thoughts and feelings

04012026 - the issue with "leave no trace"

at most national parks and nature areas, there will always be a disclaimer to "leave no trace". obviously, this is meant to mean to pick up your garbage, don't destroy the environment, all great things to remember. but, i feel like many people take it to a huge extreme, intending for nature to be this pristine, untouched expanse of wilderness. land that hasn't been "corrupted" by the touch of humanity. i could argue though, the human touch has never NOT been in our wild spaces.

hominids in general have been around for millions of years, and are just as much a part of the ecosystem as any other animal. we have our place and our function in the food web, even if it's become corrupted in the current timeline. this doesn't mean modern industrialized society hasn't done its own share of irreversible damage. but those signs at national parks aren't addressing the mass corporations, they're addressing the individual. while individuals in and of themselves can cause a lot of damage, we shouldn't ignore that the vast majority of pollution and destruction of nature is by these megacorporatinos. this is like how oil and gas companies lobbied to advertize recycling ads, throwing the blame on the average person, as opposed to picking up their own mess.

i'm currently reading robin wall kimmerer's "braiding sweetgrass" (amazing book by the way), and in a survey of her class, none of her students could name a positive effect that humanity has had on the environment. i think this is because of two things though. it may be because of the inundation of bad news and being surrounded by the ill effects our species has had on the environment: oil spills, urban heat zones, deforestation, etc. etc. etc. but also, it's a testament to this colonial idea that nature needs to be pure, untouched, and completely barren of humans to be at it's optimal peak. like we're simultaneously above it because we no longer "depend" on it, but also not worthy of it. this completely ignores indigenous systems of stewarding the land, working with nature to nourish and nurture the landscape around them. working in tandem with natural systems to sustain not only their villages and communities, but the surrounding environment.

back to the topic of "leave no trace", there is physically no way to not leave a trace. when we walk, we leave wallows that would have never been there. crush blades of grass, bend flower stems. we overturn stones that may have never been moved for the next couple years. our shedding hair leaves new material for birds to nest, a piece of us forever living in their bedding. if we camp, our fires leave coals and ashes to seep into the ground and provide a small shot of carbon to the surrounding trees. if you're one to piss in the woods, that's fertilizer. everything we do, whether intentional or not, leaves a mark. and i don't think the solution is to completely remove ourselves from the natural sphere. in fact, i think it's our duty and responsibility to the environment to tend and maintain and nurture it.

i had heard somewhere, that when colonizers first began exploring the forests of the northeast, they were shocked by the sheer amount of natural sources of food. natural "game trails" framed with berry bushes, trees heavy with fruit, rivers overflowing with fish, plentiful wildlife. they thought they had stumbled upon the garden of eden with how bountiful the forests were. so of course, when they drove out the indigenous populations, they thought they were set with a natural source of food. but little did they know, the reason the forests were so bountiful, is because those indigenous people were actively tending the woods. weeding, maintaining, watering, propagating. it didn't happen all on its own.

nature was never meant to be devoid of us. we were always a part of it. and despite how many people and institutions want to convince you that it's better off without us, we were always there. our species has done some horrible damage to the ecosystem, but that doesn't mean we can't also take care of it. i know this is so, so hard to say when it feels like there is literally no hope with the way the world is going right now. but the small things you can do to help your immediate environment makes so much of a difference. start that pollinator garden, put some bat houses in your yard, start a pond, tend to a mushroom patch in your local woods. the nature outside isn't going to get better without your help, and it will return the favor.