Ecology Project

As I sit down to write my last Clanfolk Education Requirement, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I'm happy to talk about something that's been a spiritually rewarding experience for the past year, and on the other, I'm bothered that my final portion of the project left me with some troubling thoughts. I'll start at the beginning, though; the project, in total, I think, has been a success.

For about a year, now, I've been tending to a small pond near where I work. I go there usually once a week, sometimes more. I leave my large office building, and begin down a long, winding, path to the pond. At the beginning of the path, there is a line of huge stones stacked on one another. They're about waist high. One of them has a very small, wide, depression in the top. I noticed it during one of my early trips down, and noted that it looked like a good place to leave offerings. Usually I leave a coin – often a quarter. It's almost always gone by the next time I go; I like to think that its been accepted on behalf of the nature spirits by one of the many rambunctious children that travel the path to the pond.

The path down to the pond is heavily forested. Although the area isn't rural, by any means, there is a patch of forest – probably 7-8 acres or so – that surrounds the pond. It's almost like walking a labyrinth down to the pond; the trees put the path in shade and it twists and turns before finally winding its way down to the clearing.

I've learned a lot at the pond. I've done circles of stones there, fed the ducks, and watched children, dogs, and parents interact. I went there to have a quiet place to cry after a former pet of mine died. I've brought back small pieces of nature to put on my desk, and I've taken them back and left them again as offerings. It's a sacred place, the pond. I think others recognize this, too – I've seen one fellow doing Tai Chi there, and the area seems to be a magnet for people.

Unfortunately, one side of the pond is close to a major roadway, and a lot of trash gets blown from there into the area. Also, it's near a shopping area – a well-landscaped, pretty, upscale shopping area, but that isn't enough to halt people from littering. To me, my tending of the area means honoring the sacredness of the spot – which includes trying to clean up the litter that others have left. Most days I'll pick up a couple of pieces of trash and throw them in the containers nearby. The problem is that the forest surrounding the pond gets especially messy, probably because it's so difficult to get in there and clean.

So, I decided to grab some trash bags and go clean up the forest. Perversely, today seemed to be the day when it was cleaner than usual. But,I was resolute. Today, by golly, I was going to pick up trash. And I found a fair amount, although part of me was somewhat contemplative while I did this – what, exactly, was the benefit of me picking up trash here, simply to move it to another place on the Earth? I couldn't help but notice, too, that Mother Earth is pretty good at taking care of herself. A number of things were quite decomposed, even though they couldn't have been more than a year or so old. While I collected recyclables, too, and put them into bins after I finished, the majority of the stuff that I found wasn't recyclable.

So, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I will continue to honor the sacredness of the pond – with offerings, with devotions, and by cleaning up the area. This project isn't really done, nor will it be until I can no longer easily tend this spot; at that point, I'll probably ritually relinquish my tending of the area. Looking back on the past year of tending, I think my tending has been beneficial, both for the pond and me. On the other hand, I feel bothered by some of the thoughts I had while doing my larger trash pick-up. The area is more attractive, and has less litter than before. But another spot on the earth now has more litter. Admittedly this other spot is a landfill – a human-designated a "junk spot". But still. I wonder whether some of the things I picked up might not have decomposed quicker and more painlessly here, where there was ample exposure to the elements.

In any case, it's difficult to talk about this project, because there is no distinct end. While it has been small in its day-to-day requirements, it has been an ongoing presence in my life for awhile now, and one that was begun and continued by my spirituality.