Lion's Gate Bridge -- Jessica Schwier

This semester, our class took a visit to the Lion's Gate Bridge. We were allowed to sit and observe and listen to nature. We then walked part of the Nolan Trail and again just listened to what nature was trying to tell us. We learned to observe many things, such as if a branch had just fallen off a tree compared to whether it had been sawed off. Professor Redick also pointed out indigenous plants and flowers and others that obviously had to have been planted because they are not native to this land. I enjoyed our class trip, and learned a lot about our interference with nature. The Nolan Trail is a good example of us fixing nature to be like how we want it to be. For example, there is a perfect trail to run on so you do not have to actually run in the wild, but you still get to experience nature. However, real nature does not have mile markers and trees are not cut in order to stay out of your way. Nature is wild, and we do not want to experience the true wild. This relates to what our guest speaker was talking about. She said we like nature, but only in small doses, and only how we picture it. We do not just want to wander out into the wild to experience nature. We like man-made trails to walk or run on, and we like mile markers, and benches to rest on along the way. While walking along the Nolan Trail, I enjoyed looking at nature off of the path. However, I would never just rough it and backpack around enjoying nature for what its all worth. Once our guest speaker came to talk about "setting the stage" I thought about my experience on the Nolan Trail. I felt like a visitor that was impeding on the animal life. I was in their house and I had been responsible for the damage done. I really enjoyed her discussion of this subject, and although I enjoyed walking through the Nolan Trail, I did see a relation between what she discussed and our trip. Although I agree with her points, I feel that the Nolan Trail is the best of both worlds. It only imposes sightly on those who live there, but we can still enjoy its benefits, and we also can not become trapped in the wild.