Walker River (photo credit: wikicommons) So there I was, atop a mountain in the Nevada High Desert, near Walker River. I had climbed up there just a few minutes before, and just as soon as I got there, I was in wonder. Most seem to think that the desert is a dry, barren place devoid of life and beauty of any sort, besides dead plants that dotted the hills. As I looked across the vast expanse of sand and rocks below me, I realized this was not true. My surroundings were, as many people like to think, quite dry and sandy, but still, when looked at with more depth than an assumption, quite alive as well. The scrub bushes, leafed and thorned alike, all swayed in the wind as if they were not brittle, but instead, alive. There was still a dark green tint of color about them as well. If I listened, birds sung just as much as in a more vegetated area, and I could hear the hum of flies and bees as they went about on their business. I could feel the wind tousle my hair, a nice, calming feeling. So there was life, I just had to look for it, I thought. I sighed as I began to climb down the mountain, for I had experienced something great. A deep silence seemed to ensue, for the wind had stopped. The only sound was the faint gurgling of Walker River in the distance. When I reached the foot of the hill, my father called me for supper. That night, as my family and I sat around a campfire, warming our hands, I decided to look beyond the light of the fire. I looked first towards the mountain I had scaled earlier that day, and then up at the sky. What I saw astounded me. Stars, millions upon millions of them dotted the dark atmosphere above me. They seemed clearer and twinkled with more light than I had ever seen in stars near a town or city before. To put it simply, there were more stars here in an unpopulated area than anywhere else I had ever been. I spotted the Big Dipper on the right, Orion’s Belt on the left, and everywhere else some sort of constellation seemed to appear. The next day I went for a walk along the bank of Walker River. To my surprise, lizards began popping up every few minutes. There were animals in the desert then, too, I thought. Later that day a snake crossed my path. It was a gopher snake, about four feet long. Then again, a couple minutes later, I saw a smaller gopher snake. And then again, another one, however this one was a corn snake. Even nature’s desert is beautiful. Walker River is one of my favorite places to go, and if I could, I would protect it from construction. It is simply that beautiful. The thing is, I can protect it. I am working on that now. Who will help me protect Earth from destruction? I will, and there is no changing that.
Nature
This is the first of many guest blog posts that on the Stone Soup blog. Today’s guest blogger is Lukas Cooke, 10, who urges us to think more about nature and how we can protect it. Have you ever wondered what the plants and animals around you feel like? Us humans, we don’t seem to realize that even in the city, the world around us is teeming with life. Beneath our feet, mice, moles, gophers, various insects and bugs, and other natural life live underground. In lakes, oceans, ponds, rivers, and other sources of water fish, water birds, some reptiles, amphibians, and mammals live together. And of course, the creatures we see everyday such as birds, rodents and others live above ground. Plants are alive too. Trees, flowers and bushes grow on the surface of Earth just like we do! Together, plants, animals, rocks, minerals, dirt, and others make up nature. Nature can be beautiful, and quite ugly, but no matter what nature looks like, it plays a very important role. Plants make oxygen, which is what we breath. Humans get food from nature which is essential to our survival, as is true with water. Water is natural too. In short, without nature, humans can’t survive. Neither can any animals either. But despite this fact, something dreadful is happening. The human race is destroying nature. Most of the time, when something is built, part of nature is destroyed. Fumes from machines and vehicles are toxic to animals and plants. Trash and litter tossed away often attract animals that end up suffocating. It is a good thing that the National Park Service is helping create national parks that are protected places in nature where building is illegal. Still, there are many places where you see fields with a few trees. In a while, those places will turn into houses, stores, apartments and other buildings. What people fail to do is see the beauty in even the not so interesting places in nature. We focus on protecting the most beautiful places. If in the end the only places left in nature are the most stunning, they won’t be so amazing anymore. We need to see the best in all the places in the natural world. Nature needs our help. We need nature. I love nature and I want to protect it. There is a man whom I admire greatly, even though he is long dead. John Muir helped create the National Park Service and wrote essays to persuade the government to protect the wild. So let’s reinspire the John Muir legacy!
