Gardens: an alternative feature of the Anthropocene

Yesterday afternoon, my whole concept of gardens changed. That was probably a weird sentence to read but once I explain, you shall hopefully understand…

I am currently taking a class called ‘The Anthropocene’; the main aim of the class is to evaluate the cumulative effects of humans on Earth in order for us to eventually individually conclude whether the Earth has indeed left the Holocene and entered a new geological epoch - the Anthropocene. The term Anthropocene was first proposed by Crutzen and Stoermer (2000), who argued that humans have displaced nature by becoming a dominant environmental force on Earth. It is easy to see how humans have dramatically altered the planet; we merely just have to look out the window to see for example how humans have altered land use through urbanisation. Consequently, there is an abundance of academic literature that has evidenced these human effects, through the extinction of megafauna (Barnosky et al., 2004) to the domestication of the world’s crops and livestock (Larson et al., 2014), mass deforestation, and the burning of fossil fuels (Kaplan et al., 2011).

Similarly, studies have looked at how human activities have modified Earth’s natural biome vegetation, consequently creating ‘anthromes’ (Ellis, 2011). I personally tended to think of these ‘anthromes’ as urban settlements, agricultural land, and disturbed forested and vegetated land. I would never place gardens within this subset. However, as my professor began to discuss how humans have developed gardens, disturbing the natural environment through deliberately modifying vegetation whilst simultaneously introducing non-native plant species, it suddenly dawned on me: gardens are another prime example of how humans have impacted the Earth. Even though gardens are associated with containing ‘nature’, they are very much unnatural. Gardens change the composition and configuration of the natural landscape through the introduction of non-native species and unnatural flower combination and patterns, the implementation of man-made borders, and the artificial upkeep of plants, such as neat hedgerows and flower beds.

Without this human alteration, the natural landscape of a garden would obviously be very different. This demonstrates how we have the ability to transform a natural environment. I think that a garden represents our unearthly power and dominance over nature.

This discussion made me think of my visit to Zilker Botanical Garden a few weeks ago. The Austin garden displays a range of native, non-native and exotic plants in which approximately 300,000 people visit annually (Zilker Botanical Garden, nd). I remember thinking that the garden was peaceful and natural – a nice escape from downtown Austin and the urban landscape that humans have very much created. However, on the other hand, I cannot help but think how the garden’s landscape is not natural and has also experienced a variety of human modifications: within the Japanese Garden, there are a number of Japanese maple trees in addition to unnatural, yet pleasant looking, rockery and flower installations. Without human intervention and consequent power and dominance over nature, this garden landscape would not exist.

The Japanese Garden in Zilker Botanical Garden

Within the garden, there are a number of personalised paving stones. One of which really caught my attention: it read ‘deep within each of us lies a garden’. At the time, I thought this meant there is a place within us that is harmonious; a gentle and serene characteristic present beneath our exterior. However, I now have a very different, and arguably much more negative, perception. I think that if a garden can fundamentally represent human power and dominance over nature, the claim that ‘deep within each of us lies a garden’ therefore means that we have within us the ability to transform nature – it is an innate trait within our species, which has the capability to transform the Earth as we formally begin to enter the Anthropocene.

This is arguably a very morbid way to view an innocent garden. I may now never be able to experience a garden the same way. I apologise if I have now done the same to you.

One of the personalised paving stones in the garden

References

Barnosky, P.L., R.S. Koch, R.S. Feranec, S.L. Wing and A.B. Shabel (2004) ‘Assessing the Causes of Late Pleistocene Extinctions on the Continents’, Science, Vol. 306, 70-75.

Crutzen, P.J. and E.F. Stoermer (2000) ‘The “Anthropocene”, Global Change’, IGBP Newsletter, Vol. 41 (12), 17-18.

Ellis, E.C. (2011) ‘Anthropogenic transformation of the terrestrial biosphere’, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, Vol. 369, 1010-1035.

Kaplan, J.O. et al (2011) ‘Holocene carbon emissions as a result of anthropogenic land cover change’, Holocene, Vol. 21, 775-791.

