We
We are all in this together. Connected. A part. A whole. My leg is a part of me, and I am my leg. It's no different than humans, and water, and land and air. We breathe together. If anything, did Covid not teach us that?
I'm Steve and I have developed a relatively newfound explicit, intense and bordering on obsessive awareness and interest ecological restoration. Yes, I've long felt connected to the environment. Recycled. Since I can remember, chose biking over mindlessly hopping into the car to get from one place to the next. My heightened awareness began with recently moving to the other side of Cedar Lake in Minneapolis and realizing this about 3-acre peninsula was largely neglected and unmaintained for a long time. Let's face it. Once you see Buckthorn, you can never unsee it. I now see every Buckthorn that's filled the space where native plants once lived. They sucked the nutrients from the soils, choked the life out, and disturbed the ecological system of a small urban park. The park was no longer a park, but instead a thicket of Buckthorn, starved and strangled trees, and a loss of a natural habitat that could no longer function. The abandoned land was occupied by those who wished to not be seen (as witnessed by the items I've collected and trashed). And without a healthy shoreline, it was contributing to the decline of fresh water quality of Cedar Lake and the chain of lakes to which these waters eventually flow.
The "we" began with those who encouraged me in these interests, namely Brian Crotteau, who I refer to as my sensei, and Keith Prussing who as a founder of the Cedar Lake Park Association and comprehensively cared for and orchestrated me and those like-minded to focus our passions on restoring the treasured natural resources of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
The "we" continues to grow with those who have joined this effort, from a simple expression of thanks as they walk by and take notice, to those who have jumped in and helped with their hands on and shovels in participation.
And the "we" has grown in my meeting and learning and being evermore inspired by so many others who have long before me invested their time, talents and passions to recognizing that "we" are not just humans. "We" are each and all connected to and members of the ecological system. It is our responsibility to treat nature as we would want to be treated, respectfully, honestly, and as cohabitants of the water, the lands, and the air we each and together breathe.
I'm Steve and I have developed a relatively newfound explicit, intense and bordering on obsessive awareness and interest ecological restoration. Yes, I've long felt connected to the environment. Recycled. Since I can remember, chose biking over mindlessly hopping into the car to get from one place to the next. My heightened awareness began with recently moving to the other side of Cedar Lake in Minneapolis and realizing this about 3-acre peninsula was largely neglected and unmaintained for a long time. Let's face it. Once you see Buckthorn, you can never unsee it. I now see every Buckthorn that's filled the space where native plants once lived. They sucked the nutrients from the soils, choked the life out, and disturbed the ecological system of a small urban park. The park was no longer a park, but instead a thicket of Buckthorn, starved and strangled trees, and a loss of a natural habitat that could no longer function. The abandoned land was occupied by those who wished to not be seen (as witnessed by the items I've collected and trashed). And without a healthy shoreline, it was contributing to the decline of fresh water quality of Cedar Lake and the chain of lakes to which these waters eventually flow.
The "we" began with those who encouraged me in these interests, namely Brian Crotteau, who I refer to as my sensei, and Keith Prussing who as a founder of the Cedar Lake Park Association and comprehensively cared for and orchestrated me and those like-minded to focus our passions on restoring the treasured natural resources of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
The "we" continues to grow with those who have joined this effort, from a simple expression of thanks as they walk by and take notice, to those who have jumped in and helped with their hands on and shovels in participation.
And the "we" has grown in my meeting and learning and being evermore inspired by so many others who have long before me invested their time, talents and passions to recognizing that "we" are not just humans. "We" are each and all connected to and members of the ecological system. It is our responsibility to treat nature as we would want to be treated, respectfully, honestly, and as cohabitants of the water, the lands, and the air we each and together breathe.