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Blog post for New Zealand 🇳🇿.

Since we got off of the airport New Zealand has been beautiful for me. The views and the vibes have been exceptional. New Zealand is a beautiful country. From the mountains and hills to the flat surfaces and the waterfalls and rivers. I just love the view of this country. The only set back I’ve had since I been here was the one incident of blantant racism. So when we first got here and we were driving and we made at stop at a hill with various large rocks and ranges. So as I was walking and talking pictures I was stopped by a white man and I was wearing a hoodie with the aboriginal flag on it for those in Australia. So this man stops me and then proceeds to say “oh that flag is nice but the Australian one is better”. I was in complete shock because my jaw dropped and I was like just what the hell is this? First and foremost whether or not I am an aboriginal person or not, that comment should’ve never been made. Second the level of comfort that he had saying that was disturbing because he say it like it was nothing and like he’s done it before. That shows a lack of respect, intelligence, understanding, and concern. It was just embarrassing and disappointing to be in that situation. I’m not going to let that one situation sour my experience in New Zealand but it made me pause for a moment because it was so unexpected and so off putting. Nonetheless New Zealand has more of a urban vibe than I expected and maybe that has more to do with the places that we’ve been. I was expecting of more of a rural and country vibe from this country because of all the forestry that is there and with the large scale mountain ranges and national parks and places too hike. I was expect it to be more spaced out and see more of nature and less of the city.

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Week 10 blog post (second camping trip)

This camping trip was watered down for me personally. The fact that we stayed in one area for the whole camping trip was a negative for me. That made it less interesting and safe guarded. For me if I had to choose between the first camping trip and this one I would most definitely go with the second one. On the first one yes we were at a camping site but we left there everyday and went out and explored nature and culture. On this second one we stayed in the same general area for four days and didn’t really have that much exploring or knowledge gained. I think in that instance this should’ve be a trip that could’ve been removed. Now yes we sat down with Uncle Louis and heard him talk and give perspective and context to Aboriginal people and their culture but for me that wasn’t good enough. Just to sit there and hear him talk is a privilege yes I understand and appreciate & respect that but we really didn’t go out and see anything. Personally I felt like we sat in one area for an extended weekend and didn’t do much. Uncle Louis brought insight but it was very difficult to hear anything that he said. He would speak and I would only hear maybe one or two words and then it would be mumbling the rest of the time. So it was very difficult and frustrating to attempt to understand what information he was trying too behold upon us. So for me I didn’t really learn much or gain any new knowledge or understandings of anything. I feel like this second camping trip was something that could’ve had more too it. Staying in that one area for the whole trip was no good for me. It turned me off too the whole experience. I thought we were going to go out and actually see and observe like we regularly do. Too see that we are just there in that one place was disheartened to me and disappointing. Nonetheless the I’m on the middle grounds with camping. Would I do it again? Ehh maybe but definitely not in a tent I would have to do in an RV or something. I would go camping if it was like the first time we went yea I’ll do that over again.

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Week 9 blog Post

Minyon Falls was different from any other home that we’ve done before. Starting at the top and then going too the bottom was a challenge. I say this because all semester we always started from the bottom and had to work out way up. To already be at them top and then go to the bottom I think brought more perspective and was humbling. I say this because going from the top too the bottom is not something that everyone can do and it is an humbling experience in any aspect of life too go from on top of the mountain to all the way down too the water fall. For me personally it was one of the more easier walks because there was as much effort going down than it was coming back up. What was the most inetesting aspect too me was the combination of a rainforest and a regular one. The palm trees in the middle of all the rest of the trees caught me off giraffe. Palm trees are always seen in a more tropical environment and they thrive in them. Too see them at the falls was off putting because I would think how are they surviving? Then Soenke explains too me that the forest works together to keep everything alive and running well. The hollow tree that several people climbed up was an example of this. The outside was perfectly fine but the inside was hollow and a person could just climb too the top from there. That’s the environment taking taking of one another especially when one part doesn’t look like the rest. In the Amy Falstrom reading the article itself brought up and interesting question in the title “If nature had rights?” That question itself is a difficult and confusing one. How can something that can’t defend itself have right? How can something that doesn’t have respresentstion be given rights? Nature can’t go into a courtroom and say while this is being done too me and I deserve to be treated fairly like everyone else. Nature can’t do that so it brings up that dynamic of who has the right to defend nature and how do we as people feel about this and see how what we do effects nature. In trying to understand the westernized cultural views of nature it’s that we as people have ownership of it and can do what we plead with it so therefore nature “can’t have rights”. But if you go and ask aboriginal or indigenous people about nature they have that moral and philosophical connection too nature that gives them the ability to have more compassion and understanding and respect for the environment. So which way of thinking is the right one? One where man is more than nature or one where man and nature can be considered one with each other and have some semebalance of equality. I think that would be interesting too see which one is the “right view”. In the reading written by Rickhard Lalander it goes into to explain how in countries like Bolivia and Ecuador how they’re giving nature and aboriginal people their rights and how it might shift the common narrative associated with both. I think this is an key movement because in giving rights too both of those groups now we can see a model of how it would look like too give nature rights and how it could be defend and taken care of. Now I know these aren’t happening in the “powerhouse” countries but none the less it doesn’t take away from the fact that it is happening to begin with and how much of an impact this can have down the line. Just imagine 50-75 years down the road of nature had actual rights and respresentation how much different the world and maybe the economy would even look. Change has too start somewhere with someone and something and this is a start that can possibly can lead too bigger and better change for future generations.

