Sense of Place Interview

This Thanksgiving holiday I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by the majority of my friends and family. And during this time I was able to speak with both of my grandparents about their relationship with the environment as well as discuss the differences between their generation and mine. The majority of the conversation revolved around their opinion that our current generation has a complete disconnect with the environment. They discussed how, while they did contribute to some of the environmental problems we are currently facing today, they lived must more sustainable lives and were taught to appreciate nature. The differences they noted were mostly that the majority of the products being distributed in today's market are now made as disposable product, where in their generation everything was made to be reused. For example, in their youth you would buy flour in cloth sacks which could then be used to make items such as clothes and curtains. In addition they also use to use their old clothes to make blankets instead of just throwing them away. They also stated that the environment was one of their only sources of entertainment. While children today are constantly inside playing video games and watching TV, the people of their generation saw nature as the only source of entertainment. They would use nature for recreational activities such as swimming in lakes and ponds, riding bikes, riding horses, and walk instead of driving to their destinations. After hearing their stories, I informed them of the University Colloquium class that I was taking, as well as all that I have learned during this semester. They seemed to share the idea that the class itself was a wonderful idea that would allow people of the current generation to have a chance to establish a relationship, similar to what they had with the environment.