OLD*** Where Are Some Of Our Participants From?
- Welcome
san_city96 from Mumbai, India
Swimmergurl808 from Kailua, Hawaii, United States
marshmallow2000 from Berlin, Germany
ElectraBot13 from New York, New York, United States
Delaney06 from Fort Providence, Northwest Territories, Canada
EmCo303 from Kailua, Hawaii, United States
"When I took my walk, I saw a beautiful bush the color of a crisp, red apple. I breathe out, and I'm suddenly surrounded by a puffy cloud that vaporizes quickly. I hear the wind whistling through the leaves, a familiar sound, since I live in a windy area. When I turned into a sidewalk, I saw a gorgeous red-bellied bird perched in a tree. I moved along and approached a moderate sized grouping of trees with a path cutting across it. I smelled... well, it's kind of hard to explain. I guess it smelled like the earth, like the soily smell of the dead leaves. And I feel dampness, that odd sensation of autumn. Between summer and winter, it's dry, but wettish at the same time. I keep walking and spot a tree that was a fiery red and stood out amongst the others. As I walk on, the sun starts to set. It was amazing, so much that it looked like a painting. There were splashes of orange, purple, blue, and red filling up the entire sky. And if you looked at it one way, it also looked like someone had skipped a stone across the sky, and had that ripple effect." - Giraffe from Lake Forest, Illinois, United States
"This picture is really important for me because it shows the pole that has always been in front of my house, and it has a special meaning for me. I could recognize it easily if I saw it in a photo because it is slightly tilted because it has been there for years. It is really important for me because it reminds me of all of the times I have arrived in front of my house with my bicycle and tied it there and every time I waited for someone to pick me up I just leaned on it." - marvellous_C from Milan, Italy
"I chose the second picture because I love taking pictures of plants. It amazes me how plants grow out of different places. The little plant in this picture grew only a few months ago because I've actually never seen it before, even though it's right outside my house. It’s so little and cute! I love observing little things like these that people usually pay no attention to. In particular, the walk didn't make me think differently about my neighbourhood except for the fact that we don't get a lot of fog every year, but for some reason, we're getting thick fog this year. Or at least this time of the year." - PlanetaryPurple Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
"I choose the first picture because it exemplifies the light rain and how it feels light to the person but is everywhere and can easily disturb the tranquility of the pond. As well in the background there is a forest that holds mystery and adventure into the unknown, while being familiar at the same time. The trees also show how diverse trees can be during the fall as some lose their leaves early on and are bare while some trees turn red or are still even green. This made me think of what Paul will be seeing on his journey of the different plant and animal species that he will encounter throughout the world." - m.d. from Crystal Lake, Illinois, United States
"I was out this weekend, and I took pictures of my favorite places I like to hangout with, when I am with my friends. Additionally, I live next to Bandar mall, which has a movie theatre, a bowling alley, and food courts. In addition to that, my friends and I ate from KFC, which is my favorite type of chicken. The thing I love about my street, is that everything is close to it, my school, entertainment and food." - alibasha from Cairo, Egypt
"I picked these images because it shows how different the same world can be to different people. The two pictures are of the same moon and were taken about a minute and 300 meters apart. They were taken with the same camera on the same settings. The shocking thing about these pictures that I noticed after returning home from my walk, was how different they were. This difference may be attributed to some gases in the air, but I saw it a metaphor in it--signifying that although there is only one world and its set of events for people to experience, through the varying lenses of the diverse population of the world, people may have different experiences from a single event." - mrwooe918 from Newton, Massachusetts, United States
"I chose the picture of the truck because it really showed me how unique New York City is and even if you are just walking to school there can be a wonder around every corner. I chose the other photo because it feels special to me. What the photo was taken of is the Union Square Christmas Market, which of course only happens once a year. And that I feel is a special thing, because Christmas is a joyful time of year. Every day in my neighborhood I see about a million trucks; normal, boring trucks. Usually I just pass by without noticing and continue with my day. But one day I stopped walking and found this truck. It was average sized. There was nothing strange about it, except for one thing. The truck was completely covered in graffiti, I could see no blank spot. That truck to me was beautiful art. It reminded me how diverse and artistic New York City is and much culture and beauty the place we call home has. That is what I discovered when I was walking." - Peacelover10 from New York, New York, United States
