Caving and Saving

The most magical engagement I can think of that I have had with the natural world was during my time at summer camp when I was 10 or 11. During my week there, I spent one day going caving with the other girls in my cabin. We had a guide go through the cave with us, telling us facts about the stalactites, animals, and creeks that were in the cave. We stopped at one point to put mud all over our faces.

The magic came later. We all stopped in a slightly bigger room where we could all sit, and the guide had us all turn out our flashlights. I had never been in complete darkness before, and the sensation was incredible. I remember putting my hand up to my face and not being able to see it, and realizing that I was inside the Earth somewhere, and it had hidden the sun from me. At that moment, I realized how incredible the world outside the cave was, with its sunlight, colors, and wind, but I also realized how mysterious nature was that it could survive without these things.

After a few minutes of sitting there in complete darkness, the guide lit a match. The difference was stunning. I suddenly wanted to investigate each crevice in the cave wall, all the light flooding on to my cabin-mates’ faces, and my own hands that I had not been sure still existed. I was shocked at how a little match could bring such a huge change to the underground world, and the spell of the complete darkness that had kept us all in silence was lifted, and we continued laughing and chatting like muddy ten-year-olds. I left the cave thinking about how much I didn’t know about the world, and also how lucky I was to live in the light.

Saving nature is critically important to our dignity as human beings. We came from nature, and it is undeniable that we feel a connection to it. Though we have developed beyond the capabilities of the rest of the animals on the planet, this does not mean that we are exempt from living in nature. We love our planet, a fact that is supported by success of documentaries such as Planet Earth, or even the movie Wall-e, where the space-weary pilot is filled with a desire to learn more about the planet he wants to rediscover. We love nature for its beauty, its mystery, and its dualism between quietness and energy. If we let nature go, we are letting go one of the fundamental truths about ourselves and depriving the rest of human history of something that we know deep down that we love.

Another reason I believe we should save nature comes from my faith. As a Christian, I believe that God calls us to be stewards of the Earth, and this involves caring for the life around us. I know that not everyone shares my faith, but it still calls me to protect the environment and save the wonderful things God has placed here.

However, saving nature requires more than protection programs. It will require education, slowed development, and an increased appreciation for the world around us. We cannot save nature without halting our own development, and this is going to be hard to accept for many people, if not impossible. Just because something is impossible, though, does not mean that we should not try to do it.