I worry that when we get so caught up in this manufactured lifestyle we overlook the fact that our human world is built entirely upon the natural world. We forget that the principles that govern the natural world also govern us and our creations and you get the big global mess we are in right now.

Maybe what we are doing in our sit spots is reacquainting ourselves with the principles of the natural world, slowly reeducating ourselves to something we once collectively knew before human hubris took over. Sitting in this one spot, we get to see the constant dance of life and death and the great interconnectedness of all things. Slowly we start to realize that we are just a part of that. As I look around, I cannot help but be filled with gratitude for being a part of this world. I am smiling at the plants around me now. Can they feel me relax and let my heart open?

-Geoff Cox

ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK: In addition to your journal, discover the name of one tree and one bird on campus that you do not already know using the resources on blackboard (Supplements>Relevant Links>Online Field Guides). Draw and label a picture of both the bird and a leaf from your tree. Use as much detail as possible and include any distinguishing marks or characteristics that aided your identification. Include everything someone else would need to know to identify the species without seeing it directly.

If you are trying to discover the identity of a bird but are not able to be sure what it is for whatever reason (e.g. seeing it briefly in bad lighting), write down everything you can think of that you observed about the mystery bird.

Sense of Place in the Western Desert by Tara Laidlaw

2010-09-06T12:41:00.019-04:00

Hello friends! Here is an entry from my friend Tara, who you met in class and on the plant walk. Sections in quotations are from the journal she kept while in Australia with the Martu, an Aboriginal family group in the Western Desert---

Several years ago, I had the extraordinary honor of spending a week with an Australian Aboriginal family group on their land title in the Great Sandy Desert of western Australia, learning as a participant observer in one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer societies on the planet. This week was the culmination of a seminar about indigenous Australia taught by two Stanford professors who had been instrumental in fighting in court for the Martu – an Aboriginal cultural group – to get their land legally restored to them. The relationship between the professors and the Martu made it possible for 14 students not only to visit the land title but also to stay there for a week and learn from the Martu in traditional ways.

Picture Above: Tara (bottom, with hat) helping pluck a desert turkey

What struck me the most was the incredibly deep connection the Martu have to the land on which they live. Every aspect of life is governed by this land: food and drink; spiritual beliefs; sleeping arrangements; songs; stories; dances; play; interpersonal relationships; coming-of-age ceremonies; death rites. This vast interconnectedness within the culture and to the land gave rise to a staggering sense of time-depth as I learned more and more about these peoples’ lives.

"These people have lived on this land in this way for tens of thousands of years. Doug [one of the professors] was saying too that that vast history is reflected in Dreamtime [spiritual] stories: for example, there are stories that have been handed down through the generations about giant carnivorous kangaroos, and those kangaroos did used to live in Australia – 30,000 years ago."

This is an example of a piece of information about the landscape as it was 30,000 years ago, now reflected in a spiritual creation story – pretty amazing! Nancy, the elder who held the land on which we were staying, called this kind of information “old memory.” As the holder, her responsibility is to

Picture to Left: Lizard (parnajalpa/sand goanna) in the foreground; desert turkey (kipara) in the background (feathers all over the ground and the carcass spread over a spinifex plant just to the right of the shovel)

keep track of this sort of knowledge that catalogues the stories about the land, its features, its inhabitants, and the changes it undergoes through time. This information was presented both to the next generation of Martu children and to the Stanford students alike through Dreamtime stories, dances, and songs, just as it had been taught to the current group of elders. Even though today’s Martu children straddle their parents’ world and the encroaching white world, they still grow up with the same cultural underpinnings and the same remarkable connection to the land as their parents and grandparents have.

"The kids grow up in such a different way [than most children I know] – a month in Parnngurr [the outstation] for every week out at Kurta-Kurta [the field camp], pulling water from a soak via a windmill and sleeping under the most spectacular sky I’ve ever seen, setting fires in extremely flammable material and eating lizard and camel and kangaroo that they’d caught earlier that day."

The children also learn about the hunting and gathering traditions that play a major role in the Martu lifestyle. Children learn by observing their elders and at a young age are capable of pulling witchetty grubs from trees; tracking lizard, kangaroo, and desert turkey; and identifying and collecting roots and tubers. Even at a young age, a child is expected to bring in the majority of his or her own calories. While a small child isn’t going to be going out hunting with a gun, to successfully bring in that much food requires enormous attention to detail. This attention to detail is a learned skill: children not only follow along during hunting and gathering expeditions led by adults but also play traditional games that encourage close observation. They certainly have a leg up because this skill set is so highly prized (and necessary!) in their culture, but the skill is developed and sharpened throughout childhood and on into adulthood.

"After digging for ganjimarra [tubers] in a dry riverbed (you find the plant and then excavate the root, straight down, until the whole thing is exposed and you can pull it out without breaking it) we got distracted at a white tree that was full of lungki [witchetty grubs] – Brianna and Alicia [Martu girls aged about 10 years] were up the tree armed with axes before I knew what was going on, and after only maybe 20 minute there was a ziplock bag full of squirmy gooey grubs."

Picture to Left: Children pulling witchetty grubs (lungki) out of a hole in a tree using a twig. The kids made it look easy, but the grandmas laughed while the Stanford students tried (and failed) to hook the grubs with the end of the stick and pull them out.

Like most Aboriginal groups, the Martu relate spatially to the world in an absolute fashion rather than in a relative fashion. This means that there are literally no words in their language for right or left, or front or back, for example. Instead they use directions – north, south, east, west – acknowledging their position within the landscape as a whole and using unmoving reference points rather than relying on a single individual’s own perception of his or her place in the landscape. So when asked where someone wants to lay the fire, for example, the response isn’t “over to the left of the trucks” but rather “to the south of the trucks” – and that is equally clear to everyone, regardless of where they’re standing in relation to the trucks.

This way of relating to the world isn’t limited to the adults. From a very young age, children hone their own skills as expert navigators. While this is easier for these children because it’s an integral part of their culture, it’s not in-born. It’s a learned skill, just like tracking and collecting food. I once saw a mother ask her son to point to where his grandma lived. We were out in the middle of the desert and I couldn’t have pointed to where we’d parked our truck a few hours back, let alone where our base camp was, but the child pointed without hesitation in a particular direction. His mother then adjusted his pointing by a few degrees – that precise! – and said, “That’s where your grandma lives.”

It can be tempting to paint indigenous Australians as nature-lovers, living in perfect harmony with each other and never disrupting the world around them. This can be pretty far from the truth, especially when their culture comes into contact (and conflict) with white culture. But even when on their own land title where they’re most comfortable, the Martu certainly have a major impact on the landscape: they use extensive fire management to promote a diversity of food sources, make it easier to track game, and keep plant reproduction at a steady and predictable rate. If they were to leave the landscape alone and just take what they could find without the creating a burn mosaic, they would have a vastly harder time finding enough to eat and would have to move base camp locations much more frequently. So while the Martu do move lightly on the earth (particularly in comparison to what I’m used to as an American), they also manipulate the landscape to suit their own needs, and have been doing so for long enough that the landscape now depends upon their presence.

With that said, though, spending that week with the Martu was an remarkable lesson in living simply and turning to the land as an unendingly generous source of life, if only you know how and where to look. So while it was spectacular fun to hunt and swim and hear stories and eat weird things in the desert, the real take-home message was about deep observation, true gratitude, and the value of paying very close attention to the world around you.

-Tara Laidlaw

Also, in case anyone is interested, the two professors who led the trip have websites with information about their research:

Doug Bird: http://www.stanford.edu/~dwbird/DWBIRD/main.html

Rebecca Bliege Bird: http://www.stanford.edu/~rbird/RBIRD/main.html

Rebecca has brief and (relatively) understandable summaries of the different research projects she and Doug are working on with the Martu; both have links to their publications, many of which are about the Martu and some of which are available as pdfs. These tend to be pretty dense but if anyone is really into it they might be worth a look.

Settling in at Your Sit Spot

2010-09-01T09:11:00.016-04:00

7:30am

Who in the world is making that chattery noise outside my window? It seems to be the same time every morning. I carefully peak out the window, attempting not to disturb whatever is making the noise. The first thing I notice is a bird frantically hopping around the fig tree outside my window chattering away, twitching and looking this way and that. But what bird would use so much energy and draw so much attention to itself? It looks like a cardinal but the coloring is all wrong...oh wait, it is a juvenile, of course! This late in the summer and still sounding like a begging fledgling? The subtle movement of a branch farthur up reveals the father, bright red, and yet still less conspicuous than the youngster. He is calm and aware, looking after his child. He alternates between calculating scans for danger and cleaning his beak on the bark. He snatches up a small caterpillar in an instant.

But where is his mate? Dead? Cardinal pairs have an intense bond and will spend the year together hardly ever out of sight or chirping distance, usually until one of them dies. Maybe this silly adolescent is all the male cardinal on my fig tree has left. After a long summer of feeding and caring for 2-4 broods and losing his mate, this one juvenile might be all he has left. All the others have either left their nesting territory or more likely did not survive the summer. In North America, 70-90%(depending on who you ask) of perching birds don't make it to adulthood. Between the nest robbers like crows, jays, squirrels, raccoons and snakes and bird eaters like foxes, some hawks, and owls, this adult male must have developed intense awareness and survival skills. It is hard to be a bird.

Suddenly he looks up and flys off. The juvenile does not notice for quite some time and then flies after its father in a panicked flight. With that level of awareness, it may never live to have a red beak. I look outside. The mourning dove is still feeding in the weed garden. The carolina wren is still singing from the hedge and the starling is giving its syncopated verbalization from the top of the post. What made the cardinal fly off? Did he just spook prematurely, without any real danger? No, he probably would not have lived through a summer of raising young if he used up his energy overreacting and misjudging. He must have noticed me peering at him through the window. Despite his ninja-like awareness, he will probably not live more than a few years even though cardinals can live up to 15 years in the wild if they are not killed.

All this drama, and what is funny is that if you walked by in the heat of the day, or weren't really paying attention, you would probably wonder if any birds even lived here...

-Geoff Cox

Settling in at your Sit Spot

By this coming Tuesday (7th), you should be have found the sit spot that you are going to commit to for the semester. Whether discovering a new sit spot or returning to the one you found last week, use this week to start to feel a little more at home. Remember that your sit spot practice starts the moment you leave the door to go to your spot.

Sense Meditation: Take a deep breath and exhale, releasing the tension in your body and your mind. Soften your visual focus to settle into the "wide-angle" vision we explored at Corbin Cabin. Allow your eyes to relax, not focusing on any one thing and becoming more aware of movement in your periphery. Notice how your ability to detect motion is greatly enhanced. Expand your hearing 360 degrees around you, listening for the quietest sound on campus. Taste and smell the air. Feel your body, your feet on the ground, your breath. Relax and smile. With this relaxed yet hightened awareness, wander to your spot. Can you get in the mindset of heading in a direction but being in the moment every step along the way?

This is not always easy. When thoughts arise, smile at them and just let them come and go. Don't push them away or hold on to them. Allow your thoughts to just be part of the landscape of observation. Notice the thoughts arising and passing like clouds in the sky or the sudden flight of a startled bird. If you have trouble doing this, notice that too. If this is a struggle and thoughts of self-judgement start to arise, just notice those too, smile at them and let them go. The key is to be gentle with yourself.

Map: In addition to spending 20-30 minutes sitting silently at your spot, spend some time mapping the area around your spot in a 15-step radius. This time you can map while you are there. Bring a 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and draw the area around you in as much detail as you can. Notice how many kinds of plants, trees or critters you see. Put them on the map even if you don't know their name. Feel free to give them a name. Really look at the plants and trees around you. Challenge yourself to study some of them close enough that you could draw a leaf or branch from memory. Maybe try to draw one or two from memory in your journal. Feel the dirt in your fingers. Label North on your map, even if you aren't exactly sure.

Pony Pasture Plant Walk

2010-08-30T19:56:00.015-04:00

On Sunday morning a small group of fearless Lodgers joined together for a walk along the river to learn some of their plant neighbors. Lee led us around the familiar paths of Pony Pasture, stopping every once in a while to introduce us to one of the locals. No longer do we have to walk by the spicebush, the hackberry, the redbud, the wild grape, the sycamore or box elder without noticing them or knowing how to acknowledge them.

