The Who, What, When, Where, Why Bit...

             If you’re anything like me you enjoy your time outside in the proper context. You might like taking walks with loved ones and dogs, swimming, playing outdoor sports, etc but you might not have crossed the unspoken line to “outdoor hobbies” yet. I recently crossed this line; sometime last year I became a birder. I don’t know how it happened but over the span of a year I went from not knowing or caring about birds at all to having three feeders on my porch and a sweet pair of binoculars. I somehow went from spending most of my time inside to become a budding naturalist.            

I’m honestly not sure where the time went or even how I got here and I am in no way an expert. I have yet to operate a chainsaw but I’ve completed an environmental internship in South Carolina (more about that later) and I’m working my second internship here in Ohio for a full year. I hope you’re not expecting perfection or a “to do list” because you’re not going to get it. What you’re going to get it you is a bit of the personal experience I’ve gathered on my forays outside which I hope can teach, if not humor you, a bit.

            My internship on Fort Jackson, South Carolina forced me way, and I mean way, out of my comfort zone. I applied, got the job, and the next day I was hiking around Fort Jackson’s back forty chasing endangered birds around the woods. I had zero idea about what I was doing. I walked into the office and told them that I’m an environmental science major and the next thing I know I’m in a truck mucking my way through some forest. Then slowly, as I got the hang of it I started to do more and finding ways to get more involved I was banding birds, checking nests, monitoring their reproductive activity, and helping to lead classes with other naturalist. It did not come easy. I had to ask what I thought were stupid questions and I had to use tools that were so unbelievably foreign to me. Slowly I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and I knew that no matter much this sucked that I was bettering my planet and myself.

I soon had books on birds, bird feeders, colorful pictures, and a bird application on my phone. As I learned that I have a love for birds I also began to see the deep interconnectedness of the ecosystems and habitats that the birds live in. Words like conservation and stewardship seemed more important to me now because I was hiking the land and searching for its occupants. I was suddenly angered by trash on the road, my friends not recycling, and people taking ungreen actions. I starting signing potions and blowing up my Facebook with links for good companies and for bad ones. I pelted my friends and my family with requests to care more but then it hit me. They didn’t see it because the never got outside.

You may never turn into a super “green” person but since you’re reading this I’m making the assumption that you have as basic interest in the natural world. You’ll find that being outside and seeing the same places as they change through the seasons (or finding new ones) just seeps into your soul. Suddenly you’re outside and seeing this world with new eyes and that is what this blog is all about. It’ll document the changes in me and hopefully inspire you to get out and go do some slightly more outdoor things. Remember tummies in, shoulders back, and get out there.