Larson, G. et al (2014) ‘Current perspectives and the future of domestication studies’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 111, 6139-6146.

Zilker Botanical Garden (nd) The Gardens of ZBG [Online]. Austin: Zilker Botanical Gardens. Available at http://www.zilkergarden.org/gardens/gardens.html [Accessed: 19^th October 2016]. 

The end of gun free UT

On 1^st August 2016, the Campus Carry law came into effect at UT, which now means students are able to bring a concealed handgun onto most places on campus. These students must be licence holders (therefore, they must be twenty-one and older), the gun must be concealed, and the licence holder cannot carry the concealed handgun when intoxicated (University of Texas at Austin, 2016). It is estimated that less than one percent of UT students have a licence to carry a handgun (University of Texas at Austin, 2016).

Unsurprisingly, this change has been greeted by fierce reservations and intense debate. Three professors have attempted to sue UT and Texas state attorney to block the campus carry law (Dart, 2016a), whilst an American singer-songwriter, Ray LaMontagne, cancelled a show at the university after stating that he did not agree with campus carry (Blanchard, 2016). However, student protesters have received the most international attention with the campaign Cocks Not Glocks (Dart, 2016b). The campaigners aimed to fight the law by highlighting the absurdity of being able to carry a gun on campus yet being unable to brandish a sex toy on campus. The protest aimed to challenge the perception that carrying a weapon is normal.

One of the posters around campus protesting against campus carry

Opponents of campus carry argue that guns in the classroom may frighten students, which discourages free expression and arguably upsets the foundations of academia. Professors may avoid critical thinking and controversial debate in order to prevent potential confrontation. On the other hand, proponents of campus carry argue that they are able to exercise their second amendment rights and enhance self-protection if a shooting does occur. Others assert more guns on campus will lead to more danger; those with an armed weapon may not be trained to handle it at critical moments, and there may be multiple confusion and false alarms. This all leads to an increased likelihood of danger.

Perhaps most painfully and tragically ironic is that 1^st August 2016 also marks fifty years since UT’s mass shooting; in 1966, Charles Whitman climbed to the top of the university tower and shot forty-three people, killing thirteen (Texas Monthly, 2016). In an interview with The Guardian, one of the survivors spoke openly condemning the law, stating that she hopes open carry becomes banned (Dart, 2016c).

I come from a country where police officers are not permitted to carry guns in public, never mind university students; guns are a thing I only see in films. Therefore, I find it slightly unnerving to be present at a university where the campus carry debate is happening and to be living in a country where a gun is regarded to be such a casual possession. On my third day in Austin, I met a nineteen-year-old who had six guns. I didn’t quite know how to process that information. In this regard, I have entered a complete new world.

Texas has now become the ninth state that has affirmative policies enabling students to carry guns on campus (NCSL, 2016). I sense that campus carry is a bleak reminder that regardless of how liberal Austin is perceived to be, it is governed and consequently controlled by a Republican state. And maybe most significantly, this is something that Austin cannot escape. It will be interesting to see whether UT accepts this harsh reality over time.

References

Blanchard, B. (2016) Ray LaMontagne Cancels Show at UT-Austin Over Campus Carry Law [Online]. Austin: The Texas Tribune. Available at http://www.texastribune.org [Accessed: 3 October 2016]

Dart, T. (2016a) Professors sue University of Texas and state attorney over campus carry laws [Online]. London: The Guardian. Available at http://www.theguardian.com [Accessed: 3 October 2016]

Dart, T. (2016b) Cocks Not Glocks: Texas students carry dildos on campus to protest gun law [Online]. London: The Guardian. Available at http://www.theguardian.com [Accessed: 3 October 2016].

Dart, T. (2016c) UT Tower shooting survivor speaks out against new campus carry law in Texas [Online]. London: The Guardian. Available at http://www.theguardian.com [Accessed: 3 October, 2016].

NCSL (2016) Guns on Campus: Overview [Online]. Denver: National Conference of State Legislature. Available at http://www.ncsl.org/research/education/guns-on-campus-overview.aspx [Accessed: 3 October 2016].