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Week 8 blog post (camping)

Over the past weekend as a class we went on a camping trip. To give us a better perspective and understanding of nature and how we a humans play a role in it. The camping trip was an experience in itsel, I’ve never been camping before so everything was new too me. The process of setting up the tent with the tarp and using the sleep pads and mats was just different for me. Then the whole experience of cooking outside and using unconventional methods to make sure that everyone ate and was taken care of. This brought my mind to a new place in seeing and understanding that I was very closed minded and it kind of opened my mind a bit but not that me. To me camping is something I’m not comfortable with and I don’t know if I ever will be but the experience gave me an somewhat understanding of what to expect and how to act and do when camping. The views that was present on the camping trip was beautiful. From the top of the mountain to the multiple waterfalls we went too everything was just a place of wonder and amazement. The waterfall cause my eye in particular because it was just so calming and had a sense of peace too it and just being able to sit there and think and hear everything going on was beautiful. Also when we went too the top of both of the mountains and had to sit in silence it was everything too me. That was so important and vital because it caused me to sit back and have that moment of calmness and that connection with nature. In both Monsta of silence I closed my eyes and just let me mind run wild and my thoughts we the most calm I’ve ever experienced and it helped me clear my mind of all the madness that was going on. It made and extreme difference for me in that it made me change my train of thought and helped me to get in a better mood and better mindset and cleansed me. I want to touch on the first reading that we had for the trip which talked about the relationship aboriginal people have between themselves and the land. This was a mainstay of our trip. In our camping experience we had to learn about our own relationship between the land and ourselves. I say this because our camping site was something we as a group has responsibility too and we had to take care of it and make it our own. The aboriginal have a spiritual, emotional, and mental connection too the land and it goes far beneath anything we can grasp or considered. Aboriginal people see themselves as apart of the land and them being one with the land and that the land is them and they own it too the land to do everything possible to take car of it and comfortable it. In the end this leads to them having a great deal of respect and admiration for the land that we non aboriginal don’t have because we don’t have that relationship with the land. We have “ownership” of the land so our relationship is different it’s so that we own the land and can do whatever we want to it. Where as the opposite is that we don’t own the land, the land is apart of us and we need too take care of that. Those two key differences are simple but yet so meaningful because it shows how different views and beliefs can thrive in multiple situations. In the second reading written by Aya Hayashi it touched upon the relationship between the Japanese and wilderness. The Japanese have a more western view of nature so they fall inline with America’s view of nature and that they own it and that it is something that is often brushed off and put too the side. The Japanese only value nature because of the benefits that they can get from it and that is a one sided relationship that can be seen in a negative light. That one way street is how majority of western cultures view nature though and it is sad too see because nature is more than just what we as humans can take from it. Nature is beauty, nature is divine, nature is survival, nature is just as important as human life and without it we as individuals don’t exist.

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Protesters’ and Rocky creek Dam

