Dan Matarazzo, Nolan Trail

The Nolan Trail gave me the opportunity to let my mind think beyond the confines of the classroom. The boundary between experience and lecture was absent as we ascended into nature. Unlike the classroom, where the only stimuli I get is the smell of dust and the occasional feel of the air conditioning vent, being outside allowed me senses to relate the physical world to the lesson I am learning. As we journey into the wood I can feel the trees and the brush get thicker around me, I can smell the pollen their flowers give off, and hear the leaves as the wind runs through the forest.

As I progressed deeper on the trail, the small details become more apparent.  I can feel the difference between large soft needles as I walk over them and sharp, firmer leaves that crunch as I step on them. My original view was that the plants were just scenery and had no developing role in the forest. However, the more I observed the more I realized that the trees, ferns, and bushes dictated who and what got to live where. They had the first and longest lasting say. They are constantly competing with each other; we don’t tend to think of it because we do not operate in the same time frame of the trees. The vegetation is competing against each other the same we that we compete.

The wildlife is competing against each other in real time. Our first experience on the trail is the osprey diving for food. Along with the competition among food and resources necessary for survival, there was another competition that was felt. One could say that it would be us humans projecting our own personality and views on life onto other life, but there was a competition for our attention, or to be noticed. When we came to the lake, there were no immediate animals in sight. Within 10 minutes there were about 4 turtles all gathered around. As to not be outdone the snapping turtle came out to out impress the small turtles

After spending time on the bridge I got to really take in the scenery of the lake. The prospect of the lake made me feel distant from the world. Even though our vehicles and campus was just a short 5 minute walk back on the trail. I by no means felt trapped but the way the water bended around the trees I felt enclosed. I was able to be at peace and not worried by the trivial problems of school and social life.