I am

Up Scenic Point
I thank the rocks
And the plants
And the animals
For being part of me
As I am part of them

Not from each other
We are each other
As we human beings
Are all one another

We are sacred
Each particle of mass
Even the air (we breathe)

I am not a visitor here
On this earth (though I like the idea
at times)
I am
The earth itself
And everything in it
I am
The fires in august
That blow through this valley
I am
The wind from the cliffs
Scouring down over the lakefront
I am
The raven fledglings
Perching still on the edge of my nest
I am
The earth itself
And everything in it

Not a keeper
Not a visitor
Certainly not
A master

But the very spice of it
The gritty grime of it
The rocks and mud and plants
My body smells of it
It grows out of me
I grow into it
We are here
Together here

By listening
We can know this

Contributor’s Biography:

Amy Pearson is a Ph.D. student in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication. Her research explores the ecological implications of the ways we talk about wilderness areas, especially in National Parks.

In this piece she situates herself as a human being in equal relation to her “ecological” surroundings. She is convinced that a primary means of creating a sustainable Earth might come through re-envisioning and rearticulating how we as human beings sit in relation to our ecological environment. The photograph is from Glacier National Park in Montana where she spends her summers as a ranger naturalist.

Memory of Water: The Salt River Project

The Salt River Project follows the Salt River from the recreation areas East of Phoenix out to the Gillespie Dam West of Phoenix. It is the story of an urban desert river.

The project begins with the conceptual framework provided by high water marks. Clumps of dirt, plastic bags and plant growth five feet up in trees serve as a reminder that the dry riverbed is not dead, but only dormant. Too often in the desert, water concerns orbit around the idea that we’re using up all our resources and that the dryness is a sign of the dismal future. Though transient communities have made the river channel home, and others use it as a dumping ground, sooner or later the water will rise again. Everything found in the channel is colored with this knowledge. … Continue Reading

Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area (1/4 square mile)

+ Brush Creek Road (2 miles)

Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area, 16th Street (1/4 square mile)

This project takes as assumption that every space and every thing is connected on all sides to the whole rest of the world.

… Continue Reading

Consuming the Land: The Practice of American Traditions I

The attached photograph and menu are documentation of the first performance art in a series entitled Consuming the Land: The Practice of American Traditions.  Aldo Leopold, an esteemed early conservationist, reminds us that land is much more than soil; it includes waters, plants, and animals, all of which we humans consume.  This project is informed by the tradition of consuming the land, as a society and as individuals, and focuses on our local history of land consumption and the consumption of the land as a result of holiday feasts.  In the first phase, the artist’s family Thanksgiving feast is measured in how many miles the food has traveled to get to their mouths.  Future phases will include the Christmas/New Year Holiday and may extend into 2010 for a complete annual cycle of consumption.  In pursuing this project, Ms. Bailey hopes to reach a goal of sustainable feasting that reflects her responsibility to the land and her family.

… Continue Reading

Commingled Sorting Facility + Z Was Here

Commingled Sorting Facility

In Commingled Sorting Facility, a raccoon is found peering into a garbage can. The animal makes several trips in and out of the bin to extract consumable waste. Meanwhile, refuse also collects on its body. … Continue Reading