This was one of the more easier experiences we’ve had in innovative encounters. I say this because it was a very calm and easy walk that didn’t require a lot of energy or effort. It was simple and sufficient. This was a very humbling walk as well. For the majority of the walk it was a group but then when we reached the top and the men were told that they had to stay down and only the women could go up it caught me off caught. In my head I’m thinking why can’t we go up? Then Soenke explained the culture and the dynamic of the environment that we were in and it was a sacred birthing grounds for women and only women were allowed. So I’m hearing and understanding that the men humbled ourselves and our egos and listened to instructions and stayed down while the women went up and enjoyed themselves. It was a unique experience because it showed how separation cause be used in a feminine dominate way and it showed that yes women have their private spaces just the same as men do. For me honestly it was a good experience it put me in a place of humility and perspective because now I have to respect the culture and understand the reasons why this was a woman’s only section. Then on top of that learning that outside perspective and seeing why is it so important to understand respect and integrity while taking the walk. Nigel pointed out a vital question though, he asked “how do we know if men follow this rule or even if they have the knowledge to know about this understanding?” In all reality we don’t know the answer because their could be multiple people that have no idea about it and just go up there because they want too see the view. Then on the other hand there might be those who know and then choose to ignore the facts and do as they please. This situation is difficult because no one is there to enforce any rules and there are no signs letting anyone know about this. What this comes down too is the want and the availability to have the knowledge to know about this rule before going too this area. In the Val Plumwood reading it speaks about nature and how it is feminized and this true. It states “Nature has been feminized and women naturalized so that the understanding these connections is necessary to understanding their respective oppression.” (Plumwood) Plumwood makes a valid point because nature is feminized, look at the basis of it “Mother Nature “ making nature a women so that it feels more “comfortable or soft to talk about”. I think that this narrative helps contributes to the lackluster response and care that nature gets. I think that because it is feminized that people have the tendency to respect it properly and feel like they have control and domain over it. Especially in a male dominated society where the opinions of men dictate the views and out looks of women. I think that cause nature to suffer because nature is treated like an “emotional woman that doesn’t know what to do or how to conduct herself in a proper manner”. Honestly it is disgusting to even think or speak like that but that is how the majority of people view nature in that tense.

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Brunswick Heads Beach Walk

The walk on the beach for me personally was a calming moment. Even though there were people there it was a moment to just look and observe nature is a quiet moment. I say that because with us walking in silence and just really having observation or what was going on it made the walk more meaningful and definitive. It gave a purpose to the walk and how we observed the beach and activities that were going on while we were there. What I found interesting was the way the beach was setup with the rocks being a stable of the beach. It was different from what I’ve seen of beaches. The rocks are more far away than up close to the front where the majority of people are. This also reminded me of an ideology that was brought up in the first reading by Sarah E. Boslaugh and the idea of Anthropocentrism. This viewpoint argues that humans are the most significant and important factor in the world and that they have domain and superiority over nature. (Boslaugh) This concept to me is far fetched because humans and nature having a working relationship. It can be seen and understood that yes humans do dominate nature but that isn’t the case all of the time nature has had it moments where it has been on top of mankind. It just that looking at this from a purely human perspective then yes with everything that we do too the earth it can be seen as that but nature has made its impact on society. In all this ideology is one sided and I would disagree with it because we’ve seen hurricanes, tsunami, typhoons, and tornadoes have an impact on humans and that’s nature now being the one dominating humans. So for me personally that ideology is a mood point. In the second reading written by Joseph Stromberg he brings up the idea of Anthropocene. That is the idea that mankind has done more damage to nature than good for it. Stromberg uses the examples of mankind causing mass extinction of plants, animals, and polluting the ocean as the reasoning behind his beliefs. (Stromberg,2013) Personally I would say that this ideology is correct but it is also one sided. Mankind has made positive impact on nature. The example I choose to use is the beach that we took out walk on. Humans had influence in the area which helped make the beach as beautiful as it was. Whether it be from the rock formations, too the sand, or the bridge and streets that lead too the beach. All of that leads too the positive relationship that humans have had with nature. It may seem like it’s one sided but in reality I think there is a little more balance than that.

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Byron, Lighthouse

On the trip last week we took a stop to Byron Bay and visted indigenous ground. In doing this we able to get more background and information about aboriginal people and the history to them and their culture. It was interesting to hear and try to understand aboriginal people and their struggle with “white Australia “. I say this because I am black myself and I can identify and understand that struggle. I know what it is like to be a person of color and to have a culture forced on your and your own pushed down in the shadows. It was amazing to hear the history of aboriginal Australians because they’re Australia’s “forgotten people”. Too see how they still are here and they’re holding on their culture and finally starting to be recognized as people is astonishing. To be held in such a negative light for the majority of their time in Australia and to be still held in that aspect just with a little more respect and rights is just hard to understand. From the front where it was spoken about how they came onto their land to the lighthouse where they hold it as sacred ground. Then walking from there down to the beach and being able to see everything first hand and hear the stores from someone who identifies in with the aboriginal community was spectacular. It gave true and real perspective and so much understanding to aboriginal people and their plight in Australia. Coming from my perspective personally I can understand the struggle of aboriginal people. Being a person of color anywhere in the world is difficult from the jump. Then too add on top of that the fact that being a person a color has had the connotation of not even being a human is even worse. So in all that feeling of fighting for their rights and their culture to not be taken from them is what I feel myself. The facts are the facts aboriginal people and non aboriginal people are not the same but that doesn’t mean that one should be held over the other. No one should have to have that feeling and that situation ptesentented to them. I loved the trip to Byron lighthouse and the history lessons that were given to us that I hope everyone takes to heart.

