Hi everyone! My name is Dua Spall. I’m a junior at GSU studying computer science. I chose this course because I wanted to try something outside the realms of technology and connect with nature more while also helping the community. So far, there have been many interesting things that I’ve learned through this course, mostly through the different books that we have read and discussed. I’m excited to take what I’ve learned through the books and apply it to where I’ll be doing community service. Throughout our meetings in class, we have discussed different texts from McKibben, Purdy, and Kathryn Savage. All of these authors have discussed their experiences with nature and how they are connected to it in their own words. I believe these readings are extremely important in allowing us as the readers/students to inspire us to connect with nature through our acts of service we will be doing. Before I read the works from these authors, I never gave much thought to how I can connect with nature personally and what I can specifically do to give back to it. After these readings, especially with Krimmer, I have learned there is a lot someone can do to give back to the earth to grow as we grow alongside it.

My community partner for this course will be the Dunwoody Nature Center. I’m really excited to work with them as they offer many different choices in what you can volunteer in, such as working with animals, doing cleanups, or working with kids. All together, I’m hoping to learn what it truly means to connect ourselves with nature while also learning new things that we can pass on to other people. I hope my experiences at Dunwoody Nature Center help and inspire me to keep giving back even when the course is finished. I recently had my first meeting with them and was welcomed to a very comfortable, calming, and scenic environment. Throughout our readings, we touched on how we as students go to a university in an area where nature isn’t entirely prevalent around us. We’re surrounded by big buildings and noises from cars which leaves us less opportunity to connect with nature. When I arrived at Dunwoody Nature Center, it was extremely quiet, and the only thing you could hear was birds or the sounds of squirrels climbing up trees. This is completely different from what students are used to, so I’m extremely excited to get the chance to connect with nature while also giving back to the community and earth.