Now we can say, "hi river birch!" not as a way to define or control, but as a first greeting, the beginning of a relationship. Now that we have met them, I start to wonder, "why didn't I say hello sooner? What was so important that I never stopped to learn the names of my neighbors or see how they were doing or marvel at their seasonal displays of aliveness?" I realized that many of these trees were here long before I was and will be here long after. Even stinging nettle has a sweet side. Although painful to touch, a boiling bath will render the hairs painless and allow for a nutritious tea (high in iron!) or bite to eat.

And I can't forget the nutritious and delicious fruit from the paw-paw tree. This time of year, the fruit is becoming ripe. It is best when squishy to the touch and has a taste somewhere between a mango and a banana. Here is a picture of Paul savoring its sweetness.

In addition to meeting some of the local plants, we also noticed the tracks of some of the local animals. After tracking the elusive Sarah across the sand, we started looking around to see what other animal tracks we might find. Nikki spotted the prints of a raccoon in the mud while we crossed a pipeline bridge.

Towards the end of the walk, Paul noticed some more raccoon tracks, and he tracked it to the water's edge where it bent down to drink. He also helped solve the mystery of a female deer who had walked through the stream. Ask him how we knew it was a female.

Finding Your Sit Spot

2010-08-26T10:40:00.006-04:00

This past week, I have been exploring the campus and surrounding area in preparation for this class. I have been wandering around campus in search of my sit spot, feeling like I am exploring a strange new land. And the more I explore, the more I realize that it is a strange new land. I am finding water where I had never thought to expect it, hidden stands of trees, edible and medicinal plants peeking out of the mulched landscaping, trees and shrubs that I had never noticed before, birds species from the small Carolina Wren to the larger Red-tailed Hawk, animal tracks of deer, raccoons, a fox and maybe even an opossum. I realized that North is not where I had thought it was all these years and that I really didn’t know the topography of the campus very well. On Wednesday, I got so carried away listening to bird language and poking around in the dirt that I had forgotten I was supposed to be heading back to the office. This past week, I have been utterly fascinated by the influx of hominids of all different shapes, sizes and colors. Some are clearly very new to this strange land, and some seem to be returning (migration pattern?). Despite my familiarity with this specific species, so much of their behavior utterly mystified me…
-Geoff Cox

Finding your sit spot: Spend some time this week wandering the campus as if you were a surveyor seeing the campus for the first time, or Ish exploring a new world. Allow yourself to be led to a spot on campus that calls out to you, maybe one you have never been to before. Your spot must be outside and should be in a place where you can observe what is going on around you without interacting with other people. You can choose a location that has a view of an area with frequent human activity, but you will still have to make sure you will be able to sit still and not be required to interact with others at your spot. You may have to get creative to make this work. You can consider what the best camouflage might be around other people.

Although any spot can be a sit spot, you may wish to consider:
-being near a body of water
-being on an edge area (for example, where a meadow meets a forest)
-a place with a diversity of natural elements
-a place with a broad view where you can see a large area well
-an area where you are unlikely to be seen or noticed by other people
-a place where you can sit comfortably
-and most of all, a place that invites your curiosity!

At your spot: When you find your spot, spend 15-30 minutes sitting there, looking around and getting to know the place. How many different kinds of plants and critters do you see? Can you tell which way North is without a compass? Settle in and allow your mind to become still.

In addition to your journal: After returning from your spot, draw a map of the area around your spot from memory with as much detail as possible. Bring your map to class on Tuesday.

Sit Spot Journal

2010-08-24T00:25:00.006-04:00

Throughout the semester, you will be developing your observation skills, sharpening your awareness, challenging yourself to deepen your capacity for critical thinking and pattern recognition while integrating your personal experience with the texts we will read in class through weekly written reflections. Your Sit Spot will be a spot on campus that you will get to know intimately. Your weekly visits to this place in different seasons, weather, times of day and mental state will facilitate both a deep knowledge of place and yourself.

In a recent National Geographic article, journalist Michael Finkel spent some time in Tanzania with the Hadza, one of the rare remaining communities of people living a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Finkel wrote of his arrival in the bush, "...there was [tribal elder] Onwas's son Ngaola waiting for us. Apparently, Onwas had noted the stages of the moon, and when he felt enough time had passed, he sent his son to the tree. I asked Ngaola if he'd waited a long time for me. 'No,' he said. 'Only a few days.' "

A few days! Can you imagine waiting in one place for several days? It seems like most of us start to get antsy after just a few minutes of waiting, preferring to sink into a world of digital distraction or compulsive thought. Can we sit undistracted with our senses wide open for even five minutes? Ngaola and the rest of the Hadza have no choice. A high level of focus and multi-sensory awareness as well as a finely honed capacity for pattern recognition are completely necessary for their survival. Mental agitation, distraction and tension are “luxuries” the Hadza cannot afford. Ngaola is native to the area in which he lives, but his being native has nothing to do with the color of his skin or being part of what we now call an “indigenous” people. Being native means having developed enough awareness to know a place so intimately that over time one understands the layers of interconnectedness and the patterns of nature enough to live naturally in that place.

My year in California was a doorway into starting to develop the awareness necessary to be native to a place. I learned to start seeing the farm I lived on through new eyes, eyes that were open to a whole world that I had trained myself to overlook or disregard through years of distraction and disembodiment. This year, when I returned to Richmond, I realized that although I had lived here for five years before, I was nowhere close to being native to the place. Sure, I knew how to get around the campus, had a sense of what college life was like, and had lots of memories, but as I look around now, I realize that in my years here, I had somehow almost completely overlooked the physical world, a world teaming with life in every inch, every inch intimately connected to the rest. Now I am starting to look around, like a curious child, eager to explore the mysteries…

Through your time at your Sit Spot, you will start to become native to the Richmond campus. Over the course of the semester, you will be challenged to explore your world inside and out through developing sensory awareness, mapping skills, observation, pattern recognition, and a relaxed, still mind. You will also start to develop a relationship with the natural world by getting to know some of the plants, trees, and animals (yes, including those curious bipedal hominids walking all over the place).

-Geoff Cox

Guidelines

Visiting your spot: You will spend at least 1 hour a week, during one or two visits, sitting quietly with all electrical devices turned off at your spot practicing the sensory awareness that will be explored throughout the semester as well as any particular assignments for that week.

Getting to and from your spot: The sit spot practice starts the moment you step out the door. Once through the door, you will start practicing expanding into your sensory awareness, calming your mind and paying attention. From that first moment out the door, you are encouraged to tap into your inner curious child, making observations, asking question and exploring possibilities. And remember, you will have to be paying close enough attention to make sure no other Lodgers see you, because…

Keeping your sit spot secret: Throughout the semester, you will be challenged to keep your sit spot a secret from all other Lodgers. Some spots will be harder to keep hidden than others and may require some creativity.

Finding other Lodger’s sit spots: You are also challenged to find the location of other Lodgers’ sit spots and take a picture of them at their spot without them noticing for extra credit. If you discover the location of another person’s sit spot, you are required to keep their spot a secret as well. Although teamwork is an important aspect of the Earth Lodge experience, any photos taken as a result of someone intentionally revealing their sit spot will not be considered for extra credit.

Misty Mountain Hop

2010-08-15T08:58:00.002-04:00

EARTH Lodge vet & founding member Geoff Cox will be joining us this semester to help facilitate our field study and share the 'hands-on' education he has gained since graduating from UR. Recently we scouted out the cabin reserved for our retreat yesterday on a day when thick clouds drifted across Skyline Drive with temperatures in the 70's.

The hike in to the cabin is a rocky 1.4 mile downhill walk, so be sure to bring appropriate footwear to protect your feet and help support pack weight. If you have your own pack, sleeping bag and pad, please bring them. For Lodgers without equipment we will have a brief equipment orientation session before we leave and supply what is needed.

Corbin Cabin is on the National Register and seems to be known even in Japan since we encountered about a dozen Japanese hikers resting nearby when we arrived. Even though we're in the dry time of the summer, the nearby Hughes River (really more of a creek) is flowing nicely and might even offer a few good swimming holes for the hearty - bring your bathing suit!

Though it looks like a lonely cabin, Nicholson Hollow was actually one of several settlements as described in The Displaced:
"European settlement was inaugurated in the broad Weakley Hollow valley in the mid-eighteenth century with the legal patenting of large tracts of land which quickly attracted farmers, millers, and merchants. The strongly-flowing streams of the hollow supported at least one grist mill, two sawmills, and a host of legal distilleries, while a road through the hollow connected these businesses with two villages. By the early 20th century, Weakley Hollow boasted its own village, complete with a post office, two churches, two stores, and a school. In 1932, residents owned properties varying from one to 470 acres, living in frame and log houses ranging from the spacious three story home of Haywood and Daisy Nicholson, to the single-story log home of Tera Weakley. Perched high on the slopes of Old Rag Mountain, the newly-abandoned Weakley home was easily missed when the CCC boys swept through the hollow on their mission to restore nature. The house and nearby henhouse stood nearly intact until November 2000."

In 2000 there was a huge forest fire that destroyed many of the buildings and we could see the signs of an old fire all around us. The building itself is a text, showing the marks of making. In the image below the left circle highlights the marks of an "adze" that was used to shape logs and the right circle features an example of the "dovetail notch" style of cabin assembly.

Even the trail is a text to be read, full of fascinating detail for the attentive hiker. On our way up the mountain we encountered two strange things on the trail - can you identify what they are?

The image on the left is of an Owl pellet....see the tiny bones & hair?
The identity of the second image is not for the squeamish. Can you see that small brownish triangle in the lower right part of the mass?
It's part of a deer hoof, most likely a fawn, in a large dark pile of bear droppings (aka spoor, crap, manure...).

While we are not likely to have any encounters with bears, this is a reminder that the Bambified image of nature we sometimes see in the media is not accurate. Nature, though beautiful, is "red in tooth & claw."

Corbin Cabin Retreat

2010-07-01T13:37:00.000-04:00

We have reservations for a 19th Century cabin by the Hughes River in Shenandoah National Park through the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) for our pre-semester retreat August 20-21.
EARTH Lodgers who will be joining us should arrive Friday the 20th to have time for unloading and setting up your room before we leave for the mountains at 4PM. The cabin only sleeps 12 but if everyone joins us we can set up a tent annex!

The cabin is located down in Nicholson Hollow and will not have cell service, electricity or running water but a river is nearby, and the cabin has a wood cook stove and a fireplace. Our brief stay should give us a good sense of what it would be like to live in a low-tech world like George Stewart describes in Earth Abides.

To learn more about the history of the area check the Virginia Trail Guide blog entry about Corbin Cabin and review this outline of Appalachian geography and stay tuned to our blog for some basic camping, backpacking and gear tips...

Finally, be sure to read Stewart's novel Earth Abides before you arrive on campus so you'll be ready for group discussion during the trip. Copies will be available in the campus bookstore if you're in town early or you can order your own through Amazon.

Message From An Earth Lodge Alum

2010-02-10T19:10:00.020-05:00

Hello! My name is Brian Holcomb and I, like Geoff before me, am writing to communicate a little bit of my experience living in the abode formerly known as The Outdoor House. To speak plainly, any Richmond student who is open to making new friends, taking a mind-expanding course, and going on great trips in the woods should join The Earth Lodge!

During my time in The House (the 2006-2007 school year) I reaped the benefits of living in a small, close-knit community. I only knew one of the students who would be living in The House that year, but I figured I would get along with the others because outdoorsy-types tend to be pretty cool people. Well, I was right! The types of folks who choose to live in Earth Lodge are open to meeting new people and going on adventures—they are cool, indeed.

The Earth Lodge curriculum—camping trips in the Blue Ridge, movie discussions, classes at the James River, cookouts—all of it is geared toward fostering community and respect for the natural world, and inspiring inquisitive minds and adventurous spirits. As an added bonus, my three best friends today are all fellow alumni of this program!

In addition to building friendships in the dorm, you also get to take Professor Carleton’s English course with everyone in the Earth Lodge. This class was a lot of fun for me because we were encouraged to go beyond the typical class model and incorporate our experiences in the woods into our studies. This course got me excited in learning for the sake of learning, and Mr. Carleton’s open-ended journal assignments allowed me to explore material that interested me. It was also nice to have friends who would make sure I was awake in time for class!

