The area where I live is almost entirely surrounded by various ecosystems, with a river, large forest, and a few good-sized fields within easy walking distance, and I’d say I find them as significant as I possibly could. I don’t have any cultural beliefs or stories that actually connect me to the local environment, and even the classic European fairy tales, which would fit in the surrounding forests very well, I didn’t grow up with. However, due to the necessity of walking my dogs, I end up in the forest at least every other day, usually more. 

To me, the local environment is a constant backdrop, whether it’s the location I’m in; what I see out of every window; the source of whatever sounds I’m hearing; or, when I want to write a story about something large, mysterious, and never entirely knowable, a fantastic source of inspiration. Since I’ve never lived anywhere else, I’ve really gotten used to it, and in fact can’t  imagine myself wanting to live somewhere with a much different environment for more than a year. The forests here have a certain atmosphere that I haven’t found anywhere else.

The forest is very large. In all the time I’ve lived here I’ve never gone much further than about an hour’s walking distance, mostly because I usually climb a mountain if I want a longer hike, but by my estimates I’ve only seen maybe 30% of the very local area. Part of what I find interesting about that is that despite how much there is and how much it’s all constantly changing, everything I see, I can learn what it is. Every plant has a name, every bird’s flight path has either been recorded or can be, and it’s never that hard to find out. The ecosystem is vast, and never entirely knowable, not because it refuses to tell its secrets but because it has so many. You can find so much in just a few minutes, find everything about it by either continuing to observe or by researching it, and absorb all that information as long as you have enough time.