Monsters of the Night
Part animal, part plant.
Jon Gorter (‘17) graduated with degrees in English and environmental studies and is pursuing a master’s in environmental justice. He lives in Ann Arbor where he bikes to class, plays the harmonica, and aspires to one day raise chickens in his backyard. When he’s not outside, he’s probably wishing he were.
Skunked on the Suwannee
We’d set off toward Kice Island and everything would go as planned.
At Some Point, We Have to Talk About Love
The mantra for dealing with predators is summarized succinctly by the three S’s: shoot, shovel, and shut up.
A Goodbye to Those Not Quite Gone
This was it. This was the moment my entire family would oust me from the clan.
Straw Into Gold
Was this an encounter with some forest guardian, a mountain sprite who hikes miles through the misty mountains and sips water at hidden springs?
Learn for Life
If you were placed into a story about first dates, you’d better know your fish diseases.
Homing
Buying a feeder isn’t something one does on a whim; it takes planning.
A Prayer for Attention
Watching a bird makes me think about a life other than my own.
4,400 Years Ago
As evening settles in, the flickering light of the fire illuminates the faces of family and friends gathered around, eager to hear another story from the family elders.
The Top Ten Strategies for Weathering COVID-19
I don’t often think about my breath.
The Megasaw
It’s hard to hear the voice inside my own head over the roar of the megasaw, much less the whisper of the earth.
Purple Politics
There is only one antidote to party segregation that I know of, only one thing powerful enough to cause us to bridge the divide.
Of Falcons and Folly
Out of the corner of my eye, a grey bolt of lightning shot out from behind the gothic-style church on the corner across from North Quad.
The Incarnation
I learned that a tree marked with a robe was not just a special tree chosen by a monk—these trees were monks.
Learning to Walk
Walking, he suggests, is fundamental to who we are.
The Orchestra of Evolution
The first thing you should know about cranes is that they don’t like to be ignored.
Z is for Zebra Mussels
Maybe restoration doesn’t have to be all or nothing, maybe it doesn’t have to be so black-and-white.
Bean Therapy
Over the past four months I’ve had the privilege of cultivating some of the world’s finest beans.
Can You Keep a Secret?
I can still remember the first time I lied to my parents. I was seven years old and was obsessed with Indiana Jones.
