Yesterday I came across a post by Susan Harris at Garden Rant titled You don’t have to hike into the wilderness to experience nature. Just garden. She writes about a column in yesterday’s New York Times titled How to Lick a Slug. In it the columnist laments about how nature is not as much a part of our lives as it used to be, and he urges us to change that. Please follow the link and read it yourself — it is a good read.
I agree in general with the premise of the NYT column. My exception to it is that the columnist makes it seem like the only way to experience nature is to go to a national park or out in the woods on a trail somewhere. Yes, that is certainly one way to get out and experience nature, but the reality is that nature is a lot closer to all of us than we realize.
I like Susan’s point about gardening to experience nature. So true. I’ve always felt more people should garden, but doing that requires an investment of time and effort that a lot of people aren’t willing to make.
After giving it some thought I decided to leave a comment about the column on the columnist’s blog. This sums up my feelings on the subject pretty well:
You write as if nature is something you need to gear up for and seek out. In reality, nature is everywhere around you already!
For many people nature is as close as outside their own back door! The average suburban yard is FULL of natural things to be discovered and appreciated. Don’t have a yard? The park down the street will suffice.
Planting a garden, or even a handful of flowers will bring nature to you. A container of flowers on my deck attracts bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and all sorts of other interesting things. Have you ever had a hummingbird hover inches from your head while you were mere feet from your back door? I have, and THAT is an amazing experience one doesn’t easily forget!
So while I applaud your overall message, I hope people realize that getting out into nature doesn’t require planning and a trip in the family car. Nature really is all around you, just slow down and look close and you will find it.
