Strong Roots: Day 3~Mater Naturalist Conference~Nature Walk

Morning three of the Master Naturalist Conference found me waking up with the sun and flinging open my patio doors to let the unusually warm air in. It's unusual because it's mid-November and it was a very humid 75 degrees when we usually have snow dusting the ground. No problems here! I jumped out of bed, checked out of the hotel, and took off on a path all on my own. No guide to guide me, no "master naturalist" to educate me on every flora and fawna, no map to discern where I should go. Just a path, an enthusiastic girl, and her creator.

While I was the only "traditional educator" at the conference, I was probably the only non-tree hugger hippie in attendance as well. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than willing to throw on my tie-dye and peace sign earrings and believe in recycling and reducing your "carbon foot-print," but more so because I'm a minimalist and hate crowded spaces rather than believing the worlds going to end because of global warming.

Whatever your thoughts about the situation our planet finds itself in, there is one ideal I can get behind: Being a good steward. Now depending on your business profession or faith, this word might have a different meaning. Despite that, I think we can all agree to some extent that it simply means, the responsibility to take care of something. Now what that something may mean, may depend again on where you live, where you work, and your faith. However, as we are all citizens of the planet earth, are we not all responsible for some type of care towards it?