My experience living in Earth Lodge helped me develop an identity for myself as one of the ‘outdoorsy’ Richmond students, and live with a group of people who had similar interests. It also helped spark my interest in experiential education. Today, I am interning with a semester-long, residential high school in North Carolina called The Outdoor Academy. Here, I’m living in a close-knit community not unlike the one I enjoyed in The Earth Lodge, and serving as a dorm parent for seven 16 and 17 year old boys. On the weekends, I co-lead wilderness trips such as backpacking, caving, paddling and rock climbing.

When I tell people about my job, they are really inquisitive as to how I ended up here. To read between the lines, many people are thinking ‘what sort of odd, meandering path did this guy take to end up leading backpacking trips at a semester school in the Appalachian Mountains’? Well, I tell them, it all started at The University of Richmond’s living-learning community, The Earth Lodge…

I hope you choose to live in The Earth Lodge, you won’t regret it!

-Brian

Farm Life

2010-01-26T11:32:00.013-05:00

Greetings Earth Lodge! My name is Geoff Cox. I am a two-year veteran of the Earth Lodge (I lived there way back when it was called the Outdoor House). During my all too brief trip to Richmond this winter break, I was flooded with memories of my time in the Earth Lodge and reminded of what a tremendous impact the experience had on me. I am writing to you from an educational farm called Hidden Villa, where I live and work now. Hidden Villa has farm animals (chickens, pigs, goats, sheep and cows!) and five acres of community supported agriculture nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in California. I have been here since late August, working as a teacher and learning how to grow my own food and take care of farm animals. By day I roam the farm and surrounding 1500 acres of wilderness with a different small group of students, ranging from kindergarten through high school, each day. My job description: to inspire the kids I work with to have a deep reverence and curiosity about the natural world and maybe most of all, to help them start to see how all things are connected, to know where food comes from and to understand their own biology a little better. Most of the students I work with are growing up in a city and have never had the satisfaction of pulling a carrot from the earth or seeing a breathtaking view after a steep hike. I am supposed to inspire them, but I think I am more inspired by them from seeing the natural world through the fresh eyes of the children every day and remembering what a miracle it is to take even one breath on the amazing planet.

My afternoons are spent getting dirty in the garden or taking care of the animals. Almost all of the food we eat comes from our farm, either from the plants or as milk, eggs or meat from the animals. There is something incredibly natural and empowering about actually taking an active role in the cycle of growth and death that sustain us all. I am finding that working with my body and my mind and ending the day tired and dirty fulfills me in a way that the work of classrooms and offices never did.

When I talk to my other Richmond friends, who all seem to have made their way to graduate school, an office, or back to their parent’s house, I can’t help but reflect on how my Earth Lodge experience influenced my vision of myself in the world. I have endless memories of backpacking, caving, huddling together around the fire on a snowy hillside, laughing, hanging out on the James River and feeling at home in the Earth Lodge community. Looking back now, I realize that impact of the Earth Lodge went way beyond the magic of the wilderness adventures and community. Through the class with Lee Carleton, I was invited to read great literature that helped me really examine both myself and the world I lived in. I was challenged to live more authentically and more bravely and not back down from hard questions. For once, I had the space to take a breath of fresh air and really consider what was meaningful to me in the context of a supportive community and learning environment.

My two years in the Earth Lodge were like starting a fire through friction (which I did with a group of high school students in the rain today). If done correctly, the friction of a stick rubbing on a baseboard creates a hot coal that when placed in a bundle of tinder and blown on can burst into flame and be the foundation for a fire that lasts through the night. For me, my time in the Earth Lodge made me look more deeply into where biology meets technology and my role in helping create a world worth living in for future generations. I was struck by a vision of a world on fire with development and destruction and the odd notion that we are still biologically and neurologically still hunter-gatherers trying to make sense of this complex, digitally-mediated modern industrial world. We think we are so insulated from the dangers associated with survival; yet, some of my wilderness experiences during my time in the Earth Lodge reminded me that we are still and forever part of this great mystery of life and death, one hurricane or car stuck in the snow away from survival being the only thing that is important.

(Earth Lodge winter camping trip)

So for me, my time in the Earth Lodge compelled me to follow my questioning back toward the roots of human livelihood. I realized that before I could make sense of the modern world, I had to better understand my human heritage by learning to do what humans have done for millennia, grow food (something that was not part of my suburban upbringing) and be closer to the earth. Here at Hidden Villa, I have been so inspired both by the kids I teach every day and the opportunity to live where I am and do what I am doing that I spend most of my spare time doing naturalist training and really getting to know the world around me. I am getting to know the plants and animals in the area and am noticing the patterns and connections that weave throughout the landscape. I spend part of each day just sitting in one spot, bringing my awareness to the present moment and delighting in watching life, big and small, take place all around me. I feel like my eyes are being reopened to the newness of each moment and the richness of my own biology and the world around me. Even on my walk down the farm to meet the kids in the morning, I am intrigued by new bird sightings, the growing sprouts, and the tracks and signs of animals. By the time I make it to work, I am filled with gratitude and awe and am reminded to be open to the richness of each moment.

I do not think that technology and the modern world are bad. Even now I am using our most ancient and profound technology, language (although I am admittedly a bit out of practice), and transmitting it through the Internet, another amazing tool with infinite potential. I just think that as a modern people we have forgotten so much of what makes us human and our relationship with and dependence on the natural world. From what I have seen and learned in college and beyond, I think we will continue to destroy the world and ourselves if we don’t reclaim and reintegrate the wisdom of our biology, which is inextricably linked to the natural world. So here I am, years later, still living the questions that came up while living in the Earth Lodge, still exploring where biology meets technology and being humbled by the mystery of life and death in the modern world. It is a wonderful journey.

When I think about the Earth Lodge, I am reminded that more than being just for people who love camping and hiking, it is a place for people who want to be in a community that is eager to live a little more deeply, to ask hard questions of themselves and be brave enough to listen to the answers and explore the mystery. Who knows where it will take you?

To all of you out there on the digital ether, enjoy the journey!

If you want to learn more about where I work or what I am doing, check out www.hiddenvilla.org or email me at geoff.cox@richmond.edu.

High ropes, Mountaintop & Riverside: Rising to the Challenge

2010-01-21T09:52:00.013-05:00

The illustrious Lodgers of 2009 began by literally stretching themselves on UR's high ropes course.
Watching safely from the ground, I was immediately impressed by their easy collaboration and mutual encouragement in such a challenging and stressful situation hovering 40 feet above the ground.

In class, their creative collaboration led to several interesting and insightful class exercises that explored some of the themes in our readings. George Stewart's 1949 novel Earth Abides provided their inspiration to examine group dynamics, value formation, authority and leadership. In the novel, a survivor of a deadly global pandemic named Ish is working to gather a reliable community as he dreams of rebuilding civilization and negotiates the rules and customs of his small tribe. Stewart's narrative is punctuated by italicized passages that encourage to shift our perspective and reflect upon the place of our species in the larger ecosystem - a most relevant exercise.

This year it seemed as if rain was predicted for every weekend we considered camping, so we just decided to toughen up and go for the trip regardless of the weather. Though it was cold, foggy and rainy all weekend, we had an advance crew head up early to get the tents set up - and what an advantage that was! The rest of us arrived in a couple of shifts, but we got a fire started (no small feat in the wet) and good cheer shone through all weekend. And then there was the entertainment...just ask a Lodger about the creepy bear hunters or the amazing mountain runner marathon. And then there was that creepy outhouse....

Our semester concluded with the Richmond Riverside Safari, a 7-mile loop hike that takes in some great views of Richmond and passes through several historic spots. That hike ended up at Forest Hill Park where we had lunch, a fire and a birthday pie!

Bryson and The Colony

2009-09-03T15:23:00.006-04:00

Today's discussion of Bryson's A Walk in the Woods and the idea of how people become so dependent on technology reminded me of a show I'm keeping up with on the Discovery Channel, called The Colony. The Colony documents a ten-week experiment that involves ordinary people from all spectrums of life and how they cope with a worldwide "disaster" context. As part of the experiment, a fairly-large section of Los Angeles is sectioned off and designed to resemble what the city would look like if a viral outbreak killed much of the population (think I Am Legend without the zombies). Here's a more thorough explanation from the official website:

"What would you do in the wake of a global catastrophe? How would you find food? Water? Shelter?

The Colony is a controlled experiment to see exactly what it would take to survive and rebuild under these circumstances. For 10 weeks, a group of 10 volunteers, whose backgrounds and expertise represent a cross-section of modern society, are isolated in an urban environment outside Los Angeles and tasked with creating a livable society.

With no electricity from the grid, no running water and no communication with the outside world, all the volunteers have to work with are their skills and whatever tools and supplies they can scavenge from their surroundings.

Experts from the fields of homeland security, engineering and psychology have helped design the world of The Colony to reflect elements from both real-life disasters and models of what the future could look like after a global viral outbreak.

Over the course of the 10-week experiment, the Colonists must work together to build the necessities of survival, such as a water-filtration system, a battery bank that powered their electricity, a solar cooker, a shower system and a greenhouse – and even some niceties (a coffee maker!)."

The show categorizes the struggles the colonists go through for the viewer by breaking up portions of the episodes into "Phases" and the "Contexts" that accompany that phase (for example, the "Traders" phase has a context of "Negotiation Skills"). As the days progress for the colonists, they go from vital phases such as "Arrival and Survival" and "Sustainable Energy" to non-essential tasks such as "Creature Comforts", where they build a rudimentary shower. Wikipedia does a pretty good job explaining the progression of events as the series goes on.

The show is (in my opinion) fascinating because it really highlights how dependent people have become on technology and societal luxuries and, because of this, how much they have forgotten how to live in a "natural" or "primitive" fashion. In the very first episode, for example, some of the colonists complain about the fact that the toilets don't flush (they must be manual activated by dumping water down the drain), that there are no beds, that there is no power or water (and, they later discover, they need a type of water-filtration system), and only a limited number of canned foods. Because of this, from the very beginning they are forced into "survival" mode and must make due with what they find in the warehouse they live in or can scavenge from the outside world. It is clear from the start that in this type of situation, there is definite benefits in numbers as one person alone could not possibly know how to accomplish all of these deeds on their own; one of the colonists, for example, used to work as a solar panel installer/handyman and is therefore proves to be an expert when it comes to power generation, while another has a marine biology background and is therefore useful when the group explores the surrounding area for food and must fish.

However, scavenging and innovation are not the only challenges the colonists must face. As part of the experiment, the producers have hired a dozen or so of "marauders" that try to steal the colonists' supplies, infiltrate the colony, and in general do other things that would threaten the security of the colony and thus remind the colonists of the true hardships of a survival situation. They begin to realize that they are not the only ones in need of things to survive and that many "outsiders" have no qualms or morals when it comes to survival. Putting this in a camping perspective, the colonists are like the campers with food, and the "outsiders" are the bears and other creatures who would steal it during the night if it were not stored properly. Similarly, the colonists quickly realize that not only must they acquire resources, but once they do, they have to take measures to protect them. The sense of security they possessed when in society is gone; here, they are truly in the "wild."

If anyone else is interested in the show, check out the first link, you can watch full episodes from there. Also, it is still playing Tuesday nights at 10pm on the Discovery Channel.

~Meg

Greetings from the Jersey Shore

2009-08-17T23:10:00.009-04:00

This summer has been somewhat different than the ordinary, at least for me. I spent the first six weeks of my summer break recovering from extremely invasive surgery (during which portions of twelve of my ribs were cut!). So, needless to say, I knew I was in for a relatively subdued list of summertime activities.

However, I started work in July at Wells Mills County Park, where I’ve volunteered and worked every summer since 2004. It is a beautiful, 900 acre slice of the unique New Jersey Pine Barrens ecosystem. The park serves as a passive recreation site, where people are encouraged to enjoy themselves hiking, canoeing, and birdwatching without impacting the natural beauty of the area. The park has to be one of my favorite places in the world. I consider myself very lucky to be paid to enjoy myself in a beautiful natural area for eight hours a day. I spent my time at work this summer renting canoes, illustrating songbirds in watercolor for a display, drawing ink sketches of waterfowl for the park’s Decoy and Gunning Show literature, and eating wild blueberries. Time well spent, in my opinion!Just the other day I went down to the Brigantine Division of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge where

I was actually working that day s a tour guide on a birdwatching van trip with a fellow coworker and bird nut. We spent about five hours birding on a fantastic stretch of tidal salt marsh with a view of the Atlantic City skyline in the distance. In total, we catalogued 58 different species of birds, including: terns, gulls, plovers, sandpipers, herons, Black Skimmers, Clapper Rails, Glossy Ibises, and an extremely rare (and frankly unheard of) juvenile Roseate Spoonbill. We got some good looks at the AC Utilities Authority’s five windmills, too.

