Now I realize this class is about nature and the outdoors but I’m going to write about being inside. I decided to write this when I was walking through my house and looked in one of the other guys rooms and noticed he had a large rubber plant right next to his door.

Now apart from the strange smell, (turns out he spilled his watering jug and the smell was a wet carpet) the plant was actually a pretty cool addition to the room.

It is pretty well known that having plants indoors is good for things like air purification because they absorb CO2 that our bodies produce and then produce oxygen themselves. But in addition to physical benefits, plants might offer mental benefits, as well. Studies have shown having ornamental plants in the home or workplace can improve memory and efficiency. While getting outside and exploring nature everyday might not be realistic, having a piece of nature in your room or home can help keep that connection with Nature all the time.

Beginning the semester with our first ‘Ramble’, we strolled across campus looking at examples of nature integrated on campus. On our stop at Kirby, we noted the tributes to nature on the exterior and interior of the building.

The building itself, constructed in the peak of the depression, is an expression of Kirby’s economic clout and general excess. Also, as we mentioned in class, the building is an expression of constructed nature. The building, in my opinion, actually celebrates nature and symbolizes these aspects that Kirby wanted to convey. You see leaf shaped ornaments sculpted and carved in the building adding to the aesthetic beauty. Two birds, an owl and eagle, can be seen in the front of the building. The owl represents the wisdom that comes from knowledge acquired within. The eagle, celebrates dominance and power that can come from wealth.

It’s ironic, then, that a building that a building that was created with the purpose of showing off personal wealth and social standing also celebrates nature, which doesn’t requires nothing to appreciate.

“Each man is the architect of his own fortune”, is an old latin idiom, carved into the marble around the top of the building and the Kirby building celebrates his fortune through natural architecture.