This is the first photo I took. I think Ginny spotted it. I liked the way the daddy long legs was so calm as so many people were walking around it and so I tried to capture it in this image. Also the different colors of the leaves were interesting as they were mostly this lovely green color, but where they had been eaten away were instead this yellowish tint, potentially foreshadowing of what is too come.

I took this photo after looking into the tree canopy for awhile trying to identify birds. I noticed this image when I realized this young, thin tree was being overshadowed by a much larger tree in the back. Overall, I thought the backdrop of the thicker tree provided a sort of prediction towards the future of the thinner, younger tree and was really what I was trying to capture in taking the photo. I also really liked the shadowing and light I captured in the photo and I think adds some depth to the spectrum of the image.

For the last three summers I have worked at a family camp in the Sierra Nevada Mountains called the Lair of the Bear. I always miss the Lair when I am on the east coast, but reading John Muir’s vivid descriptions of Hetch Hetchy made me really miss my home away from home last night. Check out where I spend my summers:

Our Staff Area. We slept without tent tops under the stars

Playing Snappa

The top of half dome

Creekside

Pinecrest Lake

Therapy

On our fourth site visit we noticed the leaves had started to shift colors more obviously on our walk to the site. We passed the construction site on 611 where no progress ever seems to be made and over the Bushkill as we do every week.

We did not encounter the Homeless Person we usually see changing his shirt by the sign at 2:30 pm because we did not get there until 3:00 pm. Instead we were greeted on the path down to where the Delaware meets the Bushkill by a heavy-set man and his slender friend. They were both sopping wet and wore neutral colored clothing, they had beards and shaggy hair but they approached us in a friendly matter. “Getting the last swim in of the season,” the heavier man said in response to his moist appearance. He explained to us that it was quite beautiful on the other side once you pass the “Hobo hideaway.” We smiled and headed down the path; the more we come here, the more it changes.

The water level had risen significantly from the last time we had been there. A basketball floated in the water, stuck between the currents of the Bushkill and the Delaware. There was a significant increase in litter since the first time we had come here four weeks ago.

On the Delaware we observed our first look at some wildlife, some visitors from north of the border. Canadian Geese were floating in the Delaware about 200 yards upstream. I have never seen geese float on a river, I am used to see them in ponds and in big open fields as they migrate.

Over the past four weeks we have become braver in approaching the Homeless person’s dwelling. This afternoon, we were quite startled by what we discovered. There were skull face targets shot with paint guns lying out to dry. There was also a comforter lying on rocks. We wonder if the homeless person who lives here will stay here all winter, It is much to exposed to the elements for anyone to survive.

Concerns have been expressed in England recently over potential “bag rage” regarding a new charge for plastic shopping bags. However, I find it encouraging to see such firm action being made at this level. Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Bangladesh, Rwanda, and parts of the United States have already implemented charges or restrictions on plastic bag use. It is crazy to think of how these bags end up everywhere, polluting the environment and killing wildlife regularly.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/07/world/europe/plastic-bag-charge-england.html?ref=earth

I saw something that was pretty interesting to me the other day.. As Autumn approaches we’ll start to see leaves changing colors and began falling from the trees.

Walking by Hugel this past week I saw something that got me thinking. One of the trees had already lost all it’s leaves.

The tree, which I believe to be a Little Leaf Linden (Tilia Cordata) is apparently dying and creating a sad sight along the walk to class in front of Hugel.

I looked up the school’s planning site and found a list which boasts almost 90 different species of trees on campus. The list, which was compiled in 2011, included a brief history of the College’s Arboretum. Beginning in 1840, it used to be tradition for the graduating class to plant a tree at commencement however not formally organized until many years later. About 120 years later, the college made it an initiative to beautify the campus grounds and began to assemble the collection we have today. So while it might be too late for this young Little Leaf Linden, next time you’re walking across campus try to take a moment to appreciate the ecological diversity we have on our hill.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/science/a-shifting-approach-to-saving-endangered-species.html?action=click&contentCollection=science&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

I came across the article and found that I had very different reactions to what I was reading. At first, I was frustrated by the government’s ruling to not add another species to the endangered species list. I was then surprised that many environmental agencies actually supported this action by the government. I shifted back to being annoyed as the author wrote that typical species conservation focused just on that one species but not the “larger needs of human society.” I was shocked by that quote, because we are there reason that there even is an extensive endangered species list. I grew more accepting of the article again as it transitioned to a point of looking into cooperation between humans and the ecosystems, including businesses such as farming.

