Nature and Constructed Space: Making Contacts and Making Stories

It’s been a few weeks since I blogged for our group. I feel like a lot has happened, yet not much has happened at all. I met with the people at El Dorado Nature Center and went on a nice nature walk enjoying the “naturally constructed nature” of the center. I think that phrase is an oxymoron, but it makes sense to me, because I found out that everything there was planted, but some of it has taken over and grown on its own. So, the nature center was constructed and is maintained by people, but plants are given as much free range to grow as possible.

Anyways, the more exciting part about my trip to the nature center was the contacts I gained. I met a couple who has walked there every morning for 25 years. Donnie (my tour guide) told me that the nature center has been therapeutic for people overcoming illness and trauma in their lives. So there are lot of people that really enjoy and appreciate the nature and I hope to interview some. I also met the nature center stewards, volunteers who come multiple times a week to maintain the nature center. They help plant “native” California plants and take care of different areas. Donnie told me that all of these people have unique interests in nature. A couple of them have replanted their own yards with native California plants. Others are very knowledgeable about butterflies or another specific area of nature, kind of like our shell guy. All of them seem like they would have interesting stories to tell, but that leads to our group’s dilemma.

How do we take these different aspects of nature and tie them into a story? Can we focus on people’s “nature” hobbies and still explore our idea of nature and constructed space? Nature is all around us, how do we focus our filming so that it is not so broad we never reach a point, nor is it so narrow that we miss something? Finally, how do I, as a director, proceed forward trying to get these people to talk to me without giving up every day of the week volunteering just to build trust and a relationship so that these people want to share?

I can’t believe it is already December. Our film has so much great potential, but there are so many other things happening, I don’t know how we will get it all done… It still seems so abstract to me! I am hoping in January I will have a little more time to volunteer, film and do interviews, but we’ll see. Somehow, we will construct this film as naturally as possible to explore the issues of nature, space, and people’s unique stories.