Just Another Credit

When I signed up for “English 382: Literature and the Environment,” I had no real interest in the environment, and my attitudes about it were essentially non-existent. As I geared up for the semester, the course title seemed a bit daunting, but I decided to stick with it.  The course appeared to be just a credit I needed to fill, but the knowledge I gained throughout the class was remarkable. To credit the knowledge I gained, a few of the books we read really opened my eyes to how the environment has been affected by humanity. The most important books to me were Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and A Walk in the Woods, and I learned quite a bit about not only the destruction humanity has done to the environment, but also how we can rectify the problems that are now presented. Due to these books, I’ve found myself not buying water bottles, refusing plastic, non-biodegradable containers, and being more conscious of what I put into the earth. Also, researching the illegal wildlife trade blew me away, as there is so much that the public is blind to when it comes to the trade. All of the pieces of this course have shifted my attitudes and perceptions to a positive, but also concerned, viewpoint. I’ve focused on how I can personally change my habits to better the well-being of the planet, and I think most of my classmates would also say the same.

            In regards to writing and researching, my skills have greatly improved. I thought I was a decent writer coming into the course, but I learned I was lacking in some of the more basic skills, such as grammar, sentence structure, and also the dreaded comma. While I still have not perfected these areas, I have vastly improved due to assignments such as the comma exercise (even if it was accepted with grief from us). Also, learning how to properly research a thesis using databases and scholarly sites is a tool I will use for life, and I am very grateful for being correctly taught how to during the course. With practice, I believe I will be able to fine tune my researching skills already established from taking the class. The research also played a part in creating meaningful blog posts as well.

            The entire blogging aspect of the course this semester was new to me. I struggled with creating thought provoking posts at first, and not just meaningless narratives that meandered on to nowhere. Thankfully by the second batch of blogs, I felt much more confident in what I was sharing with the web. I focused on topics that irritated me, such as my post about cigarette butts, and provided solutions to fix the problems that I had a bone to pick with. Blogging about nature and the environment was a very positive experience, and I may continue on with my blog after the semester has ended. Overall, by taking this course I learned so much more than I could have ever imagined. I want to personally thank Dr. Triezenberg for making me critically think about the environment, and providing texts and videos that showed how we can fix some of the mistakes we have made towards the Earth. It has changed my attitudes about the environment in a positive way, and I owe it all to the class I mistakenly thought was “just another credit.”

Suicide Forest

Through many of our discussions in class, the idea of nature being a stress reliever has been brought up countless times. Any time this is discussed, I always think of a documentary I watched some years back about Aokigahara, otherwise known as the Suicide Forest on Mount Fuji in Japan. In this 14 square mile patch of forest, there have been hundreds of suicides since the early 1900's. Signs outside of the entrance of the forest warn those thinking about committing the act, such as, "Your life is a precious gift from your parents!" and "Please consult the police before you decide to die!". The signs do not often deter those who are determined to end their life, and they continue on into the forest. The scenery is stunning, with Mount Fuji overlooking the incredibly dense forest, and it is very easy to get lost due to the denseness of the trees. The forest itself is said to have an overall eerie feeling, and it is always suspiciously quiet. Also to add to the creepiness, personal belongings are strewn throughout the forest and stand oddly out of place among the beautiful scenery.

The Japanese argue that Aokigahara holds the souls of those who die there, and  those trapped souls can beckon people from far and wide to kill themselves within the grips of the dense forest. Once someone commits suicide in Aokigahara, their soul joins the rest and they continue to try and recruit more. All of this is considered to be folklore, but some really do believe in the myth. Despite the myths, most argue that the stress and high standards of Japanese culture are often too much to manage, so they enter into the "Most beautiful place to die". The history behind Aokigahara is haunting, and the idea of so many ending their lives in the forest is heart breaking.

Harking back to the idea of nature being a stress reliever, I personally believe in the idea and it has helped me in times when I have felt down or stressed. Although it appears that those who enter Aokigahara have one goal in mind, I am certain that there have been many who have entered and reemerged after decompressing through the forest. The calming sense of stillness in nature can switch your perception on life, and I highly encourage those who do have troubles dealing with stress to take a walk through nature. Life will always get better, but for some of those who enter Aokigahara they see no future ahead of them.

