Salal Place yard is carved out of the forest. We notice the entanglement of these spaces with more-than-human others who flow through, over and under the fences surrounding the yard. Are we ever truly separate and removed from forest?
We try to resist entering the forest with humancentric notions of being in nature. But because we are human, we wonder and struggle with what this even means…? Recognizing the limitations of “humans self-assessing humancentrism”, our attempts at resisting are imperfect at best – but necessary. In alignment with our pedagogical commitments, we continue considering the ecological impacts of co-existence. Entanglements with sand, forest, paths, lunch waste, slugs, humans, bird nests contribute to the conversation. Tensions form as we notice binary thinking creeping in. In our considerations of staying out/going in, destroying/preserving, entering/damaging. We reconsider our response(ibilities). How do we ethically respond to forest as it was. As it exists today. Keeping open possibilities of who it might become, and us along with it…as we grapple with learning to live well, together-apart.