Where: The North Woods and the Medicinal Gardens of URI’s Kingston Campus*
When: October 16 and 17** from 8:00 am-5:00 pm
* The North Woods is not wheelchair accessible. Self-guided, accessible activities are available at the URI Medicinal Gardens. ** Rain date October 18
About Write Out
Since 2017, the Department of Public and Professional Writing (formerly known as the Department of Writing and Rhetoric) has worked with campus and community partners to host an annual celebration in October that draws attention to the remarkable variety of writing on our campus and in our community. These National Day on Writing celebrations provide opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and community members to write together, publicly and powerfully.
This year we are joining the National Writing Project and the National Parks Service to host a local Write Out: Poetry for the Planet event. We’ll have opportunities for students to get outside, connect to local places and ecosystems, and engage in scientific and creative writing. There are also opportunities for students to share their writing in their classrooms and with others across the country using the hashtags #uri and #writeout on most social media platforms.
Guided events will take place in the North Woods. Our tent and welcome table will be set up at the edge of the North Woods, on Flag Road, across from the Coastal Institute. Writing 104 classes should meet at the tent at their regularly scheduled times. Others are welcome to join anytime between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. For those who don’t fancy a walk in the woods, you can visit the wheel-chair accessible URI Medicinal Gardens anytime to observe and learn more about the plants that contribute to our healing and wellness. Both of these locations provide unique opportunities to experience the natural world and document those experiences through the practice of taking field notes.
Parking adjacent to the North Woods is limited during the academic year. Students with an active parking permit may use the Fine Arts lot, or take the campus shuttle to the Coastal Institute on Flagg Road.
Getting Ready for the North Woods
While there is some bench seating in the North Woods, you may want to bring a blanket or towel for sitting on the forest floor for your woodland observations and field note-writing.
Dress for the outdoors! Sturdy walking shoes or athletic shoes are a must. If you decide to hike through the trail, you might consider hiking boots or trail shoes with thicker soles and good ankle support. Wear loose-fitting, comfortable clothing. Light layers will help you prepare for changes in temperature during the day. Consider wearing a hat to shield your face and head from sun and your eyes from the glare. Bring a backpack or hip pack for your water bottle and field notebook. Apply sunscreen and insect repellent. Read more about tick, mosquito, and poison ivy prevention on the Visit page of the North Woods website.
Learn About The North Woods: The North Woods is adjacent to the URI main campus, encompassing 307 acres just to the north across Flagg Road. The land includes 225 acres of forest, wetlands, and headwater streams; intramural athletic fields; and a solar panel array built on a reclaimed Superfund site.
Listen to a Story: Here you will find the complete recording and transcript of “How Birds Got Their Song,” which is segmented into four parts as part of the North Woods Project. Immerse yourself in the rich storytelling woven into the fabric of this landscape, where every rock, tree, and vernal pool has a story to tell. This timeless piece of Narragansett culture is a celebration of resilience, strength, and the power of storytelling.
Taking Field Notes in the North Woods
In this video, AnnaFaith Jorgenson, a DWELL Research Assistant and graduate of the MESM program, discusses her experiences taking different types of field notes and offers different tips and best practices for taking notes and reflecting on field experiences.
Refer to this list of Narragansett Environmental Words and Phrases
This list will help you when you are creating your nature poem after the event (see below) and may also serve as useful as you take your field notes.
Review this North Woods Field Guide
This guide will help you identify some common species you may encounter during your observations in North Woods.
iNaturalist helps you identify the plants and animals around you while generating data for science and conservation. Get connected with a community of millions of scientists and naturalists who can help you learn more about nature! Using the free iNaturalist application can be a fun and easy way to learn more about the plants and animals of the North Woods. iNaturalist can also help to identify species if you upload your own photos. To use iNaturalist, you should download the app and create a free account prior to the event.
Taking Field Notes at the North Woods on Oct. 15 & 16
Guided events at the North Woods will follow the class schedule for M/W/F and T/Th. M/W/F classes meet on the hour from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., and T/Th classes meet at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m.,11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 5 p.m.
