Preserving My Woods

     Trees stand tall around me like proud warriors, spears piercing the sky. The air feels open and crisp. The tingley sound of the creek fills my ears. The leaves above my head sparkle against the deep blue sky. Birds are singing; a soft squirrel chases his friend up a tree. This is the scene in the woods behind my house, about half a mile back.

     The area really doesn’t stretch too far in any direction. I can just make out my house, and I can see more the opposite way if I squint. The woods only extend a little less than half a mile north to south and just under a mile east to west before you run into houses, after all. The land directly behind the houses is included as their property, and the rest is owned by Harborcreek Youth Services. Though I’ve never seen anyone else out there, four wheeler tracks and a tree stand show evidence of its use. There’s one tree with the initials ‘JM’ carved deeply into it. That tree makes me feel a connection to the people who use the woods now and those who used them in the past.

     Because the woods aren’t really my property, it isn’t my job to preserve them. The owners seem to be doing pretty well at that. Some trees are marked off with ribbons. The woods are protected wetlands, so nobody can come in and wreck the place. I can still help in little ways, though, like by picking up the litter that blows out of people’s garbage cans and ends up in the creek.

     There are still problems, though. The aforementioned litter is mostly ignored. My neighbors cleared out the trees in their section of the woods. A lot more trees have fallen simply because of their shallow roots.The muddy banks of the creek easily get eroded, especially with four wheelers driving over them.

     Even if they aren’t mine, the woods are my special place. They make me feel at home. In the woods, I’m alone, yet more connected to God and the people around me, whether I know those people or not. This is why preserving the woods is important to me. I’m going to do all I can, even if that isn’t much. After all, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it,” --Psalm 24:1.

Sections: Christianity, Creative Essays, For School, Happy, Helping, Nature, Nonfiction, Wonder