Recently, some friends and I took a day trip to Cape May to spend some time walking along the streets and seaside promenade looking at the local gingerbread Victorian homes – in full costume! It was about ninety degrees that day, and there we were, in full length Victorian-style dresses and suits, posing for pictures and ducking into shops to soak up the air conditioning. Needless to say, we decided to spend a few hours at the beach afterword to cool off!

I had a great summer, but I am very excited to return to Richmond!

Adaptation: the key to survival

2009-08-15T14:55:00.008-04:00

Those of you who joined me to scout out our campsite for this year's retreat will notice that this image shows that the lake we planned to swim in is even lower than it was when we saw it in May! As you can see below, I did swim in it with some Summer Scholars, but the mud was deep and it was no fun getting in and out of the water, so we're adapting our plans...

I will be scouting out two possible alternatives the week before we meet and I'll go for the one with the most water and the promise of a cooling dip. The St. Mary's Wilderness Area is supposed to have a small falls and a swimming hole. Originally the plan was for a short, easy backpack into a campsite from which we could swim. We can still backpack into the woods, but the trail will be a bit more challenging. Alternatively, we could "car-camp" on Bald Mountain and take a short day-hike for our mountain swim - without our heavy backpacks. But no matter where we choose, any spot near the Blue Ridge Parkway is likely to be a good one.

Think about the options and we'll decide when we meet on Friday the 21st - see you then!

Travis's Summer

2009-08-09T21:54:00.004-04:00

Hey guys!

Immediately after returning home to Baltimore from Richmond, I enjoyed three weeks of nothingness: lying around the house, eating too much, getting sunburn, catching up on reading. To keep up with my 4-year plan (who could afford a 5th at richmond??), I enrolled in a summer calc II course at Towson University for the next five weeks, while also working at Morris Meadows Recreational Farm as a lifeguard and cook. I took a weekend trip to Ocean City, MD with some friends after I finished the class. I continued working, and in mid-July made my way to Connecticut to visit fellow Richmonders, Shelby Brown (Parker's girlfriend :) ) and Lauryn Esposito.

Since my trip to the nutmeg State, everyday brings more hours of staring at a 5-foot deep pool of yapping soccer moms and their toddlers; is it bad that some days I wish someone would need saving? In three days I'm tagging along with my friend's family to Ocean Isle in North Carolina for a week-long beach vacation!

I have yet to go camping this summer, and can't wait to hit the trail in two weeks. More importantly, it'll be great to finally get to know all of you!

Enjoy your last days of summer '09, and take it easy!

Travis

summer time when the weathers fine

2009-08-01T13:36:00.003-04:00

hey everyone!

I hope you're all enjoying your summers and are excited for the return to Richmond. This summer I have been working about 5-6 days a week as a hostess and counter server at a gourmet French/Italian restaurant called Sovana Bistro. It's just a mile away from my house so it's really convenient. The owner/executive chef there, however, is pretty cool because he uses local produce and dairy whenever possible and changes the menu seasonally, so the food we serve is fresh and local. One part of the menu is a 100-mile menu meaning all the dishes are made from foods sourced within 100 miles of the restaurant. Pretty neat.

Besides my job, I have been keeping busy by enjoying this gorgeous weather. I joined at summer frisbee league (as Sally said) and she and I have games every Monday and Wednesday night. Playoffs are next week so I'm really excited!! We'll let you know how our team does. I have also been kayaking on the Brandwine River, which is a pretty big river about 15 mins from my house. My dad's real big on kayaking so he tries to recruit me to go with him almost every weekend.

My big summer trip was a road trip to Canada with 4 of my friends from high school. We drove up in a minivan and stayed at my friend's grandmother's guest cottage in St. Gabriel. It's absolutely gorgeous up there. It was my first time going to Canada and I loved it! I hope I can go back again soon.

I can't wait to get to know everyone! It sounds like we have a really great group of people. Unfortunately I doubt I'll be able to make the camping trip because I'm an OA this year and we have a packed schedule. I'm really bummed about it because the trip sounds like so much fun and it's been too long since the last time I've gone camping, but I hope you all enjoy it and you'll have to fill me in on all the details.

See everyone soon!!

-Kelsey

summersummersummer!

2009-07-31T23:43:00.003-04:00

Hey guys,

Just to follow up on the summer update, I'll give you a quick blurb about mine!

For the first half of the summer I was working on a local farm as a farm hand for three days a week, doing everything from weeding to planting and picking. I was also interning for a business in Chicago three days a week for a company that sells custom sustainbly made, handmade packaging to different businesses.

Now, though, I'm working at a summer camp in Northern Wisconsin. I'm a counselor for thirteen year old girls, and I just got back from leading them on a five day backpacking trip in the Porcupine Mountains.

Everything's been a blast, I've met tons of awesome new people, learned a bunch, and been able to catch up with family and friends from home as well. Looking forwards to being back at school though!
Sorry for the quick update, i barely get any computer time. Hope your summers are going wonderfully.

Jerry's Summer

2009-07-30T00:23:00.004-04:00

So far my summer has been pretty busy. Shortly after the end of last semester, I went to an ecolodge on Costa Rica's Osa Penninsula. Home to diverse wildlife and lush rainforests, I learned about the local flora and fauna, a new culture, rainforest conservation efforts, and eco-tourism.

My Summer

2009-07-22T14:19:00.007-04:00

Hey Guys and Gals,

I though you might enjoy hearing a little bit about my summer and in the process might get to know me a little bit better, so here goes:

This summer I have been working at a racehorse breeding farm called Smokey's Run Farm. There I do all of the barn work for about 20 horses. Also I am in charge of taking care of the babies and the mothers at the farm. There are 5 newborns, 3 yearlings, and 2 two year olds, which I have the pleasure of playing with constantly. They are all wonderful and full of energy and unexpected surprises.

At home I have 2 two horses that my sister, mom and I are riding. One is from Smokey's Run Farm, his name is Puppy and he didn't have a job for the summer so he is on lend. The other is Little Eagle, who a friend of the family gave to us to train and break for the summer. I am also working for another lady riding her horses because she is pregnant. There are 3 that I am in charge of riding with my sister.

I also joined a frisbee team over the summer. It is coed and part of a large league in my area. Kelsey, another member of Earth Lodge next year is on the team with me. It is a blast! Another way that I spend my time is playing pick up games of soccer about once a week with kids from my old soccer league.

That's about it for what is keeping me busy there have been a few other things in the middle but they are not permanent. I went to a Dave Matthews Band concert. Also my family went to Nantucket, an island off of Massachusetts, for vacation for a week. It was fun and the town is all cobblestones so it is actually faster to bike than to drive around the island. I spent two weeks volunteering at a 4-H pony camp as a helper for the kids with their ponies. Also I have spent a good bit of time canoeing and tubing down the Brandywine River with one of the owners of Smokey's Run Farm.

Hope that everyone is having a fantastic, spiffy summer. ~ Sally

STRESS, Learning & Performance

2009-07-07T11:43:00.010-04:00

Pursuing a liberal arts education at a celebrated university can be STRESSFUL - but it need not be. Though the EARTH Lodge program certainly offers its members a variety of challenges (intellectual, creative, social and physical), it is specifically designed to help students devise practical strategies to navigate these challenges with increased enthusiasm and less stress.

How can digital technologies invisibly increase our stress, and how can we find a better balance for our use of them?

Like all high-demand environments, the campus atmosphere at UR can sometimes seem to encourage stress and dismiss the damaging impact stress can have on our minds and bodies. However, recent research by Stanford neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky demonstrates that it may be worthwhile to reassess our dismissal of stress if we want to live happy lives and maximize our performance.

Inspired by our readings, especially "The Eureka Hunt" by Jonah Lehrer, some 2008 Lodge members have suggested that creativity can be a key to reducing student stress as demonstrated in their brief digital essay "The Creativity Project."

So, next time you're tempted to surrender to the storms of stress that naturally come our way, think of the cost and remember that you can take a break and recover your peace of mind.

Welcome 2009 EARTH Lodgers!

2009-04-25T19:47:00.018-04:00

The new Lodgers and a few grizzled vets off to a great start having already gathered for a movie & pizza night and a scouting trip for our pre-semester retreat in the fall. Though it was a bit over the top, Idiocracy by Mike Judd was a hilarious vision of a future whose frightening seeds can be recognized even now.

Our trip to Mill Creek in the Blue Ridge mountains was enlighting and an unexpected challenge that y'all met with impressive cheer and ingenuity - and a few wet feet! Though I had honestly forgotten that we had about four stream-crossings (one way), and the challenge proved the mettle of this group!

In my decades of trips to this lake, I've never seen it this dry:

But after skirting the lake on a rough, unmarked trail....

Molly leads across clear flowing water with a delicate balance....our first crossing of four!
....and we saw plenty of small, clear swimming holes on this creek.

Along the way we saw signs of man...

...and beast

Sometimes crossing on the rocks....

and other times attempting construction....

time for a much-needed refeuling!

Stay tuned for details about our camp out in the mountains before classes begin in the fall....
Until then, please share some of what you are doing this summer by posting some of your adventures to this blog.

education and our classroom

2009-01-26T19:04:00.001-05:00

When we think about it, for most of human history Nature has been our "classroom" where we learned and developed as a species. Our ancient clocks were to be found in sun, seasons, solstices and equinoxes, and thus we lived our lives at a more "natural" pace. Until the Industrial Revolution and consequent urbanization, education involved significant time spent outdoors in a variety of activities depending on social class. Farming, hunting, working with animals, martial arts and exploration would engage all of our senses and require a complex array of embodied intelligences.

As changes in technology caused massive demographic shifts, rural workers displaced by new agricultural technologies, moved from open fields to factories in cities rigidly controlled by the ubiquitous but nearly subconscious clock.

"hurry up please,
it's time!"

Naturally, with such massive socioeconomic changes it would be reasonable and necessary to deploy some kind of organizational plan to encourage smooth social interaction, but the priorities of industry came to dominate the worker and the landscape as factory life and home life became increasingly Taylorized and our lives became gradually infused with measurement in the name of an unquestioned "efficiency."

In one of the film-texts we discuss over the semester, the 1936 semi-silent classic film Modern Times in which Charlie Chaplin creates a hilarious (sometimes horrific) exploration of the impact of technology on the body of the worker. Though the film could have had full sound, Chaplin significantly chose to give voice only to certain "characters," a touch pregnant with relevance for today. The link above contains the whole movie and the first 15 minutes is worth a peek, but the whole movie should be seen on full-size DVD for best results. Though EARTH Lodge emphasizes the necessity of outdoor education, when in class we also engage with a variety of Web 2.0 technologies both as critical viewers and thoughtful creators rather than merely passive consumers of web content. This blog is an example of the variety of our explorations and one example of the media we use.

Today, though many progressive teachers are breaking old patterns and deploying new ones, the impact of the Industrial Revolution still echoes in our emphasis on tightly scheduled clock time, obsessive productivity and rigidly arranged classrooms with rows of desks all facing forward, facing the sole source of authoritative information. This is not an arrangement that encourages engagement or honors the knowledge brought by the student. Often this arrangement can stifle creativity and promote passivity.

This is the limited model EARTH Lodge seeks to transcend.

There may or may not be such a thing as Nature Deficit Disorder, but it's not hard to see how disconnected we are becoming from Nature since most of us cannot build a fire, construct a shelter or grow our own food as our ancestors have done for most of human history. It may be worthwhile reconsidering whether our current relationship to technology enhances or detracts from our evolutionary potential. If adaptation is the crucial behavior for survival and evolution, are we becoming more able to adapt?

These are some of the questions, ideas and issues we explore in our American Literature course "Natural Reflections in Fiction and Nonfiction" where we examine a variety of texts in terms of their literary qualities as well as their contribution to our reflections about humanity and our relationship to nature and technology. These readings and discussions are enhanced by outdoor activities and other events specifically planned and executed by Lodge members.

