Snapshot 1

Prior to beginning "Literature and the Environment," what have been your experiences--if any--with Skidmore's North Woods (Have you walked or hiked in them? Have you used them as a living laboratory for a class? Have you partied there? Have you driven by them? Have you looked at them out a window? Have you been oblivious to them?). What are your feelings toward the North Woods? Does having the North Woods as part of the campus matter to you?

-When I first got to Skidmore, I thought that the North Woods were exclusively the apartments. I didn’t realize there was an actual North Woods until a few months into my first year when a friend and I went walking through them to take a break from school work. Since then, I’ve had a few different experiences with the Woods on campus. I took an environmental science class last semester and we did a few labs that required trekking out to the woods, one particularly memorable experience was doing a lab in the heavy snow that eventually turned into freezing rain. I’ve also spent numerous weekend nights in the North Woods with a range of 6 to 35 people huddling around a fire.  Last semester there was an extended group of students that would migrate towards the Woods after a night out and spend time playing instruments, singing, or just enjoying the outdoors. These nights were the most influential on my appreciation of the North Woods.

How--if at all--are the North Woods important to Skidmore College?

The North Woods are VERY important to Skidmore College. Academically, socially, and personally they play an important role in college life. From an environmental perspective we can’t afford to cut down any more natural spaces without serious harm to the planet, and specifically in Saratoga, without harming the watershed. We have a beautiful campus, but it is manicured and made with human hands-North Woods provide the true nature that so many people crave. Whether running, walking, sitting or exploring, the Woods provide a respite for hard working students and a hands-on experience for classes  studying the outdoors.

Having read the opening chapter of Treasures in the North Woods, what did you learn about the North Woods from this reading? How--if at all--did this history change or inform your perception of the North Woods?

I didn’t know about the history of Skidmore’s campus regarding the Hilton/Woodlawn/Van Dam situation and moving campus from the downtown area to where it is now. I’m learning a lot about the history of the Hudson Valley region in my Hudson River class this semester, including the battle of Saratoga and Peter Schuyler’s role in the area. It was interesting to read about all the people that owned and sold land, and for me those people are just common street names around town. Reading about how the North Woods has provided a source of recreation and relaxation for centuries grounded the importance of the woods as a piece of history for me.

 In comparison to other outdoor spaces you know, what do you think distinguishes these woods? What is unique or special about them? What is missing or deficient in the North Woods as a nature space or woods or wild?

I think they are special in terms of their location and we as a community are lucky to have such a beautiful area so close to our campus, but I really look for a big body of water when I crave being outside or really feeling connected to the Earth. This is one thing that would change the amount of time I spend in the Woods. If there were a pond, lake, or river running through the Woods I would definitely seek out this area more. That being said, I think the North Woods provide a unique experience for students that want to learn about the natural sciences or just enjoy the outdoors, and for that reason alone they are special. 

Snapshot 2

How have our readings thus far affected how you perceive the North Woods? How have they affected (changed? influenced? confirmed?) your attitude toward the North Woods.

Our readings have made me appreciate the North Woods more than usual, especially with all the reading we have done about the woods being a place for simplicity, tranquility and lack of societal pressures. As the school year gets crazier by the day I feel myself craving the same things the authors of our readings have been exploring. Having the ability to walk a few minutes and enjoy the beautiful woods is a comforting feeling and these authors articulate similar thoughts to mine.

 From the readings we have completed thus far, select three passages that connect or relate to the North Woods. Describe the original context of each passage and then explain how it applies to the North Woods.

“But in other directions, even from this point, I could not see over or beyond the woods which surrounded me” –Thoreau’s Walden, Where I Lived, and What I Lived For (pg 82).

The North Woods are not very far from the main parts of Skidmore’s campus, yet there are places in the woods that no other part of campus (or Civilization for that matter) can be seen. While this is true of most woods, it’s unique for a college to have a place of “untouched” nature located directly on its campus.

