Grandma Loves Trees, Gives Grandson Epiphany

Not too far from my hometown is a place called the Overland Park Arboretum. It was never really my favorite place, but my Grandma loves it. Back when she could make trips there more often, she would always have a story or three about what happened at the place since I last saw her. I’m pretty sure that part of it reminded her of growing up on the farm. Tall trees, beautiful flowers, pretty ponds, flowing streams, tumbling waterfalls, and the joyful singing of birds. It is as if all the best parts of nature were put into one area, without the required effort to travel to many different places to see them.

In a similar vein, my family’s vacations often involved hitting as many national or state parks as were on the way; sometimes these parks became the way. Part of me hated it, feeling like we went to the same place over and over again. It is easy to differentiate between Yellowstone and the Everglades, but do The Grand Tetons and Lake Tahoe really seem that dissimilar? As I grew older though, I started to realize that these parks were no different from the Arboretum: they are just gigantic gardens. And in viewing them as such I feel we can spend less time arguing about nature vs. culture.

Most people don’t live in a garden, that’s not what they are there for. Gardens have the express purpose of showing off the beauty of the natural world, even if mankind created the garden as we perceive it. No one complains about the rose bushes around my house (except me when I had to mow, darn things scratched me every time), nor the azaleas and lilies my dad plants, about how there not native to here or how in nature they wouldn’t have grown in those neat little rows. But people can go on and on about how beautiful the lawn looks, how well the flowers are blooming, and so forth and so on.  But if national parks are just really big gardens, why do we get upset that there are people who manage them and try to keep them healthy? After all, I already stated gardens are supposed to look beautiful.

This were I tell you that not just national parks, but the whole world is in essence our garden. We as humans already do with the land around us as we see fit, whether that be building cities, creating farmland, or keeping it “untouched.” And in viewing the world in this way, the idea of nature and culture being separate becomes ridiculous, as if a garden is separate from the plot of land on which the house it surrounds was built. Of course not! So we must understand that, for better or worse, we can shape our environment. We own nature. Sure, we cannot stop terrible storms from forming or stop droughts from happening, but for the most part, the ball is in our court. So it is time to start acting like homeowners and gardeners, not outsiders to place they don’t belong.