Step 4
EXPLORING NATURE: And then I saw. . .

The secret of seeing is the pearl of great price. If I thought he could teach me to find it and keep it forever I would stagger barefoot across a hundred deserts after any lunatic at all. . .although it comes to those who wait for it, it is always a gift and a total surprise. . .I cannot cause light; the most I can do is try to put myself in its beam. . .The secret of seeing is to sail on solar wind. Hone and spread your spirit till you yourself are a sail, whetted, translucent, broadside to the merest puff.

Annie Dillard

You will want to evoke a sense of the earth as it is revealed at your place. This might be a matter as simple as carefully observing details about the plants and other creatures that are there, of describing the place. As you do this, avoid words like "beautiful" or "majestic" which are abstract nouns and don't let us see, smell, hear, feel, and taste the world that is present. Pass on the information that your senses pass on to you.

But simple description, as important as it is sometimes, stops short of the most powerful writing, which aims for meaning. By now, you should have some general idea of what you would like to tell about your place. 

With this general idea in mind, do a bit of research into ecosystems like the one that exists at your place. If your place is a lake, read some scientific articles about lakes. If there are deer at your place, gather and read articles about the lives of deer. 

Read background science on the sort of place it is: is it a creek, a mountain, a lake or a pond? How long has it existed? What caused it to exist?

Go here to read one of our best nature writers, Barry Lopez, thinking about why people are so interested in nature writing.

Read some of the following essays that include thoughts about and observations of nature.

Aspens
Animals and People
Eating Dirt
One Grassland Grows Prairie Dogs
A West Fit for Man and Beast
The Flight of the Pink Flamingo

Writing Assignment

Write about some aspect of nature as it exists at your place. This can be a brief essay on the winter lives of chipmunks, on the ecology of boundaries between grasslands and forests, on the hydrology of rivers and streams, on the mid-summer feeding habits of grizzly bears, on why leaves change color in the fall, on how dragonflies "see," or any of a few million other topics.

If you have trouble getting started, take ten minutes to make a list of twenty questions for which you don't know the answer. Then pick one. You may want to go to your place, and ask questions about what you see there: What do the mosquitoes do when you're not there? What do the sort of trees that are growing tell you about the climate? What birds are there, and what do they eat? With your questions, you can begin research. 

This can include a visit to the library, but it may also include a phone call to the Forest Service, the Park Service, or some other agency that has specialists in biology. 

As you are writing, look for chances to include sensory details from your place that will help the reader fully experience your place.

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