A Canoe Trip (NJ8)


Nature Journal 8: Canoe Trip

            After many weeks of rewarding volunteer work, we finally had the opportunity to get out on the water. It was a brisk fall day with temperatures in the high 40s. As Christian and I unloaded the Canoe, I could feel the chilly water splash against my naked leg. The water was clear as glass as a simple stare would mirror yourself. The canoe launched into the water, setting off an airstrike that rippled across the blue canvas. As our balance re-centered, we began to make our journey upstream. The water was extremely calm where a breath of cold air would disturb the tranquility. One of our goals of the adventure, despite enjoying the beautiful scenery, was to pick up trash that was evasive to the ecosystem. Beer bottles riddled the riverbank as we made our way further, camping out on the sand as if it was a human watching locals surf by the beach. The birds sprinted across the ice box slate in a continuous marathon around the everlasting river, so peaceful yet so quick to leave. While the birds disturbed the river’s silence, I noticed it was not in the same light as when we launched the canoe. We humans were disrupting the natural flow of the river, but the birds were enjoying their playground and the river quickly conformed back to its previous silent state. How beautiful of a sight to see animals truly happy in their natural environment with no human interaction to disrupt the pure enjoyment. 

         I hope we were able to make a difference with our conservation efforts throughout the semester and our clean-up of the river. It was a fantastic six weeks out at the nature preserve. So often we are caught stuck in the TCU bubble and it was very enlightening to travel outside of that comfortable realm and see what Fort Worth has to offer.



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