Texas Monthly (2016) The UT Tower Shooting [Online]. Austin: Texas Monthly. Available at http://www.texasmonthly.com/category/topics/ut-tower-shooting/ [Accessed: 3 October 2016].

University of Austin at Texas (2016) Campus Carry [Online]. Austin: The University of Texas at Austin. Available at https://campuscarry.utexas.edu/ [Accessed: 3 October 2016]. 

A new beginning in Austin, Texas

‘So… why Texas?!’ was a common question when I told people I was going to study at UT – often asked in a surprised and slightly concerned tone. This conundrum would then deepen for the inquirer when he/she found out that I am in fact vegetarian and I have never eaten fried chicken. People genuinely thought I may starve.

If I’m being honest, I don’t really know why I chose to study at UT; I arguably knew very little about Austin and even less about Texas. I knew that Texas is the second largest state by size (behind Alaska), bordering Mexico and is predominately Republican. However, Austin appealed to me; the city is regarded to be a liberal hotspot deep in the heart of Texas, completely different to surrounding Texan cities and towns, and actually does contain lots of vegetarian and vegan cafes (astonishingly to my Texan inquirers); the university is huge, with a total enrolment of nearly 51,000 students in 2015 (University of Texas at Austin, 2016) and is regarded to be the 16^th best public school in the USA (US News and World Report, 2016); the university is also campus based, with numerous free sport facilities. All of these points made me interested in University of Texas at Austin.

And now I’m here.

What have I learnt these past few weeks? Well, firstly it does rain in Texas and I’m profusely thankful I packed my umbrella. The campus is absolutely massive and unsurprisingly, with 51,000 students, it can be hard to find somewhere to sit. However, the campus is remarkably modern and pretty – unlike Austin. Austin does however have a certain hipster-y charm, in the sense that many buildings seem to have been built in the late twentieth century and consequently, produce an unintentional juxtaposition with 2016.

Students dress differently here compared to UCL, often clad in oversized t-shirts and sports shorts with sandals. I’ve found that the students I’ve spoken to have been really friendly and easy to talk to. However, people cannot do a British accent to save their life, as I start to realise how no one can truly pronounce ‘water’ in my accent. Speaking of accents, I’ve noticed how Americans pronounce certain words differently (e.g. processes, epoch, aluminium, ecology, and even geography), which has made me question my own pronunciations in my head at times...

I’ve also realised that it feels incredibly unnatural writing the date with the month first, sharing a room with someone is proving not to be too bad, and the closest supermarkets are a ten-minute bus ride away. Oh, and also the queue for Starbucks is huge.

View of downtown Austin 

UT's infamous tower - the equivalent of UCL's portico

A few of Austin's downtown office buildings

Experiencing one of Austin's farmers' market 

Although these differences may seem banal at first, they are helping create an image of Austin bit by bit and by May 2017, I hope that this image in my head is complete. I’ve already discovered what a UT football game is like and perhaps even more shocking, a Donald Trump rally. However, that’s something that I feel deserves its own story in another blog post… And even though I’ve only just started at UT, I sense this academic year is going to be very different to the one I am used to at UCL.

References

University of Texas at Austin (2016) Facts and Figures [Online]. Austin: The University of Texas at Austin. Available at: https://www.utexas.edu/about/facts-and-figures [Accessed: 12 September 2016]. 

US News and World Report (2016) Top Public Schools [Online]. Available at: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public [Accessed: 12 September 2016]. 

Welcome y’all to University of Texas at Austin

Week six in Austin, Texas and I’m wondering whether I’ll ever be able to say y’all naturally. However, I still have time (approximately eight months if we’re being precise). Anyway, here I am in the Lone Star State for the first time and so starts my year abroad documentation. I truly have no idea what the next eight months will bring, whether that is academically, emotionally or socially. Regardless, I plan to record my year abroad experiences and hopefully, reflect upon them to discuss how I ‘geog’ and live differently at UCL compared to UT.

I’m excited for this year to unfold and to share it with ya’ll (I think I used it correctly this time…).