Being a student naturalist has allowed me to gain useful intuitive tools such as the ability to observe my surroundings more deliberately. It is common for people to tell you to pay attention to the journey of going from one place to another, and not just a destination. My eyes drifted to the blobbed outlines of oak leaves on my walk to Buntrock, as I tried to figure out the type of tree they came from, and I finally understood what they meant. Learning about the names of different plants and the stories behind the phenological environment surrounding us impacted the way I walk outside. The damp leaves pressed to pathways darting around campus are more than just leaves, they are stamps of identification laid by tall posts with numerous branched arms that provide shade and draw cracks in the sky. A tree is more than just a tree, it’s a Hackberry, a Basswood, or an Elm. 

A tall oak tree in the St. Olaf Natural Lands.

One beautiful October day the naturalists went fish seining to learn about the diversity of fish in the Natural Lands. We had to pay attention to the current of the stream, its rifles, and predator avoidance of the fish. To catch the fish, two people held the net across the creek and angled its braille into the stream, while the rest of us kicked the rocks in the stream to coerce the fish into swimming towards the net. We found a large variety of different fish just in our local heath creek, my favorite being a green sunfish. To hold the fish in our palms, we had to first make sure they were damp, so the fish could survive. Seeing the myriad of fish species, crustaceans, bugs, leaves and other debris in the net, broadened my perspective about the biodiversity of different ecosystems.

Photo of a Green-gilled Sunfish from Heath’s Creek. Credit: Sylvia Sandhorst

Walking through the natural lands while paying attention to all the critters and the falling leaves as the last autumnal moments pass has made campus feel brighter in these tiring months. I would encourage you all to also interact with your surroundings, engage in curious learning, and count the leaves as they fall, as you move from one place to another.