“I am alive in the world, this moment, without the help of the interference of any machine” –An Entrance To the Woods: Wendell Berry (pg 726)

When referring to “the machine” I make a really strong connection to “the system.” I think of industry, society, institutions, socializing, the economy, everything in the category of my head labeled “problems with our world.” These are the institutuions in which we function and interact with on a daily basis, and also the things that give me (and probably most people) the most stress. Living without these entities in the North or any woods, as Berry points out, is a liberating and necessary experience.

“We can never have enough of Nature” –thoreau’s Walden, Spring (pg 297)

With the talk about Skidmore expanding into the North Woods, this quote rings in my ear. With the progression of the college it makes sense to build more buildings in that area, but it kills me to think that this beautiful part of our campus would be torn down. 

Make a list of at least three potential ideas for your Literature for the North Woods Project. Give a brief description of each idea: what readings does this project draw upon? What personal talents or interests does it allow you to exercise? What message about the North Woods could this project convey?

My three (very underdeveloped) ideas for a North Woods Project are:

-Doing some sort of mini Thoreau experiment, going into the woods for an extended period of time and just living. It could probably be no more than a day, but spending a solid day in the woods by myself without any interactions with people would probably bring me to an interesting mental state.

-Building fairy houses. I’m not sure how I would connect this to the course material but it’s something I have always really enjoyed doing. I enjoy it enough to work hard to find connections between this and the readings/environmental literature.

-Interviewing people about their experiences with the North Woods. I might narrow down my demographic to women’s experiences or something more specific to focus on, so I could potentially find connections between what the woods mean to different people. 

Snapshot 3

1. Prior to visiting the exhibit Lives of the Hudson, what did you think about/know about the Hudson River? Did the exhibit change your perceptions? How so?

 

I had pretty significant experience with the Hudson River before visiting the Tang. Growing up in a town on the River, I have spent countless hours playing on the banks of the Hudson and exploring the river valley. Almost every night since high school my friends and I have found ourselves bouncing between five different spots all on the Hudson: an official “lookout spot” off the Palisades Parkway, two mountains that overlook the river, and two towns near ours that have piers to walk out onto the water. I have always loved the river but didn’t know too much about the historical or cultural significance, which is why I enrolled in a class about the HRV this semester and I’m totally loving it. It’s amazing to learn about history through the lens of the Hudson River, especially because it hits so close to home. Visiting the Tang was wonderful as I’m learning to appreciate the river from a cultural, historical, artistic and environmental perspective.

 

2. Lives of the Hudson presents the River from four perspectives: Human, Imagined, Working, and Natural. What examples of these perspectives did you find in the exhibit? If you were to provide different points of view for an exhibit on the North Woods, what would those perspectives be? How might you (re)present them?

Human-There are people in many of the works of art at the Tang exhibit, and this exemplifies the cultural importance of the Hudson through time. This river served as a port for trade, played a significant role in the Revolutionary War and the French and Indian War, and its beauty has been celebrated for centuries.

Imagined- The fish that are made of the chemicals they have been negatively impacted by represent the imagined perspective. The wildlife in the Hudson do not actually resemble these different toxins, but the artists’ interpretation of them being comprised entirely of the materials destroying them makes a pretty strong statement. 

Working- The working parts of the Hudson (to me) is represented by the industrialization seen throughout the exhibit. The photographs of the airport and shore of the river are littered with pollution and dark clouds of smog, exposing the exploitation of the river by the humans that use its resources for economic benefit.

Natural- Most of the paintings represent the natural world in the exhibit. Portraying the Hudson River through art and film is a great venue for displaying the natural landscapes that characterized the region.

If I were to make an exhibit about the North Woods, I think the themes would be the social life centered around the woods, and the different ways students utilize this Nature.

3.      Thinking about the exhibit in relation to our readings for Literature and the Environment, what themes / ideas from our readings seemed present in the exhibit? Which themes seemed absent?

The theme that stands out to me the most is the appreciation of the wildness that is hard to come by today. Regardless of the particular piece of nature being discussed, the Rockies, Walden Pond, farmlands or just the Woods, each of these authors has found a greater connection to themselves or the world through the venue of Nature. The Hudson River has clearly played a significant role in many people’s lives, and this theme connects to the readings for this class. The theme of human dominion over the planet is present, as well as an appreciation of the natural world and importance of travel. From my interpretation of this exhibit, the themes covered in our class are also covered in the Tang.

