Copyright 2002
Wilderness Drum, Inc.
All rights reserved

Closer to the Earth
Steve Beyer

Introduction Before you leave home Fears and prohibitions Beliefs Your senses Asking permission Sensory powers Camera walk Being something else Changing perspective "Artist Unknown" Thinking about nature On not naming things Gratitude Gifts from the wilderness Writing about nature Getting close Watching quietly One creature Decomposers Wilderness symphony Competency

Decomposers

An important part of the wilderness life cycle is recycling and decomposing. Plants and animals called decomposers take dead organic matter – leaves, needles, wood, dead animals – and break them down into their component chemicals for use by living organisms. Decomposers include beetles, centipedes, termites, earthworms, molds, mushrooms, and soil bacteria. Decomposers are an essential part of nature. The processes of rotting and decomposition liberate the chemicals locked in dead tissues so that they can be used again.

Mark out an area on the ground about sixteen inches square. Look closely at it, with a magnifying glass if you have one. Look at everything in that square – spiders, ants, cones, needles, leaves, twigs, mushrooms, moss, lichens. Dig a half inch underground and see what you can find there – roots, centipedes, worms, mold, ant eggs. See how the type of soil changes with the depth. Put your nose right next to the ground and breathe deeply. How many of the things you observe are decomposers?

Lie down under the arching branches of a tree and cover yourself with leaves, needles, branches, twigs, and moss. Think of yourself as a branch or leaf that has fallen onto the forest floor. Feel the weight of the forest litter. Let your body melt into the earth. Look up at the forest canopy where you came from. Think what you will be again as you are recycled back into the earth. If an insect crawls on your hand or face, do not disturb it. The insect is part of the process. Feel its tiny feet on your skin. Think that there is no life or death here – only renewal.

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