Nature Writing

In Richard Preston’s book The Wild Trees he analyzes the concept of living on the outer limit of biology and on the edge of the possible. He expressed this through the characters Steve Skillet and Michael Taylor. Steve and Michael go on some adventures to find the world’s tallest tree by putting in time, effort, dedication, and near death experiences to find it.

The goal for Michael Taylor and Steve Skillet was to indeed find the world’s tallest tree no matter what they had to go through. Michael actually quit Humboldt State University to have more time to study and climb trees. After a while Michael realized that he needed to go back to college so he took a loan and decided to go back to college. But college was not going to stop Michael on what his dream truly was.

In climbing trees there is a lot of risks that they took every day to do what they love. One example from the book is that they said since your upper half of your body is heavier then your lower half your body will turn upside down in mid air. The shock from you hitting the ground crushes your skull and breaks the neck and destroys the brain and spinal cord of the base of the skull. Instant death. Mary Antoine one time climbing a tree almost died as she fell 40 feet out of a tree. One big risk that Steve Skillet took is that he lost his wife due to the love of trees. He wouldn’t spend enough time with her and she felt like they were not meant to be anymore.

With tree climbing and adventures Michael and Steve had explored and discovered. Fog Creek, Devil’s Creek, Tom McDonald Creek, Bond Creek, and Elam Creek, were some places that they explored through out tree climbing. When Steve went to field brook valley in front of him as the biggest red wood he has ever seen before. His heart was beating like mad, and he was fumbling with his instrument and all most crying. He started to measure the tall redwood’s top, but he couldn’t see the top. The tree ran out of sight. He had discovered the ultimate tree. Every time they climb a tree they create a name for it. For example one of the names they created for a tree was nameless.

Steve and Michael through out this book go on a lot of adventures discovering things that no one has found before. They went through a lot of obstacles between school, jobs, and regular life. They overcame these to do what they truly loved to do. Climb trees.

Wild Trees

1. Preston describes the wild trees as living "at the outer limit of biology, on the edge of the possible." Many of his characters seem to also live by this concept in their lives, near-deaths and through their discoveries. Analyze how this concept manifests itself in different aspects of the story (different aspects might include setting, characters, plot, etc.).

Outline

Motivation to climb the trees

-Find the worlds tallest tree

-What they love to do

Risks

-Stressful
-Story of falling of kevin hillery and the girl
-mom story of her falling out of the tree (the first anecdote in the book)

-Weather conditions

Addicting tree climbing and about trees

-mental effects climbing has

-friends make you want to still climb

-family or trees

-Steve lost his wife for trees

-taught him self how to use the 3d movement and the spider rope

-one tool that was made up to calculate the angles of the trees (around the beginning)

-create names for each redwood tree they see

Dedication (pg 202)
-michael quit college to focus on trees-bad idea goes back to college

Wild Trees

1. How did you react to the idea that even in the 21st century, there are still parts of California (and the world) that are completely undiscovered? What does this make you think & feel?

I think that it is uncalled for, and people should start discovering the parts of California and the rest of the world that has not been seen or found. There are complaints about how there is not enough oil, trees and water. So if people look to discover the parts that have not been found there could be more oil, trees, and what that we need. It makes me feel that people are not trying hard enough to solve problems environmental in the world.

3. Before people started exploring the tree canopies, many people assumed it was like a desert up there (barren of life). It turned out to more like a coral reef (teeming with biodiversity). Why were so many people so wrong? Why did they make the wrong assumption? What lessons should we learn from these discoveries?

People that do not climb trees or that have not been to the top of a tree does not understand how it is up there. They do not under stand the biodiversity that happens in side and through out the tree. People just make assumptions and just guess on what it is like for the trees. We should all learn and understand the discoveries that has happened.

Professional Exhibition

If you are having a professional organization exhibit your work:

1. Link to the San Diego Coastkeeper Wiki/Main Site

http://www.sdwatersheds.org/wiki/Main_Page

http://www.sdcoastkeeper.org/

2. Still have to find someone to get in touch with to talk about possible linking to our own media saves the beach.

Telephone	(619) 758-7743
Fax	(619) 224-4638
Email	info@sdcoastkeeper.org

3. Date: 12/11/09 Place: Possibly, most likely on the Coast Keeper site.

4. So far we have not contacted them at this point. But sometime later this week, we will either walk down to their NTC office, inquiring about possible web site sharing/linkage.