Learning From the Landscape as a Walking Practice

Learning From the Landscape as a Walking Practice

Walking is a liberating motion that can be for pure enjoyment or accompanied with a sense of determination and purpose.  Most walkers would describe their trips as common walks to the store, work or school.  For those reasons, most people jump in cars for efficiencies sake instead of making the trip on foot. Because of the current busy pace of life, there is just not enough time to walk very often and really enjoy various walking practices.

Deliberation in purpose can help to set aside specific frameworks for walking practice.  Learning from the landscape is an easy form of gathering walking observations.  Taking roadside samples of pictures, drawings or brief journal writings can compile information about biological habitat, human interactions and use, geological conditions, historical events and other vicarious discoveries. 

For instance, pick five landmark points that you would like to visit in your neighborhood and map out your route on paper.  Prepare to set out on your first walk by making an equipment list of things that are important to you for the trip, such as writing paper and pencil, camera, food, and other items that you determine as useful, taking into consideration your ability to easily transport them along the way.  Proper clothing and shoes are important.  Expect that your first several trips will be experimental in nature and subsequent adaptations of your gear are expected. Whether fancy or simple, the goal for the walking trip preparation is to be sure that you are as comfortable as possible throughout the trip.

On the first try of the mapped route, freely observe that landscapes around you as you pass them, taking particular notice of your special preferences in learning. Are you particularly interested in the trees, buildings, active elements or animals in the landscape, plants, rocks and soil?  Document examples of these types in each of the landmark points that you have chosen. This will help to narrow down your observation studies to a couple of categories for subsequent hikes. 

Complete the route you have chosen, and after you have completed the route for the first time, review your initial five point plan.  At this time, make any changes in the mapping of your trip and after this point, stick to the same route for the subsequent walks in the particular landscape practice.  Organize the elements of your documentations and chose a common observation zone to be used and documented for five sites for the remaining trips.  Now prepare for follow up repetitions of your landscape learning walking route practice.  Take the same route again several times, perhaps in different weather, different time of day, different season, or with a friend or group.  Be sure to document and compile the same observation element descriptions at each interval and site as in the preliminary trip so that you can compare your results over time.

Create a comparative study of your documented observations.  What did you notice that was most important to you?  What reactions did you have to the change in conditions that you observed?  Did some conditions upset you?  Were some findings inspiring and inviting?  Take time to write down your reactions whether brief or lengthy.  If possible on a wall, post pictures or drawings of the same site from each day trip in sequence and see if they provoke or suggest creation of a new additional walking plan.

 Find a quiet time, prepare something to drink and sit down in front of your learning landscape artwork.  See if there is any common thread or question that provokes your attention from what you learned about your neighborhood.  Prepare subsequent landscape walk designs from any motivations you experience.  Create and invite a group of friends to document and interact with your landscape learning design.  Do they add additional motivation observations to your design?  

Consider creating a repetitive event centered in the elements of a specific part of your landscape learning experience or design. This could be a monthly meeting, annual occurrence or any other pattern. Invite the same guests that participated before and ask them to each invite a few guests. Enjoy the cultural evolution of your own personal landscape as it unfolds.  

Christy