"The reason I’ve taken this photo is to show how incredibly awesome our river is; I mean look at that! Look how awesome that is! :) The Mackenzie River means a lot to our community because that was our ancestors way of traveling, ways of hunting.. way of life.. deep, I know...I want people to know how cold it is up here in the great white north! It was -35 when I took this photo! I think it's really dope that this river to connected to the Arctic Ocean. I remember a couple of years ago, a few canoeists canoed from Ottawa all the way to Inuvik, and a big part of their journey was on the Mackenzie. It's cool to think that at one time, these rivers were like highways for the canoes." - CaptainBrandon from Fort Providence, Northwest Territories, Canada
"During my neighborhood walk, I discovered that the area in which I live is in fact quite different than I used to think. First, I realized that the brick townhomes in my neighborhood are clustered tightly together. This, to me, represents how closely knit together our community is. However, I also realized that the alleys between our strips of houses seem isolated and abandoned. I also noticed the sharp contrast between the backs of the houses and the fronts--it was obvious that the facades were made to be seen, while the backs were not. For example, the garbage bins were located at the back of the houses. In addition, by slowing down and listening, I found that the neighborhood is alive in ways that I did not previously realize. I was able to focus on everyday sounds such as the scuffle of squirrels running through trees and birds chirping their individual songs." - legolasgreenleaf from Washington, DC, United States
"These are pictures of thing around my neighborhood. The first picture I took was a picture of a cactus by the railroad tracks. I took a picture of these because I never knew that there were cactuses in Michigan. The second picture I took was a picture of black lake. The reason I took a picture of this was because I grew up on black lake and I’ve been swimming and fishing there ever sense I was little." - lego560 from Grand Haven, Michigan, United States
"This is a picture of the group of trees near my house. I chose this picture because not only is it beautiful, but it is also a good example of nature in my neighborhood. Usually the first thing you think of when I say New York City, is sky scrapers, cars honking, crowded streets and things like that. But in my neighborhood, there so many beautiful flowers and trees and nature that makes the neighborhood different from the rest of the city. After taking this walk, I realize that I need to really appreciate and look closely at the things around me more because I might be missing out on something truly beautiful." - Platypuswhisperer10 from New York, New York, United States
"…When I go there, I help my brother with stuff, also my pops. I took this photo because I wanted people from farther south to see how we live our lives in the north. I felt different when I took this photo because I realized that some people from the south don't know how we live. In movies, cabins look like houses. Here, our cabins have no power and we use a stove to keep warm. Coming here takes me to a different place, where there is no power or noise. We get to relax and not be bothered by people. We get to learn our traditional culture..." - Cookies_037 from Fort Providence, Northwest Territories, Canada
"I chose this photo because I love how it shows the plants we have in our neighborhood. I also chose this photo because I love how it is like blurry and it shows the other plants we have in the back in the background. I also never noticed how many beautiful plants we have in my neighborhood. I had no idea that we had plants like that and how beautiful they are." - diamond123 from Glenview, Illinois, United States
"During this walk, we learned that there were things that we never even thought that we had it in our neighborhood. For example, we saw two deer run across the school parking lot. We also saw some amazing and interesting things. This is a picture of sun. The sun is covered in fog and it has an orangey-pinkish glow. This is not something we everyday." - Group7Y from San Rafael, California, United States
"This is a picture of a koi pond at Ropes Garden near my house. I think koi are beautiful creatures. To get this picture I leaned in close to the koi pond, tried not to fall in and found some koi. The water on top of the koi pond was frozen so the koi have to look for openings if they want to go to the surface. They must find food under the surface. I wondered how do the koi survive in such cold elements? I researched google and found out that they slow down their metabolism and rely on fat stored in their bodies. They do need oxygen so it’s important that holes are made in the ice for air to get into the water. Koi are very majestic and I like looking at them. Looking at the koi made me feel calm and the koi pond seemed calm. I also wondered how long they live. I found out they can live 20 to 40 years. The oldest koi lived 200 years. I also discovered that all the flowers in the Ropes Garden (where the koi pond is) are cleared out for winter. I think the gardeners do this so the plants and flowers don't wilt."
- smvillage from Marblehead, Massachusetts, United States