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                    River Heading out to Sea at the Coast of Fiji

              Travel Gurus - Follow for more Nature Photographies!

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Nature & culture

Nature is such a beautiful dynamic. Whether it be with or without the influence of humans. I say this because nature left alone is amazing. From the trees, plants, leaves, water, mountains, and ice and etc.. nature left alone is one of the most impactful sights anyone individual can see or even understand. Nature with the influence of mankind is flawless also. The reason for saying this is because looking at not everything aspect of human influence on nature is bad. Yes we have humans have done so much damage to our own environment that we are completely changing our own nature. Nonetheless that doesn't take away from the fact that there has been restoration of rain forest, tropical jungles, and other climates based on the touch of mankind. Mankind has left it in print on natures whether it was good or bad. Mankind ha made sure that whether we are here or not nature will have its impact on the world surrounding us. Now let's do ourselves a question, what is particularly nature? Can we have nature without humans? Is nature just the "natural" flow of the earth? To me nature is its purest form is that when it has no human influence because the beauty that comes with that is absolutely awe inspiring. Being in a rain forest or even a reserve that hasn't had the hands of a human touch it is simply divine. You can feel more in-tune with all of it especially if you have silence while walking through it. Silence during a hike can make you more in-tune and demand more from your senses and your pay more attention to the environment. You can learn and have a better appreciation and understanding of what you're observing. One can argue that nature is the "natural" flow of the earth. But then again the question can be asked what is something that is "natural"? That word in itself is hard to pinpoint and define. The way natural is used is to define anything that is the norm or the common place for any aspect. So when we speak of natural nature there is the assumption that, that is nature alone by itself. No outside influence or touch from it. In reality is that really nature though? Can we definitely say that is "natural nature"? To some the answer is yes absolutely and to others it's no. To those who say yes it's because they believe in leaving things as they be and letting nature have its course. To others outside influence is apart of nature because yes it's coming from the outside looking in on the perspective but none the less it is still apart of it and still there. In terms on speaking on the fact of are human apart of nature? In all honesty I'm going to say maybe because humans live in nature just as trees and plants do and waterfalls and everything else that lives in natures. But humans impact nature in many more ways than any plant or fungus could. In the end though nature is what it must be for the parts that are considered to be inside of it and even from the outside looking in on nature. What I personally took away from the hike was that it was good for us as a group to not talk during the hike because it gave everyone the opportunity to just be able to observe everything they needed too and let their eyes, ears, hands do all the talking for them. Seeing the waterfall was beautiful the rapid flow of the stream was so calm and just peaceful. It was as if the water was talking and giving its notes on how to relax. I especially liked how everyone actively took part in the hike and everyone was able to give their own observation that opened up dialogue for the whole group so that we could have that feedback from one another. This in-turn gave the group as a whole a chance too have influence on one another and make positive impact on each other's though process.

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Sand Dunes

During the hike we took it was an adventurous one. There was so much beauty in the mountains and it was a life changing experience. I felt so calm and at ease with everything because of the environment and just the setting of everything. What caught my eyes during the walk was how the different breakdowns of forest are and how they're are unreserved and reserved ones. The sand dunes were awe inspiring and breath taking. Walk on the beach and putting together the little hut was divine. Then going through the forest and putting together the woman on the tree was interesting because we learned new information and we also helped for a good cause. Nature to me is the beauty and just the natural flow of everything around us as individuals. Nature is just being able to take a hike or a walk and just be in the trees and away from everything. Just to be one with the loving and natural flow of the earth and just being able to take a deep breath and take it all in. The understanding of the environment is fundamental because we as people often times take our environment for granted and not appreciate what is around is. Instead we abuse and misuse what the earth has given us. We as individuals have a sense of entitlement and that shouldn't be apart of nature. Nature should be a effort from each individual to keep everything around them pure and not to have the selfish ideology. I say this because nature does so much for people and It can't ask for anything back it's just there to deal with whatever we as people do with it. It's just something that is sad but true. In all reality there needs to be a better sense and semblance of taking care of what takes cares of us. Whether that be nature or individuals there needs to be more of a commitment to the betterment of taking care of what is needed and not what we want because in the end that is a one way street that doesn't end well for anyone. It only leads to an unstable relationship and a need for resentment. It might not be said or can be said but it is always there and will have a way of coming out whether it's natural or forced. Nature is simplicity to me and simplicity is nature.