Information is ridiculously easy to obtain.
Which honeysuckles are native?
What time is low tide tomorrow?
What is the species name for cordgrass?
To make information meaningful, though, we have to make it our own. We need to be active constructors of knowledge and not just passive consumers of data. We need to react and respond, question and compare.
And then we create, truly making it our own. Maybe we write about it, perhaps we sketch. And sometimes, we even get a little nervous and prepare a class presentation.
Which is why our Trainee Presentations are one of the most important (and personal favorite) parts of the Basic Training Course.
We were invited to be partners in wonder, and our topics ranged from oyster drills to oyster reef restoration. Geologic time loomed large and place was prominent — a day in the life of a creekside, the return of nesting green herons, and backyard visitors.
We compared horseshoe crabs to spiders and crabs, and worried about how truly invasive invasive species are. We marveled at the intricacies of controlled burning and the amazing culinary and medicinal uses of Salicornia. And did you hear us expertly calling for a barred owl?
Absolutely, there was plenty of information shared — but more important than that, there was spark and connection and understanding. Facts may come and go, but this is meaning we won’t soon forget.
All photos by Ann Quigley.