French 4335–Nature Writing and the Nature of Writing--Spring 2012
“Biographies of Nature" A Service Learning Project Designed to Educate the Public About New Ways of Seeing the Natural World
Professor Suzanne LaLonde
Students from this class were asked to create a “Biography of Nature” as their final project. It was a creative attempt to understand a particular natural phenomenon that usually we are totally unaware of or indifferent to. Students used different media: expository writing, photographs, videos, and recordings in order to present a topic in novel ways. The following statement from N. Scott Momaday sums up the very core idea surrounding the goal of this project: “Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular landscape in his experience; to look at it from as many angles as he can, to wonder upon it, to dwell upon it.”
Examples of Students' "Biographies of Nature"
"A Natural Newspaper" by Ivan Torres
"Dynamics Behind an Inert Living Being" by Nancy Chavarria
"Biography of Nature" by Nancy Chavarria
“Biographies of Nature" A Service Learning Project Designed to Educate the Public About New Ways of Seeing the Natural World
Professor Suzanne LaLonde
Students from this class were asked to create a “Biography of Nature” as their final project. It was a creative attempt to understand a particular natural phenomenon that usually we are totally unaware of or indifferent to. Students used different media: expository writing, photographs, videos, and recordings in order to present a topic in novel ways. The following statement from N. Scott Momaday sums up the very core idea surrounding the goal of this project: “Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth. He ought to give himself up to a particular landscape in his experience; to look at it from as many angles as he can, to wonder upon it, to dwell upon it.”
Examples of Students' "Biographies of Nature"
"A Natural Newspaper" by Ivan Torres
"Dynamics Behind an Inert Living Being" by Nancy Chavarria
"Biography of Nature" by Nancy Chavarria
INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT: How do we know what lies buried below an ant hole in our own backyard? Perhaps if we look more profoundly and carefully at nature, we may find something truly amazing as well as instructive. In other words, the ants may teach us not only about how the natural world functions, but also mechanisms and means of survival that humans could apply, as well. Consider the concept of "Biomimetics". As the name suggests, researchers study nature in order to create models and inventions that mimic the natural world.
The following example from scientists’ research on termite mounds provides a succinct example of the importance of Biomimetics: Termite mounds, such as this one pictured at left, are so remarkable since they harness wind to control climate in structures. These models of climate control could perhaps be used in the construction of our own houses and other architectural structures. (See further information on the research at SUNY Environmental Sciences and Forestry: http://www.esf.edu/EFB/TURNER/TERMITEPAGES/TERMITEMAIN.HTML )
However, this example of inspiration from the natural environment should not be limited to scientists. The "Biographies of Nature" project was designed to invite the non-scientist to decelerate his/her daily routine and to use his/her senses to locate natural phenomena that would otherwise been ignored. In short, this project invited students to view the natural world with the eyes of a scientist–with a keen sense of observation–while portraying those observations in creative, eloquent, and aesthetically pleasing ways, such as with the pen of a poet or a paintbrush of an artist.
The following example from scientists’ research on termite mounds provides a succinct example of the importance of Biomimetics: Termite mounds, such as this one pictured at left, are so remarkable since they harness wind to control climate in structures. These models of climate control could perhaps be used in the construction of our own houses and other architectural structures. (See further information on the research at SUNY Environmental Sciences and Forestry: http://www.esf.edu/EFB/TURNER/TERMITEPAGES/TERMITEMAIN.HTML )
However, this example of inspiration from the natural environment should not be limited to scientists. The "Biographies of Nature" project was designed to invite the non-scientist to decelerate his/her daily routine and to use his/her senses to locate natural phenomena that would otherwise been ignored. In short, this project invited students to view the natural world with the eyes of a scientist–with a keen sense of observation–while portraying those observations in creative, eloquent, and aesthetically pleasing ways, such as with the pen of a poet or a paintbrush of an artist.