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After discussing the parts of campus we saw as most “natural” and examined maps of Davidson College from years past in class last week, I initially found difficulty in considering Davidson a “natural” place. However, this interpretation hinged upon my definition of “nature,” and so I set about trying to define what the word meant to me. After looking up “nature” in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, I found two definitions that emphasized that nature resembles those parts of the world “not made by people” and that the forces of nature “control what happens in the world” (www.merriam-webster.com). I used these definitions to shape how I perceive both nature and environmental history. In part this perception finds itself within Turner’s Frontier Thesis as the interaction between not only how humans act on the environment but also, and perhaps more importantly, how the environment acts on humans. Using this definition also helped me find what is “natural” in Davidson College.
The maps we saw in the Rare Book Room initially struck me by how manipulated the campus had been. It was surprising to learn that nearly every tree on campus was strategically placed. Even our picnic areas have been completely shaped by man. A map of Hobart Park – the small picnic area behind the football field – shows that every plant in the park was selected and marked to be planted in a designated area. As discussed in class as well as in several previous blog posts, even the “nature” of the cross country trails has been forged by humans. When juxtaposed with my previous definitions of “nature” places like these are rendered unnatural. In this sense I agree with Chelsea when she says that college students and staff have “tampered” with the definition of “natural” because the heart of the word is truly being compromised. With this lens Davidson College is holistically an artificial environment.
On the other hand, I think it is important to remember that this in no way means that nature still does not impart itself upon Davidson’s campus. Nature is very present on campus and we can see it in a variety of ways. On smaller scales, we see this – as Ian noted – when squirrels scamper in front of us without fear, and every spring when the campus is raided by a horde of green inchworms descending from the trees. While man may have placed the trees there, nature still comes to exert control over our environment. In a more serious example, our tennis courts – contrary to the trees and representing one of the most unnatural facilities on campus – are also being overpowered by nature. Built upon one of the lowest point of Davidson, the tennis courts are warped and cracked as a result of the water that collects underneath the court surface following rain. In years to come these courts will have to be rebuilt or removed. Recently acknowledging this, the College wanted to construct a pond, yet another artificial “natural” campus feature, where the tennis courts currently stand. Regardless of how we mold this campus, the undeniable truth is that our creations and manipulations will be shaped by the forces of nature, and I think this fact exemplifies where we can find what is natural at Davidson.