Week One at the Fort Worth Nature Center

Week One at the Fort Worth Nature Center

I had no idea what to expect for our first visit to the Fort Worth Nature Center, but I was positively surprised. The only downside was the mud as a result of the rain, but thankfully I had my rain boots. By the end of the day, my boots were caked in more mud than I could’ve imagined. I somehow impressively managed to get mud all over my clothes, all the way up to my chest. I’ll admit, which I’m sure is obvious, that I have no experience with manual labor. The experience was new for me and I quite enjoyed it. I’ve always wanted to have class outdoors and while working outside isn’t exactly what I had in mind, I think it’s valuable experience. It’s certainly not something I thought I would experience at TCU, but I love that the class takes us outside to explore new places in Fort Worth.

On the drive to Nature Center, people were discussing what it would be like to live in such a small town, as we drove through surrounding neighborhoods. They seemed so shocked that someone would live in such a remote area. It made me laugh inside, because I did not find the area remote at all. I’m from a much smaller town, so as they pondered how inconvenient and undesirable it would be to live in such an area, I couldn’t help but smile. One of my favorite things about TCU is the number of out-of-state students. It presents me with such a diversity of thought and life experience. I’ve always lived in small Texas towns. So to try and understand their perspective of a visit to somewhere like the nature center was so interesting to me. It made me realize that nature and outdoor experience speak to people in different ways. It's not only interesting to reflect on how an experience resonates with yourself, but its also fascinating to observe how others connect with an experience as well.

While, the physical aspects of the class are new for me (I’m not used to carrying wood, hammering, or digging with a pickaxe), I am used to being around people who love to work outdoors. I’m not going to lie the class was challenging for me. I was sore for a few days afterward. I gave myself a bruise from resting the wood on my leg while carrying it (not sure how this is possible). However, the environment made me feel quite at home. It was nice to get out of the classroom and get my hands dirty. People always talk about how much you can learn outside of the classroom, and this was certainly a great example. We learned new ways to work in teams and gained understanding of the function and operation of the Nature Center. I was in awe that only a few people manage such a large area of land. I’m looking forward to the coming weeks of working outdoors and learning from people who value nature so much that they spend their lives maintaining it.