Photojournalist – Journalist

Article by
John Cox, M.A. C/M

“Years ago I read about a tribe in South America, who defined the difference between tree species, by tasting the bark.  A Botanist later, doing research there (years earlier in the Congo as well) tested himself, and his wife (also a Botanist) tested themselves on whether they could establish identity from the taste of the tree bark.  Neither could tell the difference in taste test; which, when testing tribal members from each location, they tested 100% in identifying the species by tasting the bark.

It’s the Nature of the tree, or the plants, or the wildlife — the plant or animal that contains the sign, not the terms or words we attach to them, which are often superficial, or, refer to decorative or other perspectives we have planted into our minds since birth.  Some plants I can identify as coming near a swamp, the Meadow Cranesbill or the Meadow Sage for example, often with the plush meadow in eyesight, sometimes not and yet I know it is coming up soon.  But then — the “pretense” is Latin for “Meadow” – yet, my experience tells me far more than what the term, scientifically, has given it.  We obtain much deeper meaning when experiencing Nature, openly, not contrived perceptively.  Compared to, when academics use their terminology to define the “wisdom about nature” or to re-connect to Nature, being largely by identification – a hold-over from Natural History, and often left non-advanced, or antiquated, to maintain its heritage or myth.

To believe identification is the point, when being in Nature, is never more than half-the-challenge, if that – and never on its own represents wisdom or insight, at all.  When I speak of those who lack experience, for example, with Horses or Wild Horses, or the Redwood Tree out back — this is the point I am attempting to achieve.  Often, education from a book, and identification the point most often (handy to have yet most often only half-useful), in reality leads to nowhere when out and within Nature.  Little to no insight takes place, wisdom and value often ignored, due to not being achieved. 

Perhaps why so many never see any wildlife while visiting our Natural Environment. . .  As our current view is that Habitat can help us identify a species, yet the reality of Wildlife combined with a Terrestrial Environment, and the Diversity that exists, becomes ignored, or never was in sight of those simply seeking identification – after all, it was identified.

In ancient times, less population of humans and the Landscape was vast, identification was limited, because getting lost in wilderness could mean death.  Suddenly, identification of Wildlife or Trees et al., becomes “not” a priority, but how to use the things they seen, and knowledgeable about, would keep them alive for another day – another adventure.  The knowledge then, and obtained from childhood, was far more significant.  Danger, Use, or Habitat.  Interesting here is that Anthropologists had found the way of tribes that established Danger, Use, and Habitat, to be more conformed, to communing with Nature – when compared today, by how we, as humans destroy Nature –

BUT WE SURE AS HELL CAN IDENTIFY WHAT WAS BEING DESTROYED – EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT THE CONNECTION WE COULD HAVE HAD, WITH NATURE, BY FIGURING OUT HOW TO CO-EXIST WITH NATURE.  LEARNING ABOUT HOW NATURE CO-EXISTS, WITHOUT ALL OF OUR OWN BUILT-IN PERCEPTIONS, WOULD BE A GOOD START IN COEXISTING WITH NATURE.

This short article is merely the tip of the ice-berg of information we should be discussing, and why.  We see science over-taken by commercialism, as well as salesmanship, lies, and disinformation campaigns.  Very destructive to our environment, as the evidence shows us Loud – n – Clear.  It is simply time to set aside the superficial, the Identification process can be used well, but it is not the end-all, to true Conservation – which is Co-Existent with Nature = Precisely.”  — John Cox, M.A. C/M, Cascade Mountains