Tue 2 Dec 2008
For me, an effective service-learning experience would embed one with a tickle or giddiness that would require one to share their experience to the world. The foundation of this AfterWords blog is to allow us to reflect on our realization or revolution that may have occurred during L.E.A.F school or at an outside service project. Even though this fall quarter LEAF school’s service-learning experience is smaller in comparison to the full 300-hour, 15 credit summer LEAF school; your itch might be smaller but it’s still there.
In my previous reflection regarding the Summer LEAF School, I mention how this course has been the best thing that has ever happen to me. While this class has overwhelmed me with inspiration and motivation, I am grateful for this experience that I could not have gained though other EDCC courses and/or in personal life experiences. These community partners we worked with has also taught the course in another point of view aside from our professor and elaborated on the course materials that furthered our awareness. Through physical discomfort and service works, I appreciated our partner’s efforts in fighting for changes. They encourage and inspire me to continue in my attempts to try and save the world from itself.
Now I want to know what made you tickle…
What was your most important insight from your sit spot, stuff survey and the class in general?
Web links:
Nature Deprived. (another reflection)
L.E.A.F. photos
December 8th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
My Reflection:
I would have say that this course has changed my life forever. I will never look at nature or my surrounding the same way ever again. I now know what is surrounding me when I take a walk in the woods or even down my street. Helping the community has impacted me on so many levels. Physically, mentally and emotionally .Physically I became stronger. My arm and leg muscles have grown bigger than they have before. Mentally I know more about the environment and what positive as well as negative impact I can make. I learned what trees were and plants were around me at all times. Their names will never leave my memory. Emotionally, this class reminded me of the day when, my father was alive and when we would go for walks in the woods. Everyday was a different trail to blaze through. Thank you Tom and can’t wait till next quater!
December 8th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
It started the quarter before, but took a strong hold this one in any number of ways. In class, during my sit spots, and through the frustrating research for the stuff surveys… the realization kept hitting me: how completely unaware and unobservant I am.
It was in class that I first started to notice how much I didn’t pick up or didn’t appreciate this summer. The weather for one and how lovely our summers are when one spends an autumn in the rain and mud. But in spending our days wet and cold, it repeatedly struck me how willing the students were to accomplish their task in spite of the conditions. I forgot this aspect to people. Oddly, I am not one who generally is bothered by the rain, but having the recent memory of beautiful summer days as our work setting, made the fall cold seem like a big old road block to me. It wasn’t for anyone else though, and that tenacious spirit was not lost on me. I will say though, the tasks completed this quarter were made sweeter for the added challenge. Like a greater sense of accomplishment. (With the exception of building bridges and carrying the materials up hill, both ways….that still takes the cake!)
My sit spots were challenging to say the least. It was hard to make the time, if even for 15 minutes, and it was harder yet to sit still and focus for that duration. My chosen spot was one near my home, and one I frequently visit as it is. I never saw it for anything more than a pretty group of trees and a fun place to take the dogs to explore. To sit and watch a whole new world unfold around me, one I never saw before in a place I have seen a hundreds before was not only eye opening but it was horrifying! For one, it was awful to realize how much I’ve missed, and for two, I was distinctly uncomfortable with what I saw. (Lots of creepy crawlers.) Right, wrong or indifferent, it is much easier to see a tree as a piece of art than a living breathing ecosystem.
As for the stuff survey, I began that particular journey during the summer and was impacted then. Having to track down the origins of the fruit I eat led me to join a CSA. To expand my research this quarter to include a whole host of items in my house was absolutely infuriating. I knew the journey to be difficult, but I was appalled to find it nearly impossible to place products with all the ingredients. What’s more: it was more than once I was informed the information I sought was “proprietary” and essentially none of my business despite being the consumer. Somehow this makes sense people. How would I be aware of this absurdity if not for this task though? Would I be aware of my ignorance?
