Kristina Paul Ms. Arnold History sec.

21 April 22, 2012 Environmental Expressions of the American Experiment The first time I saw the Larz Anderson Park was the first time I had actually wanted to protect the environment, so naturally I knew that this was what I needed to photograph. In the mid 1800s, it was places like these that brought about this intense feeling of nationalism that was floating around at the time. There were these paintings being done by the Hudson River School showing pathways through trees opening up to clear fields and meadows. There were also paintings showing an otherworldly light coming down from the sky, and even some depicting angels hovering in the clouds. These paintings were increasing this feeling of intense nationalism by creating the image that America had the perfect, heavenly land that was the best there was. The United States had all this land that seemed endless. Americans felt that they were the new nation of power, and that they were bringing the newest, best way of life to the world. 150 years later, we definitely dont think of our land as endless, but rather limited. I have pride in my country, but that pride comes from a totally different place. Never before that had I ever thought of trees and grass as anything more than trees and grass, and thats a problem. A lot of people today dont realize the beauty in the simple things in life, like watching birds, lying in the grass, or climbing trees. When I went to the park to take pictures, I expected to see people by the dozen enjoying the nice weather, but I was surprised to see that there were only a few other people in the park, and most of them were at the playground. I expected to see people sitting at the picnic tables by the water, but there were none. There used to be endless forests around these types of parks, but now they are being chopped down, and I cant help but worry that the parks will be next. What will be built in the place of trees, bushes, fields, and flowers? The answer is this; houses, stores, skyscrapers, factories, buildings putting out more and more pollution. Im not saying stop building, Im just saying find a way to build things that work in harmony with the environment. Thats why I chose these pictures. They show a place where a man-made structure fits into the environment, and, instead of causing harm to it, it enhances it. This structure was coexisting with the trees and the pond, and I would even say that it was enhancing the lives of the animals around it. There was a turtle sitting on the steps by the water, geese and ducks were swimming nearby and taking shelter from the sun inside. These pictures were taken at different angles around the pond that is just down the hill that the playground and picnic areas are on. They were taken around midday, somewhere between 12 oclock and 1:30.+ I wish there were more places in the world like this, instead of places that dump pollution into rivers and fill the air with smoke. Im glad that the few places like Larz Anderson Park and the Arnold Arboretum do exist, and I hope that in the future, there are more of them rather than few of them.