We have had City Naturalist Ralph White come to speak to us about the significance of the geology of the falls of the James River and the importance of grassroots involvement in the parks. In the second semester of the EARTH Lodge year we work on projects througout Richmond's 500+ acre James River Park System. Sometimes we meet for class down by the river, or take a dip on a hot day after classes. The nearby Pony Pasture Park section is 130 acres of riparian woodland that is home to deer, fox, raccoon, beaver, turtles, squirrels, possum and dozens of species of birds. To the close observer, the area is full of intriguing signs and information relevant to our readings...and our other courses!

swimming, fishing, boating, birdwatching...

reflecting on seed
deployment technology

remnants of a meal??

can you spot the
paw-paw fruit in
the leaves below?

Mallards cruising up river

EARTH Lodge begins the semester on the Friday before classes start with a pre-semester retreat to learn new skills, get to know each other and discuss our readings for the course. The 2008 crew rented a CCC cabin at Doyles River in Shenandoah National Park and discovered just how comfortable life can be in the absence of modern technologies....well, except for the outhouse - now that was heinous!

Note: EARTH Lodge is not for everyone and it may not be for you if you:
*only want to be in Lakeview but don't care about the Lodge
*are over-scheduled so you cannot make most of the trips
*are not interested in forming community
*are resistant to regular outdoor experiences
*prefer to take direction than initiative
*dislike being challenged intellectually, socially and physically

If you're interested in learning more, come join me for a Fire Circle at "Owl's Nest" on Friday 2/13 6-7PM. We're at 7313 Longview Drive just above Pony Pasture. Cross Huguenot, take 1st right after bridge and turn Right on to Riverside Dr.
Continue past Pony Pasture parking lot (on left) and bear Right at Yeild sign to take the next Left on to Longview Drive. We're at the crest of the hill on the right, past Longview Ct.
Look for the Spider flag.

Hope to see you there!
(hot drinks will be provided)

creativity, survival & evolution

2009-01-13T14:55:00.002-05:00

Though we don't often think about it, creativity is essential for our survival and evolution, both as individuals and as a species. One of the functions of the EARTH Lodge program is to provide an environment for creative expression and the inspiration to pursue it. For example, in the original Lodge (then called "Outdoor House") local artist Cristian Koshock came by to teach us about hand-building clay pottery, and this past equinox local teacher and community activist Ram Bhagat educated us about rhythm and drumming in the gazebo on Westhampton Lake.

And, in EARTH Lodge, "Creative expression" is a broad term that includes conversation, writing or dance as well as digital creations such as this group video composed by '08 Lodge members:"The Creativity Project." Lodge members also pursue more material creations such as linoleum block printing. This print, created by '08 Lodge member Jimmy Rague, is a good example of such a print. As we race into the digital age, elder technologies often slip away unnoticed and we are the poorer for it. Is there a good reason why we cannot retain the best of the old as we more thougtfully select and embrace the new? Why shouldn't we know how to build a fire as well as a website?

One of the unique aspects of EARTH Lodge is that the goal of more thoughtful engagement with technology and nature for the purpose of collecting a full quiver of skills, both old and new, that have joyful as well as practical purposes. In a time of crisis when the "experts" and promoters of orthodox economic,social and intellectual practices have been proven so wrong, it can be empowering to develop and exercise creative thinking for truly new solutions while learning practical new skills, both primitive and high tech - a mixture that enhances our ability to adapt and survive in a wider variety of circumstances.

Real learning involves far more than just reading and writing, although these are obviously essential. In his 1837 address to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at a Cambridge graduation, Emerson noted that the three main influences upon the mind are that of nature, books and action. He says that "the first in time and the first in importance of the influences upon the mind is that of nature," and that although books are important neither they nor the ideas they contain should master us since "Man Thinking must not be subdued by his instruments." It is the actively engaged life, the one that takes risks, intellectual, emotional and physical, that is rich with learning from direct experience rather than hearsay.

Emerson explains why action is so important for the scholar and he describes how it functions to substantially enhance our more academic learning: "There goes in the world a notion, that the scholar should be a recluse, a valetudinarian,--as unfit for any handiwork or public labor, as a penknife for an axe. .... Action is with the scholar subordinate, but it is essential. Without it, he is not yet man. Without it, thought can never ripen into truth....
The preamble of thought, the transition through which it passes from the unconscious to the conscious, is action. Only so much do I know, as I have lived. Instantly we know whose words are loaded with life, and whose not.

The world,--this shadow of the soul, or other me, lies wide around. Its attractions are the keys which unlock my thoughts and make me acquainted with myself. I run eagerly into this resounding tumult. I grasp the hands of those next me, and take my place in the ring to suffer and to work, taught by an instinct, that so shall the dumb abyss be vocal with speech. I pierce its order; I dissipate its fear; I dispose of it within the circuit of my expanding life. So much only of life as I know by experience, so much of the wilderness have I vanquished and planted, or so far have I extended my being, my dominion. I do not see how any man can afford, for the sake of his nerves and his nap, to spare any action in which he can partake. It is pearls and rubies to his discourse. Drudgery, calamity, exasperation, want, are instructors in eloquence and wisdom. The true scholar grudges every opportunity of action past by, as a loss of power."

It was hard to remember this while squatting beneath a 1000 lb. horse, but I have no doubt of the wisdom of Emerson's insight!

Marshall McLuhan

2008-12-18T13:02:00.000-05:00

Herbert Marshall McLuhan was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar – a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and, above all, a communications theorist. His work is considered one of the major cornerstones of the study of media theory. Born in Alberta, Canada, McLuhan attended the University of Manitoba for his undergraduate but was truly influenced in his graduate work at the University of Cambridge where he studied New Criticism which advocated a close reading and attention to the texts themselves, while rejecting criticism based on extra-textual sources, especially an author’s biography.

McLuhan’s interest with New Criticism led him to one of his major concepts, "the medium is the message." This concept, in short, states that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message. He proposes that media themselves, not the content they carry, should be the focus of study; he said that the medium affects the society in which it plays a role not only by the content delivered over the medium, but by the characteristics of the medium itself. Therefore, McLuhan argued that regardless of what is on television, the effects on society would be identical. His other main concept was that of "the global village," which explains how the electric communications media restores Western civilization through different features expressed by oral cultures. The mass media is essential in disseminating these ideas and in achieving the major goal which is to build consensus through generating public understanding.

What would McLuhan have to say about today’s society which values technology perhaps more than any other age before it? What would McLuhan have to say about YouTube or blogs? It is a society which is truly globalizing, disseminating ideas and revolutions thoroughly throughout the world. As McLuhan said, the technological age brings about a reinstituting of man’s participation in society that the literary culture of the early west took away. Technology today is creating an ever-growing global village while the media we use more and more (the internet) is shaping society as its predecessors have done before it.

Here is a video essay I helped create which stems from McLuhan's "medium is the message" theory though it branches off into a broader sort of message:

Infomercials, QVC, & HSN: Do I Really Need That?

2008-12-11T16:31:00.000-05:00

When suffering from bouts of late night (or early morning) insomnia, nothing puts me to sleep like the smiles and promises that flash across the television screen during an infomercial. Most of us have seen them--infomercials that offer amazing deals on things we all must have, and home shopping channels that we must call right away to ensure we get the item we need before it sells out. When we see that the seller is "throwing in free gifts," reducing the number of payments if we call within the next three minutes, and boasting high customer satisfaction through "unscripted" testimonials, it's hard not to fall for such attractive offers. Each of us starts to tell ourselves, "Yes, I really do need a steam cleaner," and "I've always wanted to make my own ice cream." And of course, we're always in luck because for a limited time only, the handy steam cleaner of your dreams only costs three easy payments of $39.99 and the easy-to-use ice cream maker comes with a free, revolutionary ice cream scooper.

Why are we lured so easily into buying things we just don't need, or even want? Has our culture become so rooted in materialism that we cannot make the distinction between wants and needs anymore? Bill McKibben in The Age of Missing Information says that, "On these channels—the shopping networks, the channels that devote half their day to the ‘infomercials’—you are more and more encouraged to buy simply because the very act of buying will make you feel good” (123). This is an insightful thought that not only makes me think about where human desire might stem from, but also about people's decision-making abilities in an economic sense.

One assumption in economics is that when consumers buy something, they make a logical decision based on perceived value and the belief that the benefit they will receive will be greater than the cost incurred to purchase the item. However, many times, consumers don't exactly know if the cost of buying an item will be less than the benefit they will receive from it. This is a topic discussed frequently in the field of behavioral economics. In this relatively new field, psychology and economics meet, leading economists to better understand some of the economic decisions people make everyday that are seem irrational.

Here are some links to interesting articles about the behavioral economics:

Why We Buy What We Buy

Behavioral Economics on Why We Buy What We Buy

And here is the video I made about infomercials, QVC, and HSN:

Interpreting the Natural World: Science vs. Religion

2008-12-09T18:19:00.000-05:00

Christ Saint John of the Cross

Salvador Dali

Which side are you on? Even in today’s headlines, the historically caustic relationship between science and religion is evident. Yet are the two really so incompatible?

Some of the tension between these two belief systems is evident simply through their definitions. Science is defined as a state of knowing, religion, a state of belief (Oxford English Dictionary, 1989). Furthermore, with the break-neck pace of technology, science is creating possibilities that, while physically possible, are thought to be morally wrong. Some argue that this dichotomy is harmonious, that the two balance and complement each other.

McKibben supports this in his book, Age of Missing Information when he describes a lava flow that wipes out an entire village:
"I think anyone who has worked around the lava flow has a feeling that there is a power our there greater than ourselves, and that is greater than something we can quantify with our numbers and the data we collect. There is nothing about Pele that is incompatible with science… Science hasn't undermined the feeling that God is present in the natural world- if anything, it’s sharpened it, shown scientists ever more sharply the limits of human understanding, continually increased their respect for the harmony around us." (93)
This sentiment has been echoed by many prominent scientists, even though less than 10% of them believe in God (Eukland, 2007). Sir Bacon, Galileo, Kelvin, and Einstein all echoed the aforementioned quote. There are examples in the scientific and natural world that are awe-inspiring, that make one experience what Freud called an “oceanic feeling”, that something bigger is out there. One of the most intriguing of these examples is the Fibbonacci numbers and the golden ratio.

The Fibonacci numbers work by beginning with zero, then one, and each subsequent number is the sum of the two previous numbers in the following way: 1/1=1, 2/1=2, 3/2=1.5…, 5/3=1.6666…, 8/5=1.6, 13/8=1.625, 21/13=1.61538. As the sequence proceeds, it approaches Phi/the golden ratio (1.61803399). This seemingly arbitrary number is seen all throughout the natural, art, and architecture worlds. Some examples where the golden ratio is found are shells, pine cones, the breeding pattern of bees, the Vetruvian man, the Mona Lisa, Michahelangelo’s Holy Family, the Great Pyramid, and the Parthenon . Some say that DaVinci was the first to apply this golden ratio to the perfect face, and how it is seen in the faces of those society considers beautiful.

All these examples, however, are from the past. There are no examples of this ratio in most modern art. And as time has gone by, less and less people believe in God. McKibben points out a possible explanation for this phenomenon “only with distance from the natural, larger world that this recognition (worship) begins to dim; in ancient forests, he says, there are no atheists… the awareness of god’s presence is and ever has been the most persistent specific trait of our species (93). Is this true? Does modern society distance us from nature? From religion? And is this inclination to believe innate? A previously mentioned statistic stated that only 10% of scientists believed in God, but 66% consider them to be spiritual. This is an overwhelming trend, of people moving away from organized religion and towards spirituality. What does it mean, and where do religion and science fit into our society? Your life?

More things to consider:

· The Embers and the Stars a book by philosopher Dr. Erazim Kohak, about reflections obtained from building a cottage in the woods (parallels with Annie Dillard?). Dr. Kohak discusses nature and human’s role in creation.

· “How to Teach Science to the Pope”

The Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio

Are you a cyberpunk?

2008-12-08T13:34:00.000-05:00

Recently, at the suggestion of a friend, I wandered over to a site called I Power - I am the revolution which gave me a new found respect for media sharing and social networking sites on the internet. This medium is based on three principles of being open minded, active thinking and putting your voice into vision. Currently there are 12, 015 members of IPower hailing from Australia to Latvia to Saudi Arabia and Malaysia all sharing videos, blogs and pictures about their daily lives, what they think of the world, happiness, globalization and humanity as whole. Featured groups that member can join and have forums about include "Questions for the opposite sex," "Is 9-11 still an inside job?," "The philosophers of the new renaissance" and most popular, "Net neutrality watchdog." The general themes I noticed were discussions of conspiracy theories, new philosphies that challenge our capitalist world economy, a general concern the use of technology to beat the system and unite on all front and that someone or something is trying to keep change from happening. All relevent themes in the Cyberpunk manifesto/movement. I speculate that cyberpunk ideals have spread without its followers even recognizing they are part of it.