At the welcome table, you will receive a pre-sharpened pencil and a field note journal for taking notes in the woods. You will also receive a short field guide with common species you might observe in the North Words. The names of the plants and animals are provided in English, Latin, Spanish, and Indigenous Algonquian languages.
The names and words we use to refer to and describe the natural world shape our perspectives and define our worldviews. By paying attention to the types of language we use, and by including more than one linguistic perspective on the North Woods, we promote a wider range of perspectives on the place. These multidimensional viewpoints are referred to in many Indigenous traditions as “two eyed seeing” or as “ways of knowing.” For example, Robin Wall Kimmerer, who is a professor with a Ph.D. in plant ecology and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, argues that different ways of knowing can help us move from thinking about natural “resources” to “kin”.
After an orientation to the North Woods, you will join a smaller group and walk together to visit one of these three stations:
- the outdoor classroom (approximately 100 yards)
- the larger vernal pool (appoximately 200 yards )
- the manmade vernal pool (approximately 0.5 mile walk)
Each group will have a short introduction to the ecological features of the station and then at least 20 minutes to immerse yourselves in the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of the North Woods. You should take many pages of field notes in your journal to capture these observations. This will form the raw material for your poetry.
After writing your field notes, you have the opportunity to complete a through-hike of the woods, approximately a 1.2 mile loop.
After the Event
Write a Nature Poem
In solidarity with the National Writing Project, the National Parks Service, and our planet, we invite you to write a poem of nature in the North Woods or the URI Medicinal Gardens that transverses languages. As you shift into language to capture the beauty of a moment in nature, use all the means of expression that you bring, including different languages or dialects. We invite you to write from all your ways of knowing
Use any tools or media for writing your poem. Consider designing your poem by adding illustrations, images, and/or layout features that bring in visual elements from your field notes.
Na:nko Ma:s Cewagĭ / Cloud Song
By Ofelia Zepeda
Ce:daghim ‘o ‘ab wu:ṣañhim.
To:tahim ‘o ‘ab wu:ṣañhim.
Cuckuhim ‘o ‘ab him.
Wepeghim ‘o ‘abai him.
Greenly they emerge.
In colors of blue they emerge.
Whitely they emerge.
In colors of black they are coming
Reddening, they are right here.
Share Your Nature Poem and Win Prizes
Want to share what you wrote? Here are the different options for sharing now and also during Write Out:
- Share with your classmates
- Post to social media with the hashtags #uri #writeout (you can find others doing the same on X and Instagram)
- Submit your poetry to our URI Write Out contest. Email your poem to stephwp@uri.edu with the subject line “Write Out Nature Poem Submission.” Please include your name, your status (graduate or undergraduate), and your professor’s name if you are in WRT 104 or WRT 106. Winners will be chosen in the following categories: under graduate text-only poems, undergraduate multimodal poems, graduate text-only poems, and graduate multimodal poems. Winning writers will receive an eco-friendly Write Out sweatshirt or t-shirt!
Questions about Write Out or how you can get involved? Email co-organizers Stephanie West-Puckett, stephwp@uri.edu or Madison Jones madisonjones@uri.edu.
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Self-guided Observation at the URI Medicinal Gardens
The Heber W. Youngken Jr. Medicinal Garden is wheelchair accessible. Field note journals and pre-sharpened pencils will be available in the garden.
Heber W. Youngken Jr. Medicinal Garden
The Medicinal Garden is in the courtyard of the Pharmacy Building, between Woodward and Tyler Hall. The garden is named after the College of Pharmacy’s founding dean, the late Heber W. Youngken Jr., a pioneer in the study of medicinal plants. Now, with 200 medicinal plants, 500 ornamental plants, 9 birch trees, sodded areas, walkways, benches shaped in the form of birch leaves and a translucent sculptural frieze featuring panels that depict plant life in laboratory slides, the courtyard and garden are places for research and respite from the demands of 21st-century life.