ABOUT ME

I often feel lucky that I live in such a beautiful state. Almost every day, I get to drive by a scenic view of Lake Champlain on my way to school or extra curriculars, and when I run with my cross country team, we often stop at a lookout point to see the breathtaking view of Colchester, far below, and a sliver of the lake, way in the distance. We tend to remark on how crazy it is that such a place exists only a few miles away from the high school parking lot, accessible by some dirt trails very few people, it seems, know about. And yet, I find that I know very little about the environments that I marvel at and use for recreation.

Running, biking, hiking, camping- they would not be the same if it weren't for the diverse land both in Vermont and everywhere else on Earth. The natural environment is a whole other world compared to urban life, a kind of escape from reality, full of beautiful and complex organisms, landscapes, and environments. The land around me has served me for so long, in a similar way to a tourist attraction. My shallow understanding of the environment around me leads me to believe that I am not fully appreciate it, and that if I were to focus more on the science involved in these ecosystems, and the unseen plants and animals, I would love it even more. Besides, how can I give back to the land around me? And how can we make wild environments more wild and beautiful? In this course, I hope to learn more about the land around me on a smaller, more detailed scale, and better understand my impact on the environment.

Obviously, we have a humongous influence on the land around us. We subconsciously alter environments beyond recognition, one footstep at a time, even, in the case of hiking trails. Or, we consciously destroy ecosystems by expanding the reach of our cities and businesses. It is fascinating to think that we are singlehandedly making a bigger impact on the environment and climate than ever before in the history of the Earth, even through the planet's journey through both hothouse and icehouse climates. We are like an infestation of a nasty pest to the other organisms around us, but we don't have to be. If we work hard, we could make life on Earth better for all organisms, from humans to plants to animals and insects. We have the resources and intelligence to do the thinking for those who can't, and that starts from helping ourselves.