Smoker's Litter

I have always had a personal vendetta against cigarettes, with many of my friends being smokers, as well as losing my grandfather to bladder cancer (onset by smoking for 50+ years). Any time somebody lights up, I cannot believe that someone would want to waste their life smoking such a horrific substance. While I've known of the health effects for quite some time, I've been curious to what happens with the dreaded cigarette butt. What harm could such a little piece of paper, filter and tobacco (plus thousands of fillers and poisons) do to the environment? Well as it turns out, it is one of the most littered items in the world.

Tobacco litter represents "32% of all litter in outdoor recreation areas," according to a 2009 report by KAB Research, and "About 95% of cigarette filters are composed of cellulose acetate, a form of plastic which does not quickly degrade and can persist in the environment." Each time a cigarette butt is flicked outside a car window or stubbed out on a sidewalk, the risk of it contaminating the environment is high. Wind and rain often carry the toxic cigarette butt into a source of water, and then the pollution begins. Once the chemicals are in the water, any type of aquatic life can be left to die within their own habitat.

Although it does not take rocket science to understand cigarettes are bad for your health, I do not believe people think of the environmental effects when they light up. In a perfect world, nobody would smoke cigarettes and the environment and water sources would be clear of the contamination, but unfortunately this is not the case. What I hope this post does achieve though, is that maybe even just one person stumbles upon it and decides to take action. For example, with $11 million being spent a year in San Francisco to clean up butts, think of where that money could be allocated to instead! Hopefully one day we can live in a "cigarette-butt-free-world," but this can only be achieved if people start using the appropriate forms of disposal for their cigarettes.

Forrest of Roads

Three or four times a week I make the daily pilgrimage to Allendale from Grand Haven to attend Grand Valley. It's a choice I make to commute rather than live on campus, and during the fall season it's a choice I relish in. Throughout the fall months, especially in October, the trees lining Lake Michigan Drive are absolutely divine. The deep oranges and reds of the leaves paint the sides of the road a beautiful color, and each curve of the road brings new sights to see. The twenty five minute drive always goes by much too quickly, and when I arrive on campus I always wish I was still winding through the long backroads of Grand Haven. The chlorophyll breakdown in each leaf lining Lake Michigan Drive is a natural occurrence, but the rewards we reap from it are quite the splendor.

Pine's on the left (with a Burning bush in the far back right) and Maple's on the right line the road I drive each day

Through a bit of research I have learned that many of the trees that line Lake Michigan Drive are Maple, Eastern White Pine, and Red and White Oak trees. These trees show their true colors during the fall months, when their leaves go through the process of losing the color pigment chlorophyll. This exposes two pigments: carotenoid and anthocyanin. Carotenoid pigments create the yellow, orange and brown leaf colors, while anthocyanin creates the red leaf colors. As the veins in the leaf that carry sap in and out of the cells seal off, a type of cell tissue builds up around the stem of the leaf called the separation layer. As the separation layer becomes complete, the stem detaches from the tissue and

falls to the ground. This all occurs due to the decreasing temperatures of fall, and the trees do not get the same amount of sun exposure as they do during summer. When the fall months hit, all of these factors come into play and the trees lining the very roads we travel on become golden paths of sanctity.A question that arises from this though, is why do pine trees never lose their needles? It turns out that the needles are coated in a thick wax that stops the chlorophyll breakdown from ever happening, and the Pine tree stands strong through the fall months.

I find myself absolutely dazzled each time I take off for class early in the morning, and for good reason. It was mentioned earlier in this class that being in nature is a type of stress reliever, and during my drives to class I get a sense of this. Although I may be listening to music or sports radio, the stress of the day ahead is forgotten for the brief twenty five minute drive. The other day, I even switched off the radio and rolled down the windows to hear the crunching of the leaves and the rustle of the wind blowing softly through the trees. I don't often get this deep into something as trivial as driving to class, but in these past weeks I have garnered quite the love for these drives.