Cyberpunk is a term crafted by Bruce Bethke and the title for his 1983 science fiction short story "Cyberpunk" about advanced science and informational technology coupled with a radical change in the social order. Bethke's story was followed by William Gibson's 1984 novel Neuromancer where he coined the term "cyberspace" for the artificial digital realms of the Web:
" `Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathe- matical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Un- thinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding...' "

The term "cyberpunk" is the welding of the terms cybernetics, which is science studying control and communication, furthermore, the feedback loop that gives a controller information on the result of its actions and punk, which sprang from the youth movement of the 1970s based on counterculture and rebellion. The two combined merge technology and individualism, which often reveals usually dark ideas about the two in the near future. Themes in the genre include a negative ipact of technology on humanity, the fusion of man and machine, corporate control over society, stories that focus on the underground and ubiquitous access to informaiton. The genre has also been a huge part of cinema as well with such cyberpunk films including, A Clockwork Orange, Blade Runner, Twelve Monkeys and Bicentennial Man.

William Gibson has credited Marge Piercy's 1976 novel Woman on the Edge of Time as the birthplace of cyberpunk and it is not a shock to see why. The book deals with two alternate worlds: a potential future one where the main character sees the social and environmental revolutions of her time fulfilled and there exists equality (though war remains), and a contemporary world where the elite homogenize and subdue the population with drugs and try to control society through technology. Piercy's critiques ring loud on what is the appropriate use and ethical limits of technology, what does it mean to be human and what does life mean, but where do these questions come from? How have any cyberpunk authors in any medium, via book, movie or blog formulated their passions around answering these questions?

Marge Piercy has had a pretty troubling early life that may have greatly shaped how she saw the world including the murder of her grandfather, contracting a case of the German measles when she almost died and life on the brink of poverty in Chicago after leaving her first husband. It is possible that life experiences shape the way you see injustice and pain around you, and for cyberpunks, the best way to cope may be to find ways to work within and against the system you are trying to fight. By this, the very use of technology (internet especially) can connect us all to fight a rebellion against a corrupted world order increasingly focused on consumerism and surveillance. Listen here to see how Marge Piercy herself critiques the Patriot Act by posting a reading of her poem on YouTube:

As the Manifesto reads "the soicety which surrounds us is clogged with conservancy pulling everything and everybody to itself, while it sinks slowly in the quicksands of time." Cyberpunks have a rebellious, negative outlook on the state of the world because, the state of the world is negative, rampant with chaos, uncertainty, inequality and injustice. What makes you get to this realization is what I theorize may be biographical and experiential but to the extent you utilize the internet to surf the chaos and cope with these burdens is the degree to which you are in the movement. Are you a cyberpunk?

Bucky Fuller

2008-11-25T16:15:00.000-05:00

Who is Buckminster Fuller? I know I had never heard of him until a few days ago when I encountered a mention of him in McKibben's 1992 reflection The Age of Missing Information. While I initially questioned why such an important figure has remained virtually unknown within our society for so many years, I quickly realized that his lack of appearance is simply based on the subject he studied and the way he went about his discoveries.

In today’s society, a formal college education is a must, however "Bucky" decided that formal education only limited his creative ability and after being expelled twice from Harvard decided not to return to college. One may wonder how someone could ever be influential without receiving a college degree. The answer is creativity, something Bucky had and many others lacked or chose to ignore. After considering suicide, Bucky Fuller decided to reevaluate his life and realized that by killing himself his life would have been essentially worthless, and decided that he should take the greater good of humanity into his own hands in an attempt to better the chance of existence of the human race. His life would be a test and he would call himself Guinea Pig B. With confidence Bucky began searching for ways to solve the problems of the world, deciding that the greatest problem would one day be sustainability.

Throughout his career Bucky made various discoveries and inventions as he put his creative and devoted mindset to work. All of his designs focused on how to make and do more with less, the idea that he later named “ephemeralization.” Most notably was his idea of the geodesic dome: a self supporting structure that maximizes space while minimizing materials and cost.

This concept alone revolutionized the design of lightweight backpacking tents, some of which weigh only 10 lbs. yet can withstand 120 mph winds.

Along with his idea of ephemeralization, Fuller was devoted to his idea of "spaceship earth." This idea focused on our world floating alone in space, one large, boundless sphere.

Spaceship earth is a completely closed off environment with limited ability to regenerate natural resources, as our earth actually is. By viewing the world in such a way, Bucky was able to understand that man must use natural resources wisely and scarcely as they are not renewable. He also believed that there is no place for selfishness within spaceship earth and all men must work together for the common goal of survival. Although Bucky worked extremely hard for the progression of his inventions and idea, few people recognized his ideas as credible and viewed him as a crazy futurist with radical perceptions of the world.

Today Bucky’s ideas still linger, however the problems he recognized over fifty years ago still exist. Why is it that we have known of these problems for so long, given possible solutions to fix them, yet have not been able to rally society as a whole in an attempt to cure the issue of human sustainability? I wonder if we would still have the problems we have today had be implemented Bucky’s ideas into our society, or are the problems we face inevitable and incurable? While one will never know, maybe we can think more openly next time a monumental figure such as Bucky Fuller comes around.

In researching Fuller I was amazed by his quirkiness yet ability to think so freely against the norm and strive for unimaginable goals. While I admire him, I do not feel the same about Bill McKibben, who mentions Bucky in his work The Age of Missing Information. While McKibben agrees that mans problem is sustainability he seems to follow Bucky's contemporaries by viewing him as a “crank” with “victorious” yet unrealistic goals and ideas. Will our society ever reach a point where we can come together as a whole and fully accept a person’s ideas or has our individualistic nature been too deeply instilled to escape our own trap?

A video of Bucky Fuller describing his idea of the dymaxion car.

Richmond Riverside Safari

2008-11-16T23:04:00.000-05:00

One of the best things about the City of Richmond is the James River Park System that offers over 500 acres of parkland laced with a variety of trails along the banks of the river.

On a crisp, clear fall day after hard rains had scoured some of the color from the trees but opened the view of the river, a hearty duo took a spectacular hike along some of these trails.

The "Richmond Riverside Safari" is a 7-mile loop hike that begins at Reedy Creek and continues upstream on the Buttermilk trail through Netherwood Quarry and then up along the bluffs overlooking the river. The geology of the James River is significant for a variety of reasons, but today, it was the sparkling view provided by our elevated position. We could see the Maymont mansion peeking out from the trees just before we crossed the river on the Nickel Bridge a.k.a. Boulevard Bridge from which we could see the Roman arches of the railroad bridge upstream.

Once on the other side of the river, the trail bears left and loops around under the bridge, ultimately passing along the back fence of Maymont Park from the Bear's Den to the Japanese Gardens.

About a mile further, the trail passes behind the biggest cemeteries in Richmond, The Mount Calvary/Riverview Cemetery and Hollywood Cemetery. Along the way, the trail was even dotted with the occasional scrapped tombstone, cooly conveying a reminder of our source and our mortality.

By the time we passed by the spring that gave the Buttermilk Trail its name, my blister was screaming - can you see my grimace? This spring was once surrounded by a wooden tub and farmers heading to the market at 17th St. would keep their buttermilk cool here. Less than a mile beyond this we arrived back at the starting point in the Reedy Creek parking lot. The entire loop takes about three hours to complete and there are more interesting sites along the way!

Annie Dillard

2008-10-26T12:22:00.000-04:00

Despite her initial suspicion that her work would not be
taken seriously, Annie Dillard has become an author of
critical acclaim. Her first work, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize marking Annie Dillard
as a renowned author. Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
reads like a flow of consciousness, structured only by the
seasons; it mixes a varied amount of knowledge with
thought-provoking spiritual insight. After her near-death
experience due to the pneumonia, Dillard decided to truly
experience life. This decision led her to Pilgrim Creek where
she complied nearly 20 volumes of journals into a cleverly
crafted Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. The transcendentalist thoughts
expressed through Pilgrim at Tinker Creek were highly influenced
by Dillard’s two favorite authors: Henry David Thoreau and
Ralph Waldo Emerson. Through her degree in English from
Hollins College, Dillard searched for meaning in writing allowing
herself to be molded by the writers she was reading. In addition
to this, Dillard’s writing was also influenced by her affluent
childhood, allowing her to indulge in post-materialist concerns
such as the environment and religious beliefs. Dillard’s religious
curiosity is also expressed through Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
Raised Presbyterian, Dillard rebelled against the fundamentalist
summer camps her parents forced upon her and searched for her
own enlightenment. She has been influenced by many religions,
such as Buddhism and Judaism, but now considers herself part of
the Catholic order. Dillard has continued to produce well-received works,
including an autobiography, An American Childhood, a book of poetry,
Tickets for a Prayer Wheel, and fiction, The Maytrees and many others.

Here is a video on Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, that I thought was very interesting.

burning beneath the town

2008-10-17T10:24:00.000-04:00

Centralia, PA

When I read about Centralia in “A Walk in the Woods” by Bryson, I was astonished at how it was possible for a fire to be burning beneath the town since 1962. This sparkled my interest to do a research on the phenomenon and find more about the history of Centralia and where it all started from. In Colonial times civilization was making huge steps towards progress and discovering the benefits from mining.
**********************************
Colliery in the Centralia area from 1864.

Lehigh Valley Coal Company, Centralia Colliery, 1928

********************************************
Coal strip Mining in Centralia, 1963

Between 1856 and 1863, 5 anthracite coal mines opened in Centralia. Men working in the mines could earn money and provide for their families until the market crash of 1929 caused all 5 mines to close. Struggling to make both ends meet, some of the laid off miners became bootleggers – they would take out the pillars of the idle mines and as a result the roofs of the mines would collapse. This practice would make fighting the fire in the coal mines very difficult.

Later, in 1962 the Centralia Council decided to clean up the landfill so the city looks nice for Memorial Day. All holes in the pit were filled with combustible material but one – the one leading to the old coal mines. Since then fire has been burning and every attempt to extinguish turned out to be futile.

A video of the tragedy can be seen here:

The story of Centralia makes me ponder on the numerous ways such a tragedy could have been avoided. With more strict regulations the bootleg practice could have been restricted. With a moderate use of natural resources there wouldn’t be so many mines concentrated on such a small region. If the Centralia Council were more careful when making the decision to clean up the landfill and the filling of the holes in the pit were executed more precisely, then it’s possible that the tragedy would have been avoided. The few people still living in Centralia foster hopes for the fire to be extinguished, but there are no current plans for this to happen. These people have roots in the town, but these roots can burn out every moment – metaphorically and literary. I think that what makes it a huge tragedy is that the fire in the mine is a result of human error and negligence.

Author close-up: Bill Bryson

2008-10-17T01:12:00.000-04:00

Bill Bryson’s 1998 travel memoir A Walk in the Woods achieved such popularity largely due to its comfortable, conversational style. The novel reads like a letter from an old friend, and works equally well read to oneself or aloud, perhaps around a campfire or elsewhere in nature. Equal parts encyclopedic fact and hysterical farce, A Walk in the Woods illuminates the lazy, artificial and consumer-driven modern American lifestyle, and the average man’s sore disconnect from nature: As Bryson puts it, the trail taught him to appreciate “low-level ecstasy – something we could all do with more of in our lives” (page 125).

Bryson’s hysterical, informative writing style is the result of years of experience. He wrote for The Times and The Independent while living in North Yorkshire, England for nearly 20 years. He is also a scholar of the English language itself, having written several books on the linguistics and usage of English and the language’s development throughout history.

In 1995, Bryson moved to Hanover, New Hampshire with his wife Cynthia and four children. It was from Hanover that Bryson spent a summer hiking the Appalachian Trail with childhood friend who appeared under the pseudonym Stephen Katz. This Katz is also featured in one of Bryson’s most recent works, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. This autobiographical memoir is Bryson’s wry account of just about the most all-American childhood you could get: growing up in the mid-century Midwest. Click here to watch the neat flash animation he created to promote the book.

Expect the same rapid pace and hilarious, informative and lively discourse in all of Bryson's works. I'm definitely going to check out that one, and "Mother Tongue", next.

