The Role of Fenner Nature Center

In today's post, Ken Sattler writes about the important role of Fenner in his life - a place that reminds him of the marvels of the natural world and provokes a "desire for discovery." 

The Woodland Pond at Fenner.

I’m always amazed at the sense of wonder and discovery around Fenner. It makes me wonder if I’ve become jaded.  Every day, without a second thought, I look right past a whole host of amazing things – things I often take for granted. 

For example, there are a pair of box turtles that share an ‘office’ with me here at Fenner (it’s actually the library). Anyone who comes through unfailingly geeks out about the turtles and gawks at them as if they’ve never seen one before. Some of them possibly have not. But I take my lesson from the ones who have, and still are giddy at the sight of them. Even though they may have seen many a box turtle – perhaps even box turtles more lovely than Ruby and Tabitha, though that’s hard to imagine – they still value the opportunity to see another. The fact that something is there day after day, that it has become a part of one’s expected background, should not diminish its wonder, and certainly not its value.

As these visitors stream through the center and continue to marvel at Ruby and Tabitha I am reminded that, despite the fact that I see the pair day in and day out, they are no less amazing than they have ever been, and that I need to be more intentional in my appreciation of their presence. Then I realize that Fenner and its visitors are inspiring me toward something much bigger than a pair of turtles. Ruby and Tabitha, for all their celebrity, are allegorical to the entire natural world. That subtle reminder opens the door to deeper rekindlings of appreciation for all the natural processes, which surround me every day, and for how many of them I – quite literally – could not live without.

This is an important role that Fenner plays for me, and that I hope it plays the same role for many others in Lansing. Here is a place whose major purpose is to connect people with nature. It is a place where people can come and be intentional about discovering, or rediscovering, their own reliance on, and alliance with, the natural system. It becomes increasingly important these days to be deliberate about appreciating our world. In a culture where we are becoming less and less connected to the natural processes on which we all depend for life, Fenner is an anchor that helps me not to stray too far from that connection. I don’t feel like it’s an exaggeration to say that it is vital to remain aware of and to place a high value on nature. The moment we begin to take a thing for granted, and to assume that it will always remain constant, is the moment that we open the door to the possibility that it will diminish in its ability to hold our wonder and interest, and possibly losing it forever.

Ruby and Tabitha outside for some exercise.

Ruby and Tabitha recently had their cage renovated. During that time they had to live elsewhere. I lost count of the number of people who came through and asked me where they were. Even the people who had never seen them before looked at the tank and recognized that something important was not where it was supposed to be – something crucial was missing. If Ruby and Tabitha have become my metaphor for maintaining a wonder at the world around me, then the sense of loss at their absence has a place in my philosophy as well.  How many of the other things that surround me every day would I miss exponentially more if they were unexpectedly lost?

Fenner is a place that helps me to maintain a sense of marvel at the natural world. That sense of marvel provokes a desire for discovery. Discovery leads, inevitably, to esteem. Esteem drives me to a sense of equity and responsibility that underpins my interactions with nature, and with the world in general. Thank you, Fenner.