While going on many hikes and observing the forest areas I discovered many plants that I have never seen. Many things around me are so oblivious to me that I never notice they are there. I have lived in Juneau practically my whole life, and I never really took the time to stop and notice all these plants.
If it wasn't for the plant gathering and identifying assignment we had I probably wouldn't have noticed the life in the plants going on around me. They are everywhere, but yet I never really took a closer look at them.
I was overwhelmed by my lack of observation, but amazed by what I found. To this amazement I decided to take my plants that I gathered at Auk Rec and draw a few of them. One plant I found, Twisted Stalk, has leaves that twist one after another in a pattern like way. It goes from one leaf on one side, and then switches to the other. Its structure fascinated me. They come up about a foot high off the ground at the most, or at least that is what my observations told me. Their leaves are about two and a half inches long, and one inch in width. Twisted stalk is a bright medium colored green, almost the color of emerald.
All the life going on around me in the plants made me think about what else could be going on that I haven't opened my eyes to. The world is such a big place, and in a way I feel like I am missing out. There is so much more out there to be seen instead of the giant trees that I only looked at as a forest. There are smaller plants that are more ground deep. In a way this represented to me the more modern ways of today. I’m sure a long time ago these plants were more than relevant to our people, but now they are just something I simply noticed at a camp experience. Where is my culture taking me now? Why did it take me so long to realize the life out their in this land, in this world, going on around me? There really is no reason, other than my lack of knowledge to the land. If I became more aware of my surroundings then in a way I would become more aware of my culture, of my people, and the land we survived off of. The land is not to be taken for granted, and it is certainly not to be forgotten. -Kierstyn Cadiente
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