Ramsey's Draft Virginia

2008-10-15T23:08:00.000-04:00

Ramsey's Draft Wilderness Area is about 21 miles northwest of Staunton, VA and it is one of the more rugged hiking areas in the state. A "draft" or draught is a flowing source of water Ramsey's Draft is far more than a simple mountain creek. Over the years, the small valley through which it passes has been ravaged by hurricane caused floods such that old jeep trails and foot paths were wiped out or re-routed. The trail is rugged but beautiful and since it doesn't have trail markers, hikers must pay close attention.
According to the US Forest Service website:
Ramsey's Draft Wilderness encompasses 6,519 acres of the North River Ranger District. It was legislatively designated as Wilderness on October 30, 1984 under the Virginia Wilderness Act. Ramsey's Draft (draft and run are local names for creeks) is classified as rugged and steep with elevations from 2,200 feet to the top of Hardscrabble Knob at 4,282 feet. The area of Ramsey's Draft was included in a 38,399 acre tract purchased in 1913. About 1,794 acres in the headwaters of Ramsey's Draft and around Hardscrabble Knob have been managed essentially as wilderness since 1935. This area of Ramsey's Draft is considered one of the few virgin forests of its size in the East. A Civilian Conservation Corp Camp (CCC) was located just outside the present day wilderness boundary during the 1930's. CCC crews improved the road that crossed Ramsey's Draft, working on many fords, and constructed several of the trails in the area.

Ramsey's Draft has 30 miles of trails on the 6,518 acres and its Shenandoah Mountain trail starts at the historic Fort Johnson Confederate Breastworks and traverses the mountain with spectacular views of the valley. In the photo above, I am standing by an old chimney that was once part of the PATC Sexton Cabin which was dismantled and hauled out by draft horse when the area was given Wilderness status in 1984.

I have many wonderful stories about hikes and backpacking in this magical and challenging area, but that's for another post!

for more info:
Mid-Atlantic Hikes
North Ranger District

pre-semester retreat at Doyle's River Cabin

2008-09-07T14:29:00.000-04:00

FRIDAY August 22

4:00pm: After a crazy hectic day of lugging heavy boxes of college-student-crap into our dorm rooms, getting accidentally locked out of Lakeview (I know I did at least a couple of times), nearly getting parking tickets in K-lot, and marveling over how beautiful is this new building we have the privilege of living in... we are finally ready to leave for our pre-semester retreat! Backpacks, sleeping bags and hiking boots ahoy, we take off in three cars.

5:30pm: We stop for the purposes of securing "provisions," namely, enough food to feed a dozen hungry college kids and one very hungry professor for five meals. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. In the parking lot of a Charlottesville "Giant", we split into teams of 2 or 3 and were handed a small piece of paper detailing our mission: one meal per team. My team of Jimmy, Elizabeth and I were in charge of Saturday lunch. A handbasketful of PB&J, apples, and bread later, we were all ready. Other meals included oatmeal, bananas and bagels as breakfast foods, ramen noodles, and this really amazing prosciutto/mozzarella roll thingy that we sliced up and munched on Friday night whilst making pita pizzas over an open fire. Camp food is great.

9:00pm: Campfire underway, pita pizzas as described above. Everyone was sitting around, laughing, talking, getting to know each other. We played a few games of cards and called it an early night. Due to a limited number of bunk beds, some people had to share- Elizabeth, Molly and Natalie decided that it was necessary for them to have an absolutely bug-free night, and so we helped shut them up in their "cage": mosquito netted boards completely sealing off their lower bunk from the "elements" outside. From what I hear, it was a very close night. (Anyone have pictures?)
We talked some more, all of us from our bunks, before going to bed; Carleton, from his bag under a tree outside, described hearing our laughter bubbling out of the cabin as the most beautiful sound ever. Which I think is pretty cool.

SATURDAY August 23

12:30pm: Woke up, breakfasted on some oatmeal and bananas, and set out on a hike for the day. Despite the drought, we came across some pretty waterfalls (again, anyone have pics?). There was some swimming, some head-soaking, and some waterfall-climbing. We met some people taking pictures of one of the falls, and in exchange for taking over the whole damn place with a bunch of laughing folks, we gave them some trail mix cookies (oatmeal, coconut, chocolate and cranberry...will post recipe soon!). We talked about Earth Abides while sitting around at that waterfall, too, which was definitely a cool experience. I think I would have liked CORE more, or all of my classes for that matter, if class discussions based on the readings were held on mossy rocks while listening to the gentle trickling of drought-drained waterfalls nearby.

5:00pm: After our epic hike ended, estimated about 8 miles, we trooped back to camp and got down to business: naptime. Everyone picked out a spot in the grass or the cabin and settled down to rest. Quiet time was nice, and everyone woke up at their own pace, talking quietly, playing cards again, and gathering some wood for the evening's campfire.

8:00pm: After a delicious dinner of ramen noodles and smoked sausage cooked over an open flame, we all sat around again and laughed and talked, this time even more comfortably than the night before. I think this retreat definitely made our hall closer than most of the floors in Lakeview. I can't imagine just getting to school the day before classes started and trying to get to know everyone amidst the chaos of classes, homework, clubs, and various weekend activities. At Doyle's River we were totally secluded, just the Earth Lodge, and we got to know each other very well right away as a result.

SUNDAY August 24:

9:00am: Woke up early and packed up camp. Time to get back to school! Classes start the next day. We head home, tired but happy, full of dried fruit and other camp delicacies, looking forward to a nice shower and to living around this cool group of people that make up our Lodge.

from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - chapter 4

2008-09-02T18:23:00.000-04:00

"With a wingspread of up to six inches, the Polyphemus is one of the few huge American silk moths, much larger than, say, a giant or tiger swallowtail butterfly. The moth's enormous wings are velveted in a rich, warm brown, and edged in bands of blue and pink delicate as a watercolor wash. A startling 'eyespot,' immense, and deep blue melding to an almost translucent yellow, luxuriates in the center of each hind wing. The effect is one of a masculine splendor foreign to the butterflies, a fragility unfurled to strength." (61)

this is a Polyphemus moth

Note the two "staring eyes" on the underwings. These are known as "distraction patterns" and they are a common method of self-defense for moths. According to Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Forests:

"Often when a butterfly or moth is at rest, it will be cryptic, blending very well with its background, but many butterflies and moths "hedge their bets" against escaping predation by also employing distraction patterns in the event of discovery." (354-55)

from 0 to 2600 meters altitude

2008-08-24T10:24:00.001-04:00

Hey! I just returned from Bulgaria after a 28-hour long trip...I didn't have time to post some really interesting pictures I took in the mountains while I was in Bulgaria, so I will do this now.

These are pictures from the highest mountain in Bulgaria, called Rila. I went there with my family for 2 days during the summer. The highest summit is Musala which is 2925 meters. The circus lakes attract many tourists from around the world. They are located from 2500 to 2600 meters altitude. Each of them was named on the shape it represented.

The Kidney Lake.

This is the Kidney Lake.

The Eye.

This is a picture from one of the highest points we could get.
Most of the people who have reached it, place a small stone on something like a pyramid.

Some stubborn horses around the Eye Lake...
The guy was trying to make them move, which was a pretty funny scene to watch...hehe

A rainbow!!

The Kidney.

Back to America!

2008-08-14T09:55:00.000-04:00

Hello Everyone,

This is Jimmy. I know that we will all be together in a few days but I thought it would be better to write now than never. The reason I am writing about my summer so late is because I just returned home yesterday from 9 weeks in Europe. Words really can not describe how amazing my summer was and how much I experienced but I thought I would briefly describe the trip.

In the beginning of June I left for Munich, Germany. In Munich, I attended an international language school for German. I spent three weeks at the school and all lectures and lessons were in German. My teacher actually spoke no English! The first week of class was incredibly difficult as I had had almost no prior instruction in German and had not taken any classes at Richmond. However, as the time went on I was able to understand everything and actually speak the language.

After Munich I traveled to the north of Germany and stayed with a friend who was an exchange student in my town when I was a Sophomore in high school. From there another friend from home came to Europe and we departed for our "Euro Trip." We went to Prague (Czech Republic), Vienna (Austria), Ljubljana and Bled (in Slovenia), Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Split (all in Croatia), Munich, Germany and then again back to our friends house. We also took a weekend trip with our friend to Berlin. Because we were traveling primarily to cities we did not have much of an opportunity to experience the outdoors and unfortunately missed out on the alps simply due to bad planning. However, we did get to see some really amazing places and meet a lot of interesting people.

Here are a few pictures of my new favorite places in the world! (also the cities/towns that had the most outdoors activities).

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Bled Lake, Slovenia

If I were to continue talking more about my trip I do not think that this post would end. So I will leave it at this and if anyone is interested in my trip feel free to ask me and I can tell you more about everywhere I went and also share more of my 300 plus pictures. See you all in about a week!

-Jimmy

Sweet Home Chicago

2008-08-07T16:20:00.000-04:00

Hello all lovely people!

So I'm finally writing now that I'm back home from quite an exciting summer in Richmond and able to process it now! This summer I had an internship with the Virgina Organizing Project, a non-partisan grassroots organization working to get people more involved in their communities. Our task this summer was to go door-to-door canvassing, give workshops, go to festivals, etc. to get people registered to vote and talk about health care reform in Richmond, Petersburg, Colonial Heights and Fredericksburg. What we really focused on though was the registration of ex-felons because in Virginia your right to vote, serve on a jury, be a notary public or hold public office are taken away if you are incarcerated. VA and Kentucky are the only two states left in the country that do not restore these rights automatically after completion of a sentence, which is highly controversial as it displaces 377,000 people in the state, of which 208,000 are African-American. Here's a Washington Post article on the situation in VA. The application process to restore your rights is grueling (including tons of paperwork) but the work we did with the applicants was truly gratifying. To them, they served their time, want to put their past behind them and would just like to be considered an equal voice in society like you or I. It made me also realize how we often take these rights for granted- especially young adults about voting/civic engagement- so, mmm yeah. ANYWAYS this was my amazing crew at WRIR before we went on the air for an interview...

Other major highlights from the summer include volunteering at the Virginia Democratic Convention in Hampton Roads and getting the chance to announce candidates and others before their speeches: my favorites including Tim Kaine, Mark Warner, Dick Cranwell and Brian Moran. It was actually really cool to meet Kaine because he was expediting the process for our applicants...saying anyone's app that was in before Aug. 1 would be able to vote in November! Woo! And now after that whirlwind of a summer I'm home having just gone to Lollapalooza in gorgeous Grant Park, Chicago. Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine and Kanye were the headliners and it was quite the way to welcome myself home! And next week I'm shipping off to New Orleans for a week of environmental justice work with the Back Porch Energy Initiative. I wrote a lot and shall stop...I really can't wait until we come together and hear everyone's stories! I know I've grown a lot this summer and look forward to see how everyone else reflects over their experiences.

GEARing up

2008-08-06T11:33:00.000-04:00

Even though we will be staying in a cabin with bunks & matresses, each of you will need a few basic items for the trip - UR has a few sleeping bags and backpacks to borrow if you don't.
Contact Jason Titus at jtitus@richmond.edu for equipment availability.

GEAR LIST:
backpack or large day pack
*lightweight* sleeping bag
hiking boots or sturdy shoes (flip-flops = injury)
EARTH ABIDES text - be ready for discussion
water bottle for hydration
swimwear & light towel
change of clothes
sweater or light jacket
knit hat
flashlight
bug repellant
hat for shade
medications
plate or bowl, fork, spoon & cup
multi-tool or pocket knife
lighter or matches

Sustainable Living in England

2008-07-27T17:40:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

I just returned from England two weeks ago. I am not sure if the government mandates recycling or if the people there are just a lot more interested in living a sustainable lifestyle, but the opportunities for recycling and composting are terrific! All the plastic bags (grocery bags, for instance) are recyclable, and all the groceries take back the bags if you choose not to recycle them (and this option is heavily advertised in the groceries). I bought a sandwich at a little grocery store, and it was in a sort of cardboard holder (but sort of waxy - don't think you can recycle them most places here in the U.S.), and all over the holder were announcements that it was recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable. Heathrow has a triple bin program where trash bins are always accompanied by recycling bins for glass and plastic.

Petrol (gasoline) prices are outrageously expensive - 8 or 9 pounds per liter. We pay about $4 per gallon - a lot more gasoline for a lot less money. I think, though, that it's good that the gasoline is so expensive over there, because it certainly encourages people to drive less frequently and own cars that are better for the environment. Their cars do use diesel, which is not as clean as gasoline (except in areas that mandate "clean diesel," which is diesel subjected to high standards of purification, I think) but lasts a lot longer in manual cars (and most of their cars are manual), so helps Britons to get the most out of their petrol and avoid filling up so often.

