I choose my location out of accessibility and natural beauty and serenity. My place is one commonly looked past. My location is a spot in Centennial Woods. As you walk through the entrance to Centennial Woods you walk down the path to the first opening. Walking down the path to the right, you eventually reach a small creek, bordered by thick vegetation and shaded by tall evergreens. Right over the small bridge, I found my location. This spot is just far enough from the road, that many of the sounds of human development can’t be heard. This allows for a true immersion into nature. The flow of the stream and occasional chirp of birds or frogs almost completely covers up the sounds of urban life. This serene spot is a very accessible way of going somewhere without the constant hum of urban life. My time I spend at this spot allows for my mind to settle and not worry about due dates or exams. This spot is truly peaceful, and is a perfect example of natures beauty. But the true beauty is when you look deeper into the location, into how the river banks have formed, and been shaped over years of slow erosion to form the brook. Following this erosion, trees followed, holding soil into place and establishing a bank held together by years of root growth. Through the securing of the brook banks, smaller vegetation filled in the gaps and built up the surrounding ecosystem around this bank. Understanding this gradual and natural process contributes to an appreciation of the area. Every aspect of this area has taken years to grow and build up into what it is now, countless numbers of organisms and processes contributing to what we are able to see today. A lot of my appreciation for nature and the world around me is how long it took to create them. The brook took many years of constant water meandering to form what it is today, moving soil and rocks with only the force of running water. Even the landscape we live in today has taken million years to form, and is still forming and changing.
