Personal Experience as an Argument for the Conservation of Forestland

Why is it that people feel so strongly about nature? Why do people chain themselves to trees? Why do people say that they feel connections to the environment? One word can answer all three of these questions and many more: experience. When all present and future motivations, such as everything from the health benefits and aesthetics of nature to political power and money, are torn away, one thing remains: past experiences. A beginning must exist for this connection to nature, and a person who has never seen a tree before is probably not going to chain him or herself to one in order to save it from destruction. Human relationships are the same way. A man marries a woman because they have spent time together on dates and enjoyed it. These dates can be categorized as experiences. In the same way, a man or woman who spent his or her childhood playing in a forest and climbing trees is far more likely to feel a connection to the forest than someone who grew up in a city with hardly any trees. In my case, I look back at my family’s tree farm and all the experiences I had there as a child and young adult up until this point in my life, and I feel a growing opposition toward irresponsible deforestation all over this country and world.

In the 1930s, my family bought a house, a barn, and over a hundred acres of forestland in Huntington County, Pennsylvania. Over the years, they worked to keep the land conserved and free of invasive plants and insects. In the 1970s and 1980s, my grandfather became very involved in the land’s upkeep and even planted new sections of forest to vivify some of the fields on the land. His involvement continued to grow until he became the owner, and then in the late 1990s, he founded the Eden Hill Conservancy. The goal of this organization, mostly made up of my aunts and uncles now, is to conserve the area and educate others, such as students in nearby schools, about the history of the tree farm and give general information about forest conservation. While the Conservancy becomes more influential in the area every year, it remains an important staple in both my family’s history and future.

Not only has the Eden Hill Conservancy and my family’s tree farm influenced the community where it is located, but it has also influenced me personally and the way I feel towards forests. Especially when I was younger and when my grandfather was still living, my extended family would regularly get together at the tree farm, whether a special event was occurring or not. Some of the times I remember visiting the farm are birthdays, anniversaries, a wedding reception or two, graduation parties, or just if the family felt like they missed having everyone together. Every time we got together, we always managed to find time to take a walk through the trees on the farm. My favorite part of the land will always be a section of pine trees that my grandfather named Rachel’s Forest. He called it this because he was in the middle of planting the trees when he and my grandmother had their last daughter, my Aunt Rachel. To this day, it remains the most mystical and beautiful plot of land that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing and walking through. As one approaches Rachel’s Forest, the variety of trees dwindles until nothing but pine trees protrude from the flat ground. As one stands amongst the trees, it is impossible not to sense the eeriness of the scene. It reminds me of a forest that could only exist in a fantasy novel. In fact, if a slight mist was added to the site, one might even be inclined to expect to see a unicorn trotting around. For only such a fantastic creature could be found in such a mystical and mysterious place. That section of the land was not the only thing that affected me, however. Going back to my early childhood, I remember playing in and around the barn and through the forest. One of my favorite things to do was to play on a tire swing hanging from a large tree right beside the house. Another fond memory of the farm is all the walks the family took together through the forest. The times spent learning about the woods from my relatives, mainly my grandfather, have given me an infinitely greater appreciation for the land. These experiences on the tree farm have made me realize the great affinity I possess for forestland.

In turn, this affinity for forestland in general, not just my family’s tree farm, has instilled in me a feeling that could be described as disgust for the amount of irresponsible deforestation and clear cutting of woods that occurs in this country every year. I understand that timber is needed and logging is a business, but I also understand that responsible ways exist to gather these resources. People who do not practice responsible methods of logging are the people who disappoint me. I am all for keeping the forest untouched and preserving virgin forests, but the least thing that people in the logging business can do is log responsibly so that the trees they take are replaced for future generations.

When these methods are practiced, everyone benefits. For the loggers, practicing forest management in a responsible way that sustains forests just makes sense economically. If they clear cut a forest or even if they just take the best trees out of a forest, what are they really doing? They are destroying the resource that allows them to stay in business. What if they replace that forest or those trees, though? Then they are replacing their resource. In doing this, loggers are able ensure that they will always have the resource that provides them with their revenue. When this happens it also benefits everyone who is in some way affected by the state of the forest. If loggers act responsibly, then these members of the community are able to continue to enjoy the forest because no true loss of nature occurs. New trees will spring up that will help keep the atmosphere healthy and keep the landscape aesthetically pleasing.

I am certain that my dissatisfaction for the irresponsible behavior of loggers all over the United States and the world comes from my experiences of visiting and learning about my family’s tree farm. I grew up around a place that was appreciated and cared for by the people who owned it, and that had a lasting effect on me. I saw how simple and rewarding it was for people to take care of the land and came to expect the same from everyone who could have an effect on forests in particular. My experiences at my family’s tree farm and the effect I see that the Eden Hill Conservancy has creates a connection with forestland that leads me to care about its conservation and upkeep.