Day 5: DAY-5 Discovering new interests

Being in nature makes me more curious about plants and animals that I found.
I discover an interest to figure out the name of wildflowers, trees and birds. Through its photograph, I look for it on the internet.

The Purple leaf Sand Cherry or Dwarf-Red Leaf Plum.
Yeah,  that’s the name of that adorable white flower tree. Previously, I called it «British Cherry Blossom’ because I didn’t know how to address it. As I am a Sakura admirer  (Cherry Blossom), so for me, it brings the East Asia spring vibes to England. I am glad and feel blessed because of that. Botanists recognise it as ‘Prunus x Cisterna, a hybrid plum family tree. Its parents’ native habitat is Western Asia, Caucasia, and Northwestern US and cannot be found wildly.

While I am writing this post, I reflect on Krimmerer’s Aster and Goldenrod chapter. In the Enlightenment era (17th -18th century), everything had to be proven based on testing and rational analysis. Therefore, scientists consider plants only as objects to be studied and researched. In addition, there is wisdom scepticism, separating humans and nature and is deemed not to have a mutual relationship emotionally or spiritually. In contrast, indigenous peoples consider wisdom as a crucial part of their life and value nature as a support to improve the lives of humankind.

Unlike the Enlightenment era, today’s education draws attention to the relationship between humans and nature and other beings. Some schools aim to create a sustainable environment and communities, such as  Green School Bali, Indonesia. It applies the Land and Learning approach to develop emotional connections between humans and other beings. This approach may allow the students to feel concerned and care for nature and environmental issues and be responsible by implementing a sustainable lifestyle.

Kimmerer, Robin. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants,
Milkweed Editions, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bristol/detail.action?docID=1212658.

https://www.britannica.com/event/Enlightenment-European-history

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prunus_%C3%97_cistena

https://www.greenschool.org/about-us/