Contested Nature
Where do you see nature in
Thurston Woods? “We see nature all over the place,” according to Lorie Koehler. Many of us see nature in the shady and cool tree-lined streets, the birds in yards and in Havenwoods. But how many of us have thought about how nature here took form and how much of a push and pull there still is between man and nature in the neighborhood? The landscape of Thurston Woods is man-made, sometimes working with nature and the natural shape and movement of the land, sometimes in conflict. Early maps of the area show the land after the first settlers cleared it of the standing forest: what are now Havenwoods and Berryland are wetlands, much of the remaining space was farm fields. Later, these areas became military installations, veterans’ housing, residences and industrial sites. We have modified nature to suit our needs. However, nature isn’t passive. Heavy rains flood low lying basements and change the level and quality of Lincoln Creek; lack of rain turns lawns brown. Wildlife is attracted to yards; some species welcome, some, like squirrels at the bird feeder, are not. Plants find a bit of soil and grow through concrete in the alley, or creep up the garage, or erase all but a trace of former Nike missile silos. The push and pull, the tug-of-war, between man and nature continues and is played out in the streets, yards and alleys of Thurston Woods. |
In The Granite Garden, Ann Spirn notes that we have viewed nature and the city as two distinct and separate elements rather than nature being “an essential force that permeates the city…the city must be recognized as part of nature and designed accordingly.” By seeing and understanding the fundamental connection between nature and neighborhood, each resident can make personal home and yard “design” actions, perhaps taking advantage of the Agape Center’s rain barrel program, or giving over a portion of the lawn to native plantings that are drought tolerant, or simply cleaning leaves from a storm sewer come fall. Each small act diminishes the tug of war between man and nature.
Spirn, A. W. (1984) The Granite Garden: Urban Nature and Human Design. New York: Basic Books. |
Nature Documentaries
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