I am sure my eyes aren’t yet fully open. But at least I can see the good intentions of others, another layer to the world around me, and the need for understanding what I buy.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Going into the second quarter of my LEAF School, I thought I had experienced all there was to offer. I had learned about our ecosystem in both the natural and civilized settings, as well as their interrelations; worked first-handedly with not-for-profit community partners, all of whom are wholly dedicated to the restoration of our natural world and its inhabitants (human and non-human alike); discovered within myself what drives not only my enjoyment in life, but the totality of my being; my home. It seems that once again I had much to learn.
As I spent more time in LEAF, I increased the magnification of my world view, from the globalized-yet-centralized consciousness of the information generation toward the roots of our ancestors and living in a state of constant present. I hadn’t realized how applicable the experiences offered to me right in my neighborhood would be to my continuing education.
Learning hands-on and in-field feels so alien to the learning I have always been accustomed to, as I realize that lectures, completely informational and wholly abstract from context, were not the original ways of knowing; experience is the best teacher, because your as your mind can wander, your body is ever present. The more involved you are in any activity, the easier it is to retain; LEAF is a prime example. The knowledge your body retains is something no informational lecture can replicate, no matter how poignant. In LEAF, I can with all honesty reclaim an ancient form of knowledge, one that sustained our ancestors for hundreds of thousands of years, before we could even call ourselves human; in LEAF, I reclaimed original wisdom.
As if that weren’t enough, I know that my efforts toward my Associate of Arts transfer degree and self discovery are also aiding in the health and vitality of my own community. Each day I know that the work done, even if it is to go unnoticed, is another cog in the vehicle which will restore our ecosystem to its long-forgotten and rightful vibrancy. No day had passed where I had not be thankful for LEAF School and everything it continually offered to me and the home I love.
December 8th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Reflection
Each quarter that I reflect on the LEAF School class I am struck by how much I have to reflect on. You would think that the longer you take the course, the less there would be to say. However, I find that each time I reflect, I make even more observations and distinctions about all that I have learned. Before, most of my thoughts were centered on all the new plant species I learned or the community partners I met and how they interact. Maybe I would make observations about the changes I wish to make in how I live my life. Sometimes I would think about the relationships that were built between students.
Today I reflect on the same components. The difference seems to be in all the smaller pieces and connections that have formed in my thoughts; that new plant species I learn on a hike or better yet, an old plant species that I see in a new way. There are the community partners that I have worked alongside many times. I attend a conference on farming and run into the same partners in a whole new context. I decide to build more changes in my day-to-day life and find myself wanting to take the role of teacher and live the life I want others to lead.
The beauty of reflection is the depth and texture it gives to each experience, making them new even if the tasks are the same. So, my reflection for this quarter is that the connections we make with each other is the web that brings the rest together. At the start of each quarter, there are always people signed up for the course that are comfortable with nature and those that have never been to more than a park. There are those individuals who are afraid of spiders or snakes and those that are afraid of very little. There are poets or philosophers and hard workers. By the end of the quarter, the same personas are still in the class, they just might be in a different person. Personal transformations occur and build connections between us all. It is these connections that make each task so rewarding.
December 9th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Let me first point out that I don’t have word on my laptop so please excuse me for any typos or grammar mistakes that may arise. So, now on to the analysis!
One of the points I’ve made in my own personal growth has been the worth of the environment in bringing oneself closer to the world and the universe’s infinite nature. I had previously taken it upon myself to use ocean fronts and hilltops for meditative purposes. Though, in order to do so, I had been alone for my journeys and, thus, unable to bring together society and nature. In my last journey, during the summer, I ended up at the beaches of Kalaloch National Park and was admittedly unable to procure the enlightenment that I sought there. Now, after many months of spiritual growth, I have been able to see how nature, with the addition of man, can help me reach my cause.
