Yosemite Plant Walk
In the middle of summer, I met in Yosemite Valley with other Parks people to celebrate Pride with Pattie Gonia.
It was a fabulous experience to meet others who hold the same values and I do while working in Public Lands.
During this experience, we broke off into small groups to focus on something wellness related. My group was a plant walk hosted by a member of resources that focused on botany.
We had planned to go about two miles to see a diversity of plants and restoration projects in the area. We got about halfway!
It was great to talk to someone who knew what the names of the plants were and purposes they hold. We sat in the dirt and looked deep, it was magical.
My favorite part was how talking about the natural order of plants became a metaphor for live. If we can see that we are all connected, then we would be more aware of what is around us and the energy we bring into the world.
While on this journey, I wrote down many notes. The following is my effort to make sense of them and create connections between the human and plant relationships.
My plan while working at the gate is to make people feel good about themselves. Their reactions may vary. I believe it is the hardest thing at the gate to receive other’s harsh reactions to the system we represent. Be you and share with people what you love about this place.
Logistics can be hard, but it is an area I thrive in. Being able to manage many moving pieces and come up with creative solutions is fun to me.
When I am confident in myself, I become a reassurance of support. Now I can share from my overflow and help guide others through the dense jungle of strategy
Subject experts are functional leaders. When there is a need, they find a solution.
In the world of Plant ID and botany, names are fluid and often shift over time.
There is a common name, usually a local name often describing how it was found or what it is for. There is also a standard name, the scientific name, where we can all be sure we are looking at the same thing. This name is developed from the species.
Roura is an indigenous plant here to Yosemite. You have to collect to understand. There is a California Wildflower App that can help with identification.
We are always learning new knowledge to share.
We heal through connection:
with earth
with others
with self
This is my fundamental belief and why I spend so much time connected with nature to remind me of the synergy of everything and my place in it.
Plants need diverse environments, just like we do.
When we look at the full picture, we can find sustainability even as we continue to grow.
There are lots of layers to get to the source and dissect the problem to understand how it works.
Dissection helps us understand how the fibers are put together, how it’s held together.
I believe that systems and societies, as well as groups are also held together by fibers and we can isolated them to understand how they work, what they need and how to make that connection stronger.
Miner’s Leaf is a plant that hold Vitamin C that helps to prevent scurvy.
Black Oak is important to the indigenous culture. It is a leafy size that evolved with fire. The eco, low intensity burns help neutralize the soil and create a place for new plants to germinate and grow.
Queer! Nature is gay!
Be natural, as it is.
The tribal community is a strong one that can survive and thrive.
Science and Nature overlap in beautiful ways.
Mindfulness is the neuro system.
Nature evolves humans and humans evolve nature.
The seasons fluxuate to provide all that is needed, growth and rest.
When the fire gets too intense, it becomes out of balance and the is destruction.
In balance, the low intensity helps cultivate.
Mother nature is the source of consistency and weather is the bearer of things to overcome.
We have both of these in society too.
Perspective is fluid. How we see fire has a lot to do with how it affects us directly.
Fire also eliminates pests and help the forest grow in ways that we first didn’t see.
When there are fewer trees competing for resources (water, soil, nutrients) they grow bigger and healthier.
The dead and down creates fuel for fire to burn that begins to move toward the out of balance area.
The forest ecology is always changing, adapting to whatever the times are right now.
Lightning strikes are the most common natural form of fire. There are many lightning strikes in the area, but not on the valley floor. There is a granite ring to protect it.
Fire, like most things, falls on a spectrum. There is healthy fire and also destructive fire.
The loss of our human built infrastructure often causes us to believe fire is bad. However, nature is more enduring than our fabricated buildings. Wildnerness needs a preservation that included a sacrifice of structures.
We are not permanent, we are here for a time and then we are gone. This is a heavy subject for a society that wants to create what it likes and then remain determined to keep it no matter what else is going on. An adaptable nature is what nature teaches me. There is always improvement, we just have to sometimes shift our perspective to find it.
Politics is one of the detriments of nature. It is hard to compromise on the differences of opinions.
We found these chestnut like things, a local treat. If you put these nuts in water and they sink, they are bad. However, if they float, they are good to eat!
More water means more growth.
Branch is both male and female. The pollen sperm, cup carpel, stamen, bisexual.
Spore, bamboo, abrasive silica, compost breakdown. Build strong stocks. less likely eaten
(Okay, this part of my notes, I didn’t fully understand, but it felt important to capture the key words because I may be able to decipher more later.)
Merced River Plan (MRP)
dirt dry, mosquito abandonment, grazing.
Original contractors restore the hydrology.
slowly returning over time
nutrients returning to the soil.
Human impact.
Paint something from that that is not there. Like a rainbow on a stormy day.