4.      From the videos projected on the windows at the entrance to the Tang to the GIS maps created by Alex Chaucer, Lives of the Hudson presents the River through a variety of media. How might these works of art serve as a model for your project (and translate into a Literature for the North Woods Project?)

I think the main lesson I got from observing all the different medias of art surrounding the Hudson River is the concept that I have a lot of options for this project. The Hudson was depicted through so many different venues in this exhibit, between videos, sculptures, paintings, photographs and documents, the variety is symbolic of the myriad of directions I could go with this project. 

5.      Present your thoughts, visions, plans, or actual work you have done for your project.

I’ve thought more about doing an abbreviated version of Thoreau’s visit to the woods; I’d like to set aside a day to spend by myself in the North Woods. Maybe hiking, sitting, writing, drawing or building something-I’m still unsure of what exactly I would do. I’ve read more of Walden for another class, and Thoreau talks a lot about the process of building his home and the importance of physical labor. Maybe I’ll build some sort of structure and write about my day of solitude inside. 

Snapshot 4

Based upon your previous Snapshots, our class readings, your experiences in the North Woods, the Lives of the Hudson exhibit, and other personal and academic influences, what have you chosen for your Literature for the North Woods Project? Briefly describe your project: its goals, audience, the literature you draw upon, its format.

For my literature and the environment North Woods final project I want to follow in the footsteps of Thoreau, and spend an extended time alone in Nature. Because I don’t have the ability to explore the natural world for the few years that Thoreau spent at Walden I will walk into the Woods for a whole day, by myself, in silence. My goal is to evoke the emotions he does in his piece “Solitude,” and also the feelings of connectedness Wendell Berry conveys in his piece “An Entrance to the Woods.” I plan on entering the woods in the morning, alone, and just walking around until I find a spot that I feel comfortable at. I’ll spend the day at that spot or in the general area, and read these two pieces. I’ll then write a journal entry, mimicking Thoreau’s style of writing about his experience at Walden. I also plan on building something to remain in nature-probably a fairy house if the ground isn’t covered in snow.

 What will this project specifically allow you to do that excites you creatively and/or intellectually? What might you not be able to do or include because of the project that you have chosen? Are these limitations OK for you?

I’m really excited to spend a day alone in the North Woods. I rarely spend time completely alone, especially in a non-civilized place, and I’m interested in seeing where my mind goes. I also want to re-read both of these pices from the perspective of someone that is currently experiencing something similar to what these authors are writing about. Also, fairy houses are very special to me and I’m looking forward to spending time on it; I often feel like I’m rushing the building of these houses (or rushing everything for that matter) and I think that I’ll be totally relaxed in this atmosphere. My main limitation will be that my project doesn’t consist of a longstanding material product. I’ll have the journal entry, but for the most part the experience will remain within myself. I’m okay with this, however, because I feel that the experience of being truly alone in the Woods is more important than leaving something in the North Woods to prove how I felt. Also, neither of these authors left any trace of themselves, except for Thoreau’s home (hence the fairy house).

 What specific skills and/or talents do you have that will allow you to complete the project successfully and on time? What resources will you draw upon to create your project? If you need to learn a new skill or technology, how will you do that? How can the members of our classroom community assist you?

The skill I’ll work with mostly is the ability to be alone for an extended period of time, which is something I lack. Living on a college campus or in a home with a family and big dogs, I feel as though I’m constantly surrounded by distractions and rarely seek out true alone time. For me, it’s really important to find this, as well as find a time to connect with Nature.

 Are there any aspects of your project that you are struggling with? If so, explain them briefly and how class members might be able to help you. What challenges does the project face you with?

 

So far, I’m all set on the project. My prep will include packing a bag with food, water, enough clothes to stay warm, and these two readings. I’ll also pack something to write my journal in. My challenges will be to find an entire day I can set aside to spend in the North Woods-this will be especially difficult considering the timing of the project. I don’t think classmates can help my on these struggles, I’ll just have to plan ahead for this day.