Old Man Winter

Working at a sandwich delivery shop (Jimmy John’s) quite frankly pits me up against the grips of mother nature, and it is especially awful during the cold, snowy months. Reflecting on my past experiences with this horrendous season we call winter, I recall one very specific night. It was a Sunday night, and I dreaded putting on layer upon layer preparing for work instead of sitting with the family and watching the Sunday night NFL game. From the time I stepped into work until the time I punched out, it was nothing but pure white snow falling and fast, piercing winds howling outside. Every time the phone rang and an order was placed, I threw the layers back on and trudged through the white trenches to my frosty red car barely peeking through the snow on top of it.

A photo of myself with the unbelievable mound of 

  snow in our front yard during this particular winter 

No matter how long the gap was between orders, I would have to grab the scraper and chip off the icy layer atop of my windshield. From then, it was an absolute nightmare as I attempted to squint out the correct addresses through the blinding snowfall. The snow seemed to be coming down in an unbelievable amount, and it appeared to be that the plow trucks could not keep up. My car slid amongst the deep, fluffy flakes and the wind pushed me around like a toy boat in a bathtub. It was truly terrifying, and at one point I had the thought, “Am I really going to die doing this delivery job? Really? This will be my legacy?”.  This continued on for hours, and I thought it was never going to end. I was stuck in some weird warp in time where I had to spend the rest of existence driving my beat up 1999 Toyota through the cold trenches of  the Hell we call Michigan. Fortunately enough, the orders started to become few and far between, and I managed to make it home safely after the shift. While I know this was all quite dramatic for the simple task of driving, it really was a challenge to face “Old Man Winter” head on as he attempted to beat me into oblivion. The seasons change so fast in Michigan, but winter always seems to be the hardest to get through. All we can hope for is that this winter is not nearly as bad as some in the past… although that is almost never the case.

So Close, So Far Away.

For this particular blog post, we were given a prompt to go off of: "What does Lake Michigan mean to you?". To me, Lake Michigan is something so close but often forgotten. Living in Grand Haven, I see Lake Michigan nearly every day. Often I just drive by, not taking in the utter beauty that the deep blue Lake has to offer. Today as I was driving downtown on Harbor Dr. which winds through town parallel to the channel that leads into Lake Michigan, I decided to stop and grab a few pictures at the state park. Today was a startling warm day, in the upper 70s, for one of the first few days of fall, and the beach was much more full than it usually is this time of year. The snow fences were already prominently standing, ready at any moment for a large blizzard to blow in off the coast. This was a reminder that the days of shorts and t shirts would soon be replaced by thick sweaters and jeans, and I'm not sure I am ready for the climate change yet.

This summer was one of my best ever, spent with long days at the beach swimming in the warm waters. During a week before Coast Guard Festival, my friend who now lives in Chicago was visiting family here in Grand Haven. He lives on a private beach just south of town, and we trekked a few blocks down from his house to the sandy beaches a few days in a row. After descending down the large flight of stairs, the view was absolutely breath taking. Below are a few photos I took from this vantage point, and you will get a sense of how great this view really is. I cherished these moments, as I knew I wouldn't be allowed on the private beach after he left back for Chicago!

So to return to the original question, Lake Michigan is often over looked by myself as it becomes a part of everyday routine, but when I really stop and focus on the beauty in front of me, I hold it close. I am thankful to live so close to a body of water many do not get the chance to enjoy, despite the fact it brings the worst lake effect snow in the winter! I would advise everyone to come out to Grand Haven sometime next summer and take in the stunning views it has to offer of Lake Michigan.

A...Lap In the Woods

This past Wednesday, there was a small field trip to the Blandford Nature Center in Grand Rapids, MI. This nature center features multiple different rails no longer than one mile long, as well as a small animal preserve where a few different animals spend their days lounging in the sun. I was not sure what to expect from Blandford, but I was hoping to get a taste of what the forest can truly give. After paying the small $3 fee at the visitor's center, the class was free to roam on the ground before meeting up again for apple cider and donuts out in front a small farm type building.

