Broken Head Trail Inquiry and Observations
This morning, after two hours of biking the coast line of Byron Bay due to poor navigation skills, we found ourselves at Broken Head trail with our two Professors Soenke and Nigel. I have a strong affinity for nature, so as soon as I arrived to the beach I was reminded of how excited I was to be in a semester that incorporates the beautiful environment Australia has to offer, in our education.
Soenke and Nigel informed us about the benefits of walking in silence, it allows us to be more present and aware of our surroundings; the smells, the sounds, the feeling of the ground underneath our bare feet, etc. I was very familiar with the concept after walking the Camino de Santiago this summer. Today I tried my best at listing some questions I had about the environment, what I noticed, and how I felt.
From the start, I began to wonder why my mood is lifted so high everytime I’m under a canopy of trees. I thought at first it was a feeling of home, but the Cottonwoods on the trail didn’t remind me of my Redwood trees at home in the slightest. It made me think that humans have an inherent draw to nature, maybe because of it’s peaceful ora or maybe because we have become so accustomed to sheltering ourselves inside all day in offices and classrooms. From there, I began to think about the hundreds of thousands of people that have walked the trail that I’m on right now. Once upon a time, people dedicated their existence to being outdoors, praising the soil underneath their feet that provided them with shade, food and shelter. Everywhere I looked I began to imagine what kind of resources they used and for what functions. These large, nut-looking, brown seeds could have been used for food, or planting trees on the hillside to prevent soil erosion. Those feathers on that Bush Turkey would make a glorious looking hat. These leaves feel almost rubbery, like they’ve adapted and created a hard exterior to protect themselves from the salt that is blowing through the air.
Suddenly, the salty rainforest opened up to groomed grass fields, with tourists lying comfortably enjoying some whale watching. It was unnatural looking. The class gathered on the grass to write about the meaning of “natural”. What is natural to you? I jotted down a couple bullet points: Something that has grown/adapted to the conditions around it and are dependent on resources and climate created by the planet alone. I then began to think about natural human instinct, what was it? I had been taught that it was about the will to survive. So I scribbled another bullet point: Something that is instinct.
The class then made its way down to a secluded beach, where I found a quiet spot on rocks covered with sea snails and barnacles to watch my friends jump into not cold, but “fresh” water. I admired the different shade of blue that crashed and fell on seaweed stuck growing on a rock. How could such gentle plants grow in such a hostile environment? The will to survive I suppose. Instinct.
After, we formed a circle on the beach to write down the meaning on nature. I started my bullet points again: something created by the planet, the will to grow/adapt and potentially leave seed for the future. We then began to discuss. I heard perspectives that were far from similar to mine. But they all more or less connected. Things that resonated with me were how nature is really on a spectrum, as well as the definition of natural. We got into if nature is considered “the Mother” than humans are like “the older siblings”, not in the sense of age but in the sense of how much influence we have on nature. I noted that without humans the world would prosper more easily, but without trees or the ocean nothing could survive, so in that sense they are the “older siblings.” We concluded that owning and selling land and resources was a Western superiority complex. We also discussed what a natural instinct was. I concluded that it is entirely dependent on the environment you are brought up in. If a white Australian and an Aboriginal Australian had the same brain tumor, their natural instinct to treat it would not be the same. A tree grows upward, but an ocean doesn’t have the same habit, it pushes currents horizontally.
I left with more questions than answers, which I have a feeling will be a theme of this semester, possibly the rest of my life.
