ENTS Special Places 

The sierra Club has a section on its website that I would like to emulate on the ENTS site. It is a section called "Our Special Places"

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What is a Special Place?

http://www.sierraclub.org/specialplace/ 

Big majestic places, or everyday places. A place that was special when you were growing up, or just last weekend. The places that mean something to you.

Spending time in nature is always important - especially so in times of stress. As former Sierra Club president and current summer camp director Chuck McGrady has said, "Each of us has a special place that heals us, that quiets our confusion and helps us to hear our own voice again."

http://www.sierraclub.org/specialplace/ourplaces/


The Sierra Club shares some special places to explore, enjoy and protect.

     "Sit under a tree, look at a brook, lake, river or ocean. Do something you enjoy. Whenever possible, take a few minutes to look out the window at the sunshine and the flowers. Remember that you are still free and that there is still beauty in the world."      from the Red Cross

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For example, this is a post made about the Okeefenokee Swamp by one Member:

http://www.sierraclub.org/specialplace/yourplaces/okeefenokee2.asp

I think we could do this for sites special to ENTS members. I could put it under a separate heading (cross-list it as well). Do any of you have special places you would like to write about to get the process started. I see this more of a section for places that elicit special feelings, emotions, and memories rather than cold descriptions.

Ed Frank

(Some Pennsylvania Locations - Ernie Ostuno  Sept 2005)

   I relate well to what you wrote about special places. Real forest
magic seldom derives from a single feature or spot, but how many
features blend together. Despite the impact that a single tree can have,
it's usually the gestalt built by many forms interacting with changing
light mingled with many scents and sound, each place with its unique
blend.

   I, like you, are a fan of hemlocks and white pines, especially the
old ones. Their individualistic forms distinguish them from the
controlled forms of plantation trees and the non-descript feeling of
young, shrubby regrowth. I can't imagine the New England forests without
at least pockets of mature hemlocks and white pines.   

   Old growth forests affect us on many levels. The late Dr. Michael
Perlman ("The Power of Trees") recognized their appeal to our need for
freedom and our need to retain ties to our collective past. Even though
all of us acknowledge that all forests change with time, retaining a
part of the landscape that stays relatively unchanged at the landscape
level and on human-scaled time.

Bob