The most significant aspect of this course came to me this last Friday when I saw someone start getting shivers around the area where the railroad workers had died. It was then that I truly started thinking as an observer of humanity. I asked myself, why is it that this person feels this way? Certainly it could have been that winter brings out dead surroundings and that we, as humans, tend to lend our emotions to the contructs of what we cannot understand. We find death in winter and therefore feel a spiritual cold while otherwise, in the summer, that chill may not have even happend. But, of course, there are many layers that overlap this feeling such as stress or something more universal(I, of course, have my own universe theories that are far too long to explain but, as a hint, I’ll tell you that its primarily based on the string theory and a historical evolution of the universe).
I guess I should move on to what the final essay actually requires and discuss the stuff survey. This quarter I decided I would go down the list of everything that is in my vitamin pills. Of course it ended up fairly unusual and I didn’t find anything too alarming. There was one substance, I forget what it was called, that seemed to have a considerable amount of negative effects and the FDA disaproved of anything that contained it. Of course I was fairly alarmed to hear of this and once I finish my bottle I plan on searching for some new vitamin tablets withought the substance.
For next quarter I hope to find a better sit spot. Frankly, as much as I enjoyed the time alone, I felt far too crouded in my area. You see, its near train tracks and homes which can, at times, damage the effects of its environment purposes. There were certainly animals and birds in the area, its near the woods, so I was able to get something out of it but, unfortunately, I still felt like I could have gotten more out of a more secluded area.
So there you have it! Some analysis of this course. It was definately enjoyable and I hope I can go in next quarter with more analytical thinking than I did this quarter for now I know what to expect and what to look for.
December 9th, 2008 at 12:33 am
In anthropology 101 I never realized how much fun service learning could be. It’s not only the aspect of being able to help the environment it’s the self fulfillment I receive from knowing that I just significantly helped someone and I did it all for personal enjoyment! This class has been a really rewarding experience for me! Every trip and every project we did, we got to walk into an environment that may have invasive species or trees need to be planted! And you can walk away seeing what great progress you have made. I can’t wait till the days that are years away when I get to go to these specific places and be like, I participated in making this a more sustainable environment!
On top of the class aspect, we had outside assignments, sit spots. These sit spots were actually quite enjoyable, I was able to pick a spot that’s removed from my everyday situation and busy life, and just absorb all the beauty of the specific place that I choose, which happened to be Picnic Point beach, which I love! After only a few weeks are started asking myself questions like, how come this plant survives in this part of the beach but not up farther on the coast. That’s when it hit me, I was actually learning on my own, outside of the classroom, I was really using the skills from class in the real world!
We did things referred to as “stuff surveys” where we would look at an item that we commonly ate or enjoyed that we may take for granted. Do we actually no where this particular item or product comes from. For example I did my Minute Maid© orange juices, only to discover where most of my oranges come from are not in America, they actually come from Central America in the winter months. And apple juice, they harvest all the apples during the apple season and then hold onto all the juice in big tanks, until they are ready to be poured and shipped to stores so they won’t run out! It was quite insightful to see how the products we enjoy are made, and is it done economically or am I supporting a bad economical business.
All in all, I enjoyed enrolling in this class, and I will be enrolling in it again to further my knowledge of my surroundings and to be able to be more involved in the community! The class is supported by Tom Murphy who does a great job teaching, and showing us how much passion he has! I really appreciate all the time and devotion into setting up such great field activities!
December 9th, 2008 at 12:54 am
I think I can find more interesting things surround me after I tooe this class, and the class changes me a lot. Because I did not really see what things surround me and I just walked by. From my sit spot and stuff survey that I realizd I have missed a lot of beautiful things, For the stuff survey, I know that I can understand what I am using everyday and what they made of and how or why we use them. For the sit spots, I usually do it at my house’s patio, and when I am standing there, I feel more comfortable because no one can bother me and I enjoy the wind and moonshine.
I really enjoy the time during in class and wish I can enjoy my life more!