Another interesting thing was that all the English electrical outlets had switches to turn the electric on and off. So, for instance, when nobody was watching the television, the entire outlet would be switched off, so the television wouldn't use up energy with it's tiny red lights that indicate power or whatever. (Sort of like when you turn off your stereo but a red or blue light stays on to indicate that it's plugged in.) And apparently they save a lot of energy this way! I wondered why we Americans can't turn off our outlets, but my mother says we have a different kind of electricity (hence why we have to use converters when using our own electrical products in Europe). Since we can't turn off our outlets, I'm now unplugging the stereo and the shredder and other things that have little lights still on when they aren't in use. I am careful, too, not to leave my laptop or cell phone charging longer than necessary. I think I have picked up a lot of these English energy conservation habits not just because I am environmentally-conscious but because I was so broke in England that I needed them to save my money!

Megan's Incredible Summer

2008-07-25T14:14:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't written until now...I have been so busy! I got an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) position at the Kellogg Biological Station at Michigan State University (it's actually 2 hours from campus). I really had no idea what to expect, and I was still not getting information about what I was going to do here the day I arrived. So I drove from Boston to Michigan with my mom, stopping in Canada. We got to Michigan, where I have never been before, and I was very scared by all the farmland and being in the middle of nowhere as we drove to this station! I thought I was going to hate it, but now I even want to live on a farm! Also, I showed up and saw that my apartment and the whole station is right on a beautiful lake! And here is a picture of a gorgeous sunset from the dock right behind my apartment! I absolutely love it here. Free room, free board, a stipend, and a free ecology class that I am getting credit for at Richmond! For the first few weeks I really had no idea what I was doing, and my mentor is the head of the whole station so I never really got to see her. But I got to sleep in every day and go kayaking and canoeing with the people I met and it was just awesome. There are about ten undergraduates here for research, six of us supposedly doing research on biofuels, including myself. Michigan State received a huge grant for biofuel research which I can tell you all about when we get back to school since this post is already so long! With a lot of guidance from my mentor, I started doing research on burning in prairies and switchgrass fields. It was pretty awesome in the end, even after all of the hot days bending over and trying to identify plants. Here is the poster I presented last night with all of my findings! The poster session went very well. I also have a huge project due for my class next week so I will continue to be very very busy this weekend! But even with all this work it has still been a lot of fun. Oh and there is also a math-ecology program here and so there are other graduate and undergrad students that came in June who are pretty awesome. We have had some crazy adventures...including going camping 3 hours away and getting my prius stuck in the mud at 11pm...but ya it's basically nerd central and I love it!! Hope you are all doing well :)

you can't really tell they are dancing...but I was blasting my music and everyone had a dance party in the mud haha

scouting the cabin

2008-07-21T22:11:00.000-04:00

Clary and I decided to check out Doyle's River cabin for ourselves - and her 6 months pregnant!

The walk in was almost all down hill, and the cabin is less than half a mile from Skyline Drive, so you'll hardly break a sweat on the way in.

Here's the view from the front porch. Just imagine the watching the moonrise from here sitting next to the outdoor fireplace...
(caution: the gray rocks at the bottom of the picture mark a steep drop off!)

We'll need to plan a menu for the trip - any volunteers?
We can buy the food on our way up to the mountains. We should plan for 2 breakfasts, 2 dinners & 2 lunches, light weight food, easy to prepare.

About 100 yards from the cabin is a spring that comes out of the mountain and collects in a small pool - let's hope we have plenty of rain between now and then. Here our dogs Betty and Ellie enjoy tasting the cool spring waters...

Hi everybody!

2008-07-17T18:59:00.000-04:00

Hey! This is Ivi. The summer for me started on May 4th when I went to Philly to visit a friend and celebrate my birthday (the big two-zero). After a week break I returned back on campus to do a math research. It's the 9th week of the research now (out of 10) and this is pretty exciting. We are preparing the poster for a conference in Michigan at the end of July. I just can't believe how fast the time has passed! Some weeks ago, the whole group from the research went on a trip to the National Security Agency in DC. There were some very good presentations on the Enigma machine and on coding/decoding. Other than that, there is not much going on campus. There are pretty interesting fitness classes in the gym. I highly recommend Pilates and the Fitness Fusion :) After the conference I am going home (in Bulgaria) for a couple of weeks and I am pretty excited about that. I live 15 minutes by walk from the beach, so hopefully it will be sunny and warm when I get there...

Here is a picture of our dorm from this summer!!I am so excited about living there in the fall!!

*********************************************************************************
Friends of mine and I went to DC on July 4th to see the parade and the fireworks. It was beautiful. Here is a short video...

Smiles,
Ivi

Hello

2008-07-14T20:56:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, it's Alix. I haven't contributed to the blog yet, partly because I didn't think I had anything blog-worthy to say, so I thought now I would share what I've done this summer. The first part of my summer was pretty relaxing, I just stayed around home, which is in Moorestown, NJ, a town about 30 minutes outside of center city Philadelphia. I live close to the Atlantic City too, so that's been a fun place to go on day trips. In June I took a calculus class at The College of New Jersey, just so I wouldn't have to deal with taking it during the year. I'm so happy it's over! So right now, I'm actually in Killington, VT. It's my first time in Vermont, and it's beautiful! We're staying at a hiking spa, which basically means you get to go on a long hike in the morning, participate in other fitness classes, and get spa treatments :) Tomorrow we're going to Woodstock to hike, which I'm so excited about! Anyway, I'll try to take some good pictures on the hikes to post later. So, I hope everyone else is having a fun summer too! Oh yeah and I'm so excited to spend time with Earth Lodge's very own Kristen and Aleena next week! Kristen's coming up from WV to stay with me and Aleena for a week!!! So that's what's been up with me lately.
Peace,
Alix

Doyle's River cabin retreat

2008-06-25T16:36:00.000-04:00

Get ready for a little taste of previous technologies &

19th century mountain living!

For our pre-semester retreat, we will be staying at a primitive cabin owned by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) near Doyle's River in Shenandoah National Park. This cabin will provide us with an excellent technological experience for the start of our studies this semester since it has no electricity or running water, but is otherwise stocked comfortably. A nearby mountain spring, wood and gas cookstoves, bunks with mattresses, blankets, kitchenware for eating & cooking, and even a dry load of wood and an outhouse for our convenience.

I've rented PATC cabins many times in the past, but I've never been to this one, so these images are ones collected from the web. In the black & white image above, the part

of the cabin to the left of the chimney is the porch featured here in this color shot.

The cabin is supposed to sleep up to 12, but I'll be bringing a tent, just in case. We will be packing our own food in about half a mile to the cabin and there are miles of local trails and waterfalls to explore, so boots or sturdy shoes will be helpful.

The end of the summer is often a dry time, but Doyles river should still have some waterfall activity remaining for our refreshment.

I will be posting here as well as sending an email with preparation recommendations and a brief equipment list.

Anyone who does not have their own lightweight sleeping bag or pack, please contact Zach Sussman to gain access to the Lodge's collection of gear.

If you have your own maps, or would like to obtain one for the area, go to your local outfitter and ask for PATC Map 11 for the South District of the Shenandoah National Park.

Stay tuned...

cooperation, collaboration, creative evolution

2008-06-23T09:13:00.000-04:00

Though I've altered it a bit with the 'Warhol' effect available on my Mac, this knot image was originally hand-drawn in charcoal by

Rebecca Bacheler for my "Radical Perspectives" literature class and I think it brilliantly portrays successful community as a loose knot of specific actions and attitudes - thanks Becca!

Whether it's the fading echo of Social Darwinism or the dying gasps of empire, It's nearly a required dogma these days to believe and assert (if not celebrate) that humans are inherently competitive, greedy and war-like - but maybe it's this story that is the bad influence. Maybe it's time we consider the potential consequences of this story at this specific time in technological history, a time of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the World Wide Web. What is possible? Nothing is inevitable.

Apocalypse or abundance: which future do we tell?

Since the psychological reality of the "self-fulfilling prophecy" is well demonstrated in terms of expectations and the stories we tell about ourselves, perhaps its time to consider telling new stories and looking at the evidence all around us of cooperation, collaboration and creative evolution. If our internal organs fought each other we would be weakened and it would be called disease, right? Those who profit from war and scarcity are only a tiny minority of the planet who try to convince the rest of us that we're just like them so we will defend their 'rights' but with the Web, the flow of information has been like Toto exposing the false power of the Wizard of Oz.

Though sensationalism catches our attention and the media feeds us a constant diet of news about violence, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker argues that humanity is actually becoming less violent in "A History of Violence". And a recent New York Times Magazine article "How Are Humans Unique?" suggests that humans may actually be more naturally cooperative than we're usually told. In our age of global conflict, WMD's and environmental degradation it is clearly a time to tell a new story about our species and its future.

Hello from Karen!

2008-06-19T22:21:00.000-04:00

Hey kids! After all this encouragement from Lee, I guess I'll step up and brighten your day with greetings and news of my "summer adventures"... so far, summer has been great. I am actually still in Richmond, and so this past weekend I went to Pocahontas State Park with 2 of my roommates for the summer, Emily Jaicks and Katy Einerson, and 2 other former Earth Lodge/Outdoor House kids, Geoff Cox and Marion Kruse. Pocahontas is actually a great park, with some fun hiking and bike trails, a lake, and lots of trees, and it's relatively close to campus- with the price of gas as high as it is these days, and the fact that we left at noon, we didn't feel like we could justify a 2-hour drive to the Blue Ridge mountains! So Pocahontas proved a great alternative, only about half an hour south of campus (150 south to rte 10 east, follow signs!).

So anyway, one of the things that I have been doing this summer, along with my roommate Katy, is learning to fence! Geoff used to fence in high school, and he's been giving us some backyard fencing lessons on weekends. This past weekend in Pocahontas was an opportunity to test out our new skills on some fresh terrain, so we had a few practice duels, including an epic match between Marion and Katy in front of the lake's dam (see pics!).

Other than that, summertime in Richmond has been a lot of fun. I'm working at a Mexican restaurant called "La Siesta," getting to practice my Spanish every day. When I'm not at work, I like to ride my bike all over town, or hang out in the backyard with our dog, Max.

I'm definitely looking forward to the Earth Lodge this fall! Hope youse guys are all doing well!

-Karen

hot, Hot, HOT !!

2008-06-07T12:03:00.001-04:00

Today's 'heat-index' in Richmond, VA will be over 100 and the temperature will be near 100 degrees as well. But there is a riverside festival today down by Pony Pasture, and a whole summer full of events during "James River Days". It's heat like this that makes me appreciate the shade and oxygen provided by trees! (and those secret swimming holes)

In 2004 the James River Park system (JRP) was recognized as one of the best urban parks in the country, and our parks manager Ralph White

Don't forget to start reading Stewart's Earth Abides so we can discuss it on our retreat. As you read, do so actively with highlighter and pen so when we study & share the novel we can access passages more readily. What does this novel have to say about technology?

So...what are YOU doing this summer my fellow Earth Lodgers?
I hope you will all make an entry or two with a few words and maybe some pix about your summer adventures....

We've gotten the OK from the school about early move-in and I'll keep you posted about the plans for our retreat. (I guess we should call it a 'pretreat' but that sounds too much like stain removal!)

Be well, stay cool and let us know what you're doing!

Welcome Earth Lodgers!

2008-05-23T21:35:00.000-04:00

The image of the Earth as seen from space has had an important, if subtle impact on human consciousness. For the first time in our history we can see how small is our island, how tiny our technology and how empty outer space...

Naturally such insights lead to reflections about how we can continue to survive and thrive on our tiny floating island in the vasty-void of the universe...and this is where Earth Lodge comes in. Human connection, human creativity, human collaboration, human community... these are the new/old tools for survival and abundance.

This blog is OURS - for all of us to read and write. I've set up this blog so we can all keep in touch over the summer and share stories, images and audio of our travels, scholarship and service. I hope you will all post a little something here so we can keep in touch and inspire one another in our individual adventures. From time to time I'll bring you the Pony Pasture update and brief reports on some of the parks in Richmond.

So right now in the parks, the cottonwood trees are shedding their cotton and the wild irises are blooming...