Introduction/rationale:
As a little girl, I would go into our backyard and play under the old pine trees that were there when my parents bought our now 100-year-old house on the southwest side of Chicago. There were about seven of them, majestic and towering over our home. I could not tell you whether they were Eastern White Pines, Jack Pines, or any of the other types of pines that grow in the region where I live. I just know that they provided respite from the sometimes-chaotic life of a 6-year-old girl with three younger sisters. I played make-believe, pretending it was my own magical place. The forest floor was a floor plan for my kitchen, doll bedrooms, one-room schoolhouse, and whatever else occurred to me at the moment. It was quiet despite the hustle and bustle of the city streets. The heavy layering of the pine needles shielded the noise. The songbirds, mostly house sparrows, in the trees added to this fascinating scene with their chirpy melodies. They were my friends, my neighbors, and sometimes roommates in this make-believe haven of mine.
My parents were not scientists. With only a fourth-grade education, they were ordinary working-class people. Both immigrants from rural Mexico; my father was a construction worker, and my mother was a seamstress working in a factory. They provided the place. Nature did the rest. I would say that my fascination with the natural world began during this time under the pine trees. Botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer, in her book Braiding Sweetgrass, reminds us to learn the names of birds. She points out that when we do not know the name of a living being, we call it an "it". This makes us feel separated from nature. Instead, she invites us to view birds as living, breathing people.[1] In her book, Kimmerer discusses the importance of developing a relationship with the Earth and all its living creatures. And although we may not know the names of birds, we can expose our students to them in simple, organic, but intentional ways. Yes, even in the city with its abundance of sparrows and robins. If we take an outdoor walk or simply stand still long enough, we will see red-winged blackbirds in their defensive fervor, woodpeckers pecking away, the ever-so-red male cardinals, and even an occasional bald eagle pair nesting on a light post just a few blocks from my city home.
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