Energy and Place Project
Hueco Tanks State Park
For this project we got to understand nature and ourselves through many readings, writings, and by explore out into the bipolar world of Utah. The end goal was to be able to identify where in the world that speaks to the most us and how that place has shaped our environmental beliefs. We were able to explore different pieces of writing by Edward Abbey in Moab Utah, his sense of place, and were able to see how he viewed the world that he was so connects to through grand and artistic writing. Edward Abbey’s environmental ethic towards the world around him is only one of many that we learned about throughout this project. There are so many different views to be had about what is need for the environment based on the past that we may need to act on now for future generations. Do we need to conserve or preserve the natural world around us? Or should we think of the rest of the world as an ecosystem that we are part of? We are such an energy based species that can often forget to look at how much of an impact we actually have on the natural world. We were able to have guest speakers come in from the oil and gas, coal, and natural energy sources speak to us on what their source of energy’s impacts are on the world and what makes each energy different.
Throughout the past few weeks my writing has been molded by peer critiques, personal reflection, and lots of out loud readings. I struggled with integrating my environmental ethic into my personal essay and having it be balanced with my sense of place. I didn’t want to over power my essay but just writing about Hueco Tanks the entire time. To do this I started with the drive into El Paso, Texas to talk about both my environmental ethic and belief about energy. I could then describe how important my sense of place really is and how it’s surrounding environment impacted my connection to it. I felt like I was able to easily write in grand style, but I struggled with connecting my ideas and making my sentences flow. A lot of my writing tends to be very choppy and confusing when I first write it and it takes me many tries to get it right. Here is an example of my first choppy sentence; "Old climbing pads with spiky plants growing through them, lay as our seats as Sid enlightens us on his new adventures and connections to people and the land." After rereading through it and with the help of my peers I was able to make my sentence more clear and poetic; "We sit on spiky plants that grow through our old climbing pads as Sid enlightens us on his new adventures and connections to people and the land." A lot of my writing was inspired by my nature writings that I had written in the Utah desert because of how much it reminded me of the Texan wind and burning days.
This project was really powerful and emotional for me. I started this project feeling that I had so many sense of places and was concerned that I didn’t have any deep or meaningful connections. Going on the class camping trip was fun, scary, cold, emotional, and so inspirational. I had forgotten how much I loved the desert and how many memories I have made. The howling and brutal wind reminded me of all my childhood in Hueco Tanks State Park. I hadn’t thought about this climbing wonderland for a while because it is connected to some bad memories as well, but the more I thought about it I realized that even the pains of the past couldn’t break the connection I have to this place. Through writing this piece I was given the opportunity to look back and reflect on the place I have been before. I have never gotten the chance to appreciate the beauty of the rocks or describe the choking smog that engulfs the city. I now have new eyes as I look back into my memories. Everything is connected and I see how much action I need to take to keep the beautiful places I love preserved.
Throughout the past few weeks my writing has been molded by peer critiques, personal reflection, and lots of out loud readings. I struggled with integrating my environmental ethic into my personal essay and having it be balanced with my sense of place. I didn’t want to over power my essay but just writing about Hueco Tanks the entire time. To do this I started with the drive into El Paso, Texas to talk about both my environmental ethic and belief about energy. I could then describe how important my sense of place really is and how it’s surrounding environment impacted my connection to it. I felt like I was able to easily write in grand style, but I struggled with connecting my ideas and making my sentences flow. A lot of my writing tends to be very choppy and confusing when I first write it and it takes me many tries to get it right. Here is an example of my first choppy sentence; "Old climbing pads with spiky plants growing through them, lay as our seats as Sid enlightens us on his new adventures and connections to people and the land." After rereading through it and with the help of my peers I was able to make my sentence more clear and poetic; "We sit on spiky plants that grow through our old climbing pads as Sid enlightens us on his new adventures and connections to people and the land." A lot of my writing was inspired by my nature writings that I had written in the Utah desert because of how much it reminded me of the Texan wind and burning days.
This project was really powerful and emotional for me. I started this project feeling that I had so many sense of places and was concerned that I didn’t have any deep or meaningful connections. Going on the class camping trip was fun, scary, cold, emotional, and so inspirational. I had forgotten how much I loved the desert and how many memories I have made. The howling and brutal wind reminded me of all my childhood in Hueco Tanks State Park. I hadn’t thought about this climbing wonderland for a while because it is connected to some bad memories as well, but the more I thought about it I realized that even the pains of the past couldn’t break the connection I have to this place. Through writing this piece I was given the opportunity to look back and reflect on the place I have been before. I have never gotten the chance to appreciate the beauty of the rocks or describe the choking smog that engulfs the city. I now have new eyes as I look back into my memories. Everything is connected and I see how much action I need to take to keep the beautiful places I love preserved.
Below is an example of the critiques and suggestions that my peers made for my writing