December 9th, 2008 at 1:25 am
LEAF school is life changing. It’s the kind of experience that you can’t get from reading a textbook in a classroom. Throughout this whole experience I have instilled more knowledge about the world around us than I have experienced in my 4 years of high school. It first began at Meadowdale county Park/Beach, which is probably my favorite park. It was one of the first places I visited when I moved to Lynnwood. However when I took my first hike through Meadowdale, I didn’t really know what I was stepping into, until I joined the LEAF school and found out what I had been missing, an understanding of where I am and the role I play in this community. But that’s why I love Meadowdale so much because it was my first realization of where I was living and how I was affecting it. Because in my own little mind I would think “what I do only effects me”, but that’s not true because I am not living by myself. I am living with so many other people, not only in my house, but also in my community. What I do whether it be small or big does have an effect. Things such as plastics, I go to the grocery store and get the plastic bags they give out with my groceries. I thought that was no big deal because I thought I wasn’t hurting anything. “How can a plastic bag be not okay?” was what I thought or what I didn’t really think about it at all. But I did a stuff survey on plastic jars, then I also looked at some of the things that get posted by Tom on blackboard about plastic bags and it becomes shocking at the amount of plastic there is out there and how we’re disposing of it.
So it’s all this information that you get from LEAF school and what you do with it that makes it life changing because you can walk into something with a stereotype, you can walk into a park and think parks have trees and animals, but it’s not only trees and animals. There is a history to it that is still running into the present. There’s the human interaction that plays a large role. So you can look at something from the outside and not have much thought to it, but LEAF school lets you walk into the inside and it gives you something to think about, something you can actually put into affect in your own life and that we also put into affect during class. So we really get the actual service-learning experience. It’s the service that we get and the knowledge we get back that makes a big difference.
December 9th, 2008 at 4:08 am
on the last sentence i meant “give” for the first “get”….opps
December 9th, 2008 at 11:22 am
I really love and enjoy my LEAF School at Edmonds! This unique experience has enabled me to learn more about plants,people, and the chance to make a difference in the community.
My most important insight of my participation of the Leaf school is being able to get this kind of education by being out in thhe nature to learn to identify plants, and the humans uses or those plants. I have learned over fifty plants during the last four quarters. There is no other classes, that I know of, that offers such a wide range of expeiences to learn from.
It is amazing the impact our classes have had, when we go out, and work with the community partners to help in the restoration of salmon habitats, or planting of native plants. We also removed plants that are invasive. This means the invasive plants takes over the native species of plants that is needed for a richer ecosystem that support salmon, and wildlife, and, of course, us humans!
One of our assignments was to go out and find a sit spot in nature to obsreve the world around us for fifteen minutes, several times during the quarter. We were to make note of our observations in our feild notes with the sights, sound, smells, and what kind of nature was happenung around us. Write down and identify plants, wildlife, and any human interactions that we observed. I really enjoyed being able to do this for my homework!!
The stuff survey was interesting. It was challenging for me. It was the task of researching the origins, and journeys of stuff we use every day, and then writing about it in our field notes. The book “Stuff, The Secret Lives of Every Day Things” written by John C. Ryan and Alan Thein During, was one of our text books. This little book made me realize of how consumerism isn’t so earth friendly. I looked up me favorite conditioner. There were so many chemicals that I couldn’t even look them all up!!
It made me realize that I should give up a product that could bring irreversable effects on the earth. It kinda stressed me out.
I will continue to participate in the LEAF School. I Always have a unique experience, and learn things about our human impacts good, and, not so good. We do make a difference, even if it is one LEAF School at a time!!
December 9th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
When I signed up for this class anthropology 101, I wasn’t aware of the process of the meaning of anthropology 101, nor what it is all about. But only I heard the word “leave school” so I went and talked with Tom Murphy to sign me in, and he was very outstanding and kind teacher and he explained to me the meaning of the leave school. We start explored in the environment and help out with the community, and take collected notes and also we were doing a site spots which, where we have to observe something and learn from the nature surround us. By doing that, it helped learn so much from nature around me. I never cared about the environment around me, until I took Tom Murphy’s class. It changed my life, from been a careless person who only think about herself and don’t know what is going in our environment, to a person who is very interested and willing to help out anything that protect our nature. I also learned how to become a farmer and how to have a great gardener in my house. I have so much experience in this class which made me to very proud of myself because I’ve learned things that I would never thought about. I’m very blessed and lucky to take anthropology 101.