The article continues from there but definitely brings up some interesting points. I recommend that if you have the time you should check this out as well!

While our class will be going to the Nurture Nature Center in Easton for the first time tomorrow, I went for my first a week ago to begin my work volunteering there. As background:

“The Nurture Nature Center, located in Easton, Pennsylvania, is a dynamic center for community learning about local environmental risks. NNC is housed in a beautifully renovated, historic, 30,000 square foot facility, where the staff uses a blend of science, art and dialogue programs to get the community talking and thinking critically about the local environment.”

When I went to the NNC the thing that intrigued me the most was the different artwork and photographs around the building. I wondered why the center had chosen those specific photographs and whether research had been done to see if the photographs chosen connected individuals with the environment similar to the murals we discussed in class. When we visit tomorrow everyone should try to look at the walls and try to determine the motivations for selection.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/science/gopro-balloon-footage-of-earth.html?WT.mc_id=2015-KWP-AUD_DEV&WT.mc_ev=click&ad-keywords=AUDDEVREMARK&kwp_0=45522&kwp_4=256068&kwp_1=191479&_r=0

I stumbled across this video and accompanying summary this morning and was pretty amazed. I feel skeptical about it’s legitimacy but that may just be me. Regardless, very cool, I hope that more videos like this surface in the future. I would like to see one of certain parts of the ocean or perhaps of the Himalayas or something like that.

Today I was reading the news and came across this article about how eBay is aiding the spread of invasive species. Below is the link to the article. In the article, they talk about how over a 50 day period researchers were able to monitor from the supply side (they didn’t have access to private information like geographic location information to confirm regions actually doing business) of the sale of invasive species, in which countries they were being offered from and how often they were available. One of the invasive species they found was up for sale most often was the passion fruit, which is highly invasive in the tropics.

This article particularly interests me because in my conservation biology class we have been looking at the impacts of invasive species on biodiversity and ecosystems. We did a lab where we went to Jacobsburg Park and went to an edge (where the park meets the parking lot). We identified the invasive species, saw first-hand the impacts the invasive species were having on native species (ie crowding out and the suffocation of native species). We then went out in the field and had the opportunity to remove purple loosestrife. I also have come in contact with invasive species in this class- seeing the Japanese Knotweed on the Delaware River and the purple loosestrife when we went with Professor Brandes to Sullivan Park. In reality ever outing I go out on whether in this class or any of my other courses invasive species are present.

The last section of the paper starts with quote from the study’s author, Franziska Humair, “To put it briefly, the vast majority of invasive species can be easily obtained with just a click of the mouse.” A frightening idea, given how harmful invasive species are and how now they are being spread by everyday people over the internet without any monitoring.

http://www.futurity.org/invasive-plants-ebay-1018652-2/

“Every mountain has its steepest point, which is usually near the summit, in keeping, I suppose, with the providence that makes the darkest hour just before day. It is steep, steeper, steepest, till you emerge on the smooth level or gently rounded space at the top, which the old ice gods polished off so long ago” (Burroughs 29).

I really like this quote from Burroughs because I think it is actually a metaphor for something much greater than just the experience of hiking. The image it paints to me is this idea of a personal problem, or challenge and being able to eventually push past it and find yourself on the smooth part of the mountain. This notion also goes in line with Thoreau as it really details finding, or solving one’s self in nature.

“The ordinary citizen today assumes that science knows what makes the community clock tick; the scientist is equally sure that he does not. He knows that the biotic mechanism is so complex that its workings may never be fully understood” (Leopold 205).

I have read the land ethic before, and this quote really caught my attention this time round. The commentary, Leopold uses is beyond his time and really relates to the current problems facing society’s fight against anthropocentric climate change. This arrogant perception, or as Leopold puts it “assumption” that technology will fix everything is simply a misconception that people refuse to acknowledge. Science is always discovering new niches and information to better understand the physical world, but that does not mean we should continue putting all our eggs in one basket; that would be senseless.