Why: Why me?
I’ve been kind of a dilettante most of my life. Never had a career, just had jobs that funded various hobbies. Several times I’ve been excited enough by a New Thing to think this, this is what I want to do with my life.
But there’s an important common thread, whether it was mail art, zines, celebration arts (ie, Fremont Solstice Parade and other events the Fremont Arts Council sponsors), physical theater, photography, and now forest stewardship/restoration.
All of these activities had a low threshold for entering. You can do a zine with just a pen and paper. Glue stick, scissors, and typewriter are helpful but not necessary. And they had a high ceiling for ambitions. For instance, SubPop started out as a zine in the 80s, then they did a couple cassettes of NW bands, then they did a couple singles…
So it is with forest stewardship: The threshold for entering is to show up and pull ivy (or other weed). That can lead you into any number of areas: Urban restoration, urban forestry, target forest types and plant communities, community outreach, traditional ecological knowledge.
I have a lingering fear that I’ll walk away from forest stewardship the way I’ve walked away from so many other things in my life. But the only way to find out if that will happen or not is to fully commit to it wherever I am in the process.
Mirrored from Nature Intrudes. Please comment over there.