Villamin 1

Villamin, Gebb
Prof. Di Fiori
Envs. 01
14 March 2015
Footprint Finale
Before taking this Environmental science class, my experiences with nature have been
generally limited for the most part. I've been to many outdoor adventures with my family
whenever an opportunity for vacation settles in, but if this experience isn't new to me, I tend to
ignore the scenery in favor of locations that bring a unique quality to my senses. Instances of
these events are like the snowy mountain ranges that I went to a few years ago as it was my first
time discovering snow and its texture, quality, and aesthetic. That memory brought a lot of new
wonders and foreign sensations to my world as I had only lived in tropical places all of my life.
It's not that I don't appreciate nature, I guess I rather looked at it more with a broader appeal on
the outside without actually understanding the intricacies of each environment that holds
limitless potential. It's probably due to my introverted personality, but before I took the class,
there was this lingering feeling of repetition in my view of what nature was to my perspective. I
only viewed it for its aesthetic beauty rather than its simplicity and overall imagery. I've always
looked towards the visual aspect of what I saw in front of me instead of applying all of my
senses into what truly captures the moment that revolves around me. That's why I'm actually very
thankful for taking this class.
The first class was both scary and new to me since it took place outside of school. As I
commuted to my destination without much preparation, I began to see nature and the beauty
around me as I passed. It was a long walk, but it felt surreal to know that there were so many
things surrounding me that I didn't know, and was only further enhanced during class time when
we hiked towards a small, yet convenient spot in the park suited for a brief lecture. It was a

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breath of fresh air both on the inside and out since it was a new experience for me to be outside
of a classroom receiving an education while being in unfamiliar territory that piqued my senses. I
began to feel more and more excited for the new places that were yet to be discovered, and it
helped me gain new friends along the way. My relationship with nature in the past would have to
be one-dimensional in the sense that I only took the scenery at face value and dwelled only on
that thought. I began to realize that there was more to nature than what I saw, as I applied the
knowledge from my readings and notes to become more aware of how humans are affecting their
environment and the value of appreciating certain characteristics of the natural world that was so
foreign to me in the beginning. I came to realize that there must be communication between
myself and nature to truly grasp benefits that can be gained. As I learned more and more about
what makes nature so prevalent and relevant to daily life, it brought me to an important attention
to detail of what the future may hold in terms of cooperation and assimilation into a world that is
divided in half.
My new experiences with the locations I've been to allowed me expand my views on the
beauty of nature as a whole and my own personal ideas. I felt it a need to comprehend the
reasons why people love and appreciate nature in the purest sense by actually being in it, and it
gave me a feeling of my own worth as an individual searching for a place in this world. I don't
think there is any other way to experience nature than to actually be surrounded in it with its
diverse, yet slightly comforting atmosphere, abundancy of life, and rich perspectives that all tell
a genuine story. It helped me dwell upon my own memories of the past, my aspirations for the
future, and my place in the present by reflecting on what's most important to me. All in all, I
understood that nature was more than just something to be looked at, it was an entirely new
experience that must be shared, protected, and appreciated for how organic the world can

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actually be. Nature helped me believe that there is hope for a better tomorrow, but humans as a
whole must take a bigger step towards change by seeing the parts that make up nature rather than
to intake everything in itself. For what it is, I am very thankful for this newfound discovery that
I've seen through this last few class meetings as I gathered my thoughts, and I have gained new
friends and ideas along the way.
Trying to figure out the best possible way to a truly sustainable civilization does not have
a right answer, but an educated guess. It's difficult to actually develop such a plan when there are
many factors that must be checked such as balancing the socioeconomic, political, and
environmental aspects taken into consideration. The way I see the pathway to this resolution
must be in the form of at least two generations that allow the process for a basic frameset that
deals with the current issues at hand in order for other future generations to improve upon the
foundation of a real sustainable solution. The pathway is divided onto three sections that must
first be recognized: awareness, action, and independence. Although these aspects seem vague at
first, I will make light of this by detailing the importance of each one.
The pathway to a better sustainable plan must first be cultivated and ingrained into the
lives of human individuals. The process of being educated and aware of their environment must
become realized as the biggest step towards a better change. It is crucial that people young and
old to have a clearer understanding of their role in affecting the natural world because they
ultimately hold the key to what the future holds in store. By learning the differences of how their
impact changes environmental states and the overall effects of their actions in the present, they
can attain a more well-rounded approach towards their relationship with nature. There must be a
clear distinction in realizing that there is a beneficial gain in protecting and preserving the natural
world because of the ever growing danger of how limited our resources can be, and how

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effective our measures are in keeping a lifestyle that is both terrible for the surroundings but also
for the future. That is why awareness is the first step; by taking advantage of what we know now,
we can start to make positive developments that will leads towards a brighter future where
humans and nature can coexist and benefit from one another.
The second step is action; the process of this step takes place after a basic foundation for
the conditions of awareness in society to convert that knowledge into concrete form. This step is
very broad in terms of the diversity it holds over many fields such as figuring out better ways to
gather and distribute energy, changing dietary lifestyles that will favor a more nourishing and
balanced approach, cleaner transportation options, and other various fields that have yet to be
developed properly. All this resides in the "action" phase of the course to utilize awareness into
something that makes a small, yet significant difference. The importance of action dwells on the
matter that there is always something that can be done and improved upon with the right mindset
targeted towards future endeavors. Putting effort into changing ways that will provide long-term
improvements will contribute by an enormous amount such as conserving water, lowering gas
emissions, and making recycling a real prospect to work for. Basically, this pathway of action is
a proactive step that relies on the knowledge of what was gained and applying that insight onto
other fields that can benefit from it.
The last step emphasizes on the need for independence in society as the final pathway to
a sustainable future. What this term implies is that the current generation must bring it upon
themselves to use the knowledge and access of their newfound conditions and build upon that
growth in a steady and controlled manner. They are "independent" in the sense that what they
know is a fact about the relationship between humans and nature can drastically serve to help
future generations as long as there is proper care and maintenance of these values. By being

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independent in their acknowledgement of adapting to changes, this lays the groundwork for the
current generation to make that first step. It is then up to the second generation to further
improve the capabilities and faults of the former in order to start a pattern that will spread across
multiple generations.