This is my last quarter in Edmonds Community college. I wish would know about this class sooner so I would have chance to explored more information and learn more about the anthropology 102 and 103. I’m very glad that I took this class because it help me to understand more than just why people do farming or clean the wastes, also most important part of this class was learning how the evolution changes our environment and human welfare.
December 13th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
“” Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” — Mahatma Gandhi
I have tried to keep that in mind throughout my life, and I have found that it is applicable to many areas, from trying to conserve water and other natural resources, to following Miss Rumphius’s example to make the world more beautiful, or by simply being persistent in my attempt to continue my education.
Growing up in a Seattle suburb during the 1970’s I was surrounded by evergreens, and a state park, but sustainability wasn’t yet a buzzword- and if you attempted to grow your own food or recycle, you might be branded a “ dirty hippie.”
Still, I was drawn to the new environmental movement, perhaps as a way to rebel, I remember studying books like “ The Whole Earth Catalog” by Stewart Brand and “ Diet for a Whole Planet” by Francis Moore Lappe.
My families yard, shaded by 60 year old conifers, wasn’t the place to attempt to grow food, but my grandparents, who brought farming knowledge from rural Missouri to their home in Magnolia, were a big influence. They grew flowers, but also pole beans, tomatoes, and every time I would go visit them in the summer, my grandfather would shove a coffee can at me and growl “ go pick some raspberries.” We still have plants grown from their cuttings in our yard.
I always liked being outside, I used to sit up in a hemlock, in the corner of my parents back yard for hours. I couldn’t really see much from up there, but I liked the smell, & I liked having control over who bothered me. Interestingly, I don’t remember seeing much wildlife. Maybe some squirrels, and a few birds, but we didn’t have a feeder and since it was the suburbs, the cats, and dogs had the run of the neighborhood.
On the other hand, I have birds in my yard, not only crows & robins, but flickers, and stellar’s jay. I try to sit very still and immerse myself in the landscape as Craig Child’s did when he was observing mountain goats in Colorado, but once I conditioned myself that I couldn’t go dig, my mind wanders to what it was like here 50, or 100 years ago and what they would think of my taking out the laurel, that had been twisted into a topiary, and even taking out all the grass, and planting fruit trees, and salal.
I never expected we would still be living in this house, it was supposed to be a “ starter” house. I raised two kids and their pets in a space that is smaller than my mothers condominium in Bellevue. I constantly am trying to weed out our “stuff”, but now that my daughters are grown, or just about, it is hard to let go off things that bring up memories. I don’t think of myself as a collector, not like a crow, or a possum, but I do have a hard time letting go of books or other items, that someone might get more use from. For instance, my 110 year old piano. I don’t play it really, and it needs new felt, but it is beautiful and not only did I grow up playing it, but my mother played it when she was a child & it reminds me that things do last & that being useful isn’t always about being practical. I surely could use the room for another bookcase, but it holds the promise, that someday I will sit down at it again.
When I plant evergreen huckleberry and shore pine in my yard, or when I plant western cedar and red osier dogwood along a creek, I think of the creatures that will enjoy the shade & eat the fruits and spread the seedlings. I may feel I am making a small difference, but it is a positive difference and that makes me happy.
December 19th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Anthropology was very fun this quarter. I’m glad I decided to take this course again. This time around I learned a lot of interesting things between shrubs, trees, invasive, non-invasive, and even some new tracks to identify animals. The start of the quarter was awesome because the weather was great. When the quarter started to get towards the end it began to change to the worse, but the awesome class kept me motivated to keep showing up. It also very neat to see that there are classes that are hands on learning. Not sitting in a chair all day wondering when I’m I going to get out of here. This you can actually be interested in what you are doing. So I just want to say thanks for the awesome class.
March 17th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
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