First, I followed the herd of classmates through the Wildlife trail to see exactly what Blandford kept on its grounds. A spattering of different cages and enclosures held owls, various endangered birds and a bobcat who was once held as a pet in somebody's home before a neighbor alerted authorities. Most of these animals were relaxing, so after the quick stroll over the wooden bridge I found myself on the "Back Forty" trail. From here, I broke off from the group and wandered through this trail by myself, and it truly was quite peaceful. I chose to go right at the fork in the trail, and it took me past a bog (pictured below) that was pretty stunning looking in the mid afternoon glow. From the bog, I meandered through the rest of the Back Forty, just taking in the overall atmosphere of where I was walking. At one point I had a thought, "Hey. I could probably hike the AT," but then 3 seconds later I glanced at my phone and realized I had been walking for 10 minutes. This truly was just a lap in the woods, and it was nothing compared to what people such as Bill Bryson have accomplished on the AT. Despite this somewhat startling realization that there is no way I could ever hike more than a few miles, I still enjoyed the mile or so I hiked throughout Blandford. Also, I can't complain when there was cider and donuts waiting for me at the end of the trail. Overall, I think I may go on a few different day hikes this fall to get a feel for truly what hiking is all about. Only time will tell if I will actually follow through with this, but the trip to Blandford was a good starting point.

Places I am From

I've always been glad I was never born and raised in just one area. My childhood and teen years were spent moving every few years, which was always hard to do, but I fully believe it has made me a well-rounded person. I was born in Columbus, Ohio and lived there until I was in the 4th grade, when my Father announced to the family that we would be moving to Austin, TX to continue his career in sports broadcasting. Throughout my whole life up until that point, I had assumed I would be living in Ohio forever; much like any other little kid who's main concerns are how many rounds of baseball they can get in or how many miles they can ride on their bike before dusk. It was a shock, and I was afraid to leave a place of comfort for a place of uncertainty. Alas, I entered the second half of fourth grade some 1,000+ miles away from where I started it.

Along with an absolute shock of trying to fit in to a whole new life, there was a nature shock as well. In Ohio, we lived among lush trees and the overall sense of "green" was present. In Texas... it was barren: dry, brown lawns, neighborhoods without a tree to be seen, and a heat unlike any other I had experienced before. It was quite an adjustment to make, but like everything in life I had to accept it and move on, both figurative and literally.

By the second half of sixth grade, it was time to pack up and move again. This time to Memphis, TN, where my Dad was moving up the chain of broadcasting to better and more financially stable opportunities, although this move was the worst of my life. I only lived in Memphis for 9 months, not nearly enough time to create friendships or fit in anywhere. It was a rough patch in my life, especially it being key formative years, but thankfully it was a short nine months and from then we moved to Grand Haven. We have been in Grand Haven since 2007, and it was an absolutely great place to finish growing up at. I still live in Grand Haven, and I love it. Our house is only 15 minutes from beach, and we live in somewhat of a forest filled neighborhood (as I type this I'm watching a squirrel attempt to steal some food out of one of the bird feeders). After I graduate, I have no clue where I will be heading. Basically, I have a mantra; "Follow the money", so wherever my degree in Management Information Systems is useful, I will head in that direction. Only time will tell where I will be going next, but with a lifetime of moves behind me I'm ready for anything.

Welcome!

Welcome! This blog will be part of the Grand Valley State University course ENG 382, Literature and the Environment taught by Dr. Christina Triezenberg (this is just a little background knowledge for anybody who happens across this blog). This is my first attempt at blogging, and I'm excited to see how it pans out over the semester! My name is Will Kaelin and have just started my first year at Grand Valley after transferring from Muskegon Community College. I live in Grand Haven, MI and work with my family at our two radio companies:  103.5 WAWL Tri Cities Broadcsting based out of Grand Haven-which is a low powered, non-profit station focusing on the community, as well as high school sports and classic rock- and Michigan Game Night, which is a brand new internet radio station that broadcasts Grandville sports. Along with this, I am a delivery driver at Jimmy John's, like to write/record music on the side and travel with friends.

With all of this taking up my time I really don't appreciate nature as much as I should. I know I'm not the only person who is guilty of this, as our society is so fast paced that every second of each day is utterly essential. Keeping this in mind, I decided to enroll in a class where I would be forced to work outside my comfort zone, and Literature and the Environment is just that. Even in these first two weeks of reading about the Appalachian Trail I find myself actually wanting to hike... something a mere month ago I would have scoffed at. By the end of the semester  I am curious to see where I stand on different topics we talk about and if my ideas have changed at all. Hopefully I will be able to slow down in an ever busy schedule, even if it's for only just a few minutes at the beginning, to appreciate the Earth that supplies us with so much.