To be completely honest, I’m not the biggest fan of trees—or even just plants in general. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve lived in Oregon my whole life and my eyes have become too accustomed to greenery to really appreciate a good patch of foliage, or maybe I’m another unfortunate member of a generation conditioned to prefer indoors internet time over a stroll in the woods. I can admit that my screen time is probably a large factor in my general disinterest for nature. It’s just so much more comfortable to explore beautiful scenery through an episode of “Planet Earth” (accompanied by David Attenborough’s soothing commentary) on my laptop than it is to actually get out of bed and go on a walk. However, I have enough self-awareness to know that this is probably not the healthiest mindset to have towards the environment, and I don’t enjoy the backlash I get from friends when I reveal this indifference either. So, this year, instead of my usual mix of English and psychology classes, I decided to “branch” out and add on a horticulture class on plant identification.
The format of the Woody Identification class is relatively simple: we go on weekly walks, collect plant samples, and memorize the common and Latin names of the plants so that we can know them by sight by the next week. And it would be nice to say that after getting a proper introduction to the local shrubs, pines, and bushes of our university campus, I developed an immediate affinity for the plant world. However, that is not what happened. I failed my first test and was left to question everything. It was a bit of a shock to my system to realize that I couldn’t even recognize ten plants that I had been passing by every day for the past four years. What was I doing with my life? That’s maybe a little too dramatic, but it did make me consider the fact that maybe I was too unaware of my surroundings.
After that first test, I decided that it was in my best interest to take advantage of this class and make a more serious attempt at touching grass. On all of our plant collection walks, I held on to the knowledge that at the very least I was getting my vitamin D intake for the day, and that it was probably helping my mental health in one way or the other. Although it makes me a little angry at how many similar-looking plants there are with such unnecessarily long names, I also got a close look at colorful flowers and unique leaves that I had never bothered to look twice at before the class. I also learned that there are many edible (but rarely delicious) plants and berries on campus, which I’ve been having fun exploring.
Even though it was a bit of a learning curve, I’m very happy to say that I have now become much more familiar with our local foliage and might even be open to taking a hike sometime far in the future. There’s a sense of accomplishment that comes from being able to name a plant to a friend on the way to class. Of course, most of my friends were pretty unimpressed and I can’t blame them, but I still feel a small amount of satisfaction at being able to rattle off varieties of hydrangeas and oak trees when prompted.
I’m hoping that if I ever encounter a life or death situation that hinges entirely on my ability to differentiate between a knockout rose and a double knockout rose, I’ll be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Overall though, I’m surprised but pleased to report that nature is not as overrated as I have assumed for much of my life. I’m sure that most people already feel this way and I’m a little late to the tree appreciation party, but for anyone on the fence about taking a little stroll in the woods: it’s really not a bad way to pass the time!
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.