Writers, philosophers and scientists meet in the forest

This is an article I received recently that linked my different career paths. One of those ah-hah moments! The article is from the US Pacific Northwest Research Station and shares their gatherings of ecosystem researchers, creative writers and environmental philosophers. The gatherings are trying to incorporate different ways of knowing to look at long-term change and to ultimately increase public understanding of the roles of the natural world and science in our lives. I like the idea of sharing the complexity and longevity of ecosystems by getting other experts to help. Instead of focusing on the little details the way I have done as an operational researcher, the writers looked at ecosystems holistically but also captured the texture of the complexity. Can you see how this blog links with my blog on Annerose Georgeson who looks at the forest from another way of knowing. When I am in the forest it also exists wholly and I have always felt revitalized when I have quiet time in nature. I will be sharing this whole vision of nature in my teaching.
Part of a poem that was shared in the article:

"The owl doesn't make a sound.... She is still.
She watches us. What is the consciousness of a
spotted owl? There she perches perceiving us, and
here we sit perceiving her. We exchange the long,
slow, interspecies stare - no fear, no threat, only
the confusing mystery of the other. Perhaps she
thinks we are owls. We do not look like owls. But we
do, briefly, behave like owls, catching and offering
prey, being still, and turning our eyes to the forest"

From: The Owl, Spotted (2006, On Earth) A. Deming