What is considered natural is very hard to pinpoint in this day and age, as very little is left untouched by humans in some manner. \u00a0As a result, it is much more common to consider gardens, manicured lawns, and arboretums as part of nature, even if they are far from natural.\u00a0 This seems understandable when one compares such human creations to the skyscrapers and interstates that are a staple of American life.\u00a0 Through such a lens, Davidson\u2019s campus appears much more natural.\u00a0 One example of this is the large trees that surround the well located in front of Chambers.\u00a0 The size of those trees indicates that they are of significant age.\u00a0 It is unlikely that they were planted, but rather they are likely the remnants of a forest that may once have existed on Davidson\u2019s campus.<\/p>\n
Obviously this is not the case for the majority of trees at Davidson.\u00a0 A thorough inspection of the campus maps reveals a very detailed plan for the exact location and species of every tree located on campus. \u00a0The school devised a plan for what species of tree would be planted and in what designated area.\u00a0 This realization would have been impossible without the campus maps, and it definitely takes away from the natural appearance of the campus.\u00a0 At the same time, I do not think the natural feel that emanates as one tours Davidson\u2019s campus is completely negated by this realization.\u00a0 Compared to many other colleges and universities in North Carolina, like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Davidson appears very in touch with nature.<\/p>\n
This is where it becomes important to differentiate between wilderness and nature.\u00a0 Wilderness, as I see it, is what existed before human interaction or manipulation.\u00a0 Such a definition means that state and national parks are nearly all that remains of the wilderness in present day America.\u00a0 Thus, Davidson\u2019s campus obviously does not qualify as wilderness.\u00a0 The campus maps show that Davidson has been changed and transformed over the years according to human desires.\u00a0 This does not mean, however, that nature is no longer present at Davidson.\u00a0 The trees are still home to squirrels and there are enough woods to house the affectionately named \u201cCommons monster,\u201d several deer, and even the occasional skunk.\u00a0 While all of this is merely a remnant of the once untamed wilderness that existed here long before Davidson was ever founded, it is still nature.<\/p>\n
As far as the most unnatural aspect of Davidson\u2019s campus, I have to agree with Ian\u2019s anointing of the artificial turf inside Richardson Stadium.\u00a0 It resembles a cheap doormat more than it does natural grass.\u00a0 The artificial turf is also very painful to fall on.\u00a0 The little black pebbles that Ian mentioned are not easy on the skin if you fall-they destroy your legs and leave something similar to a rug-burn, only worse.\u00a0 The artificial turf is yet another example of the human transformation of Davidson\u2019s campus.\u00a0 Even so, as long as the trees, shrubs, and grass remain, Davidson will always maintain contact with nature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What is considered natural is very hard to pinpoint in this day and age, as very little is left untouched by humans in some manner. \u00a0As a result, it is much more common to consider gardens, manicured lawns, and arboretums as part of nature, even if they are far from natural.\u00a0 This seems understandable when … <\/p>\n