Great Women Exploring Nature

Who Is GWEN? She may be in you.

GWEN—Great Women Exploring Nature

As you meet the women of GWEN, you will learn that nature encourages us to rise beyond self. The ecology of the natural world inspires us to explore the ecology of our soul. Throughout history women have felt the cycles of nature parallel their own. Many cultures honored the intuitive wisdom that women cultivated from their understanding of Mother Earth. This connection faded as society drifted from the lessons of nature into the industrial and then the technical age. At different points in history, the women of GWEN sought to reconnect to this powerful teacher in their own way.

The common landscape of GWEN is the natural world of Florida. I was drawn to this theme as I became aware of how my own relocation to this dense tropical state had affected my state of mind. Many of these women will be familiar. Perhaps their personalities and yearnings parallel your own. You may be surprised to learn about their connection to the sandy shores and wild land of the Sunshine State. As you become familiar with their place in history, you will also see intriguing connections of one to another.

This book evolved from a tiny slip of paper I called a GWEN fact. Guiding women on nature awareness walks, I would slip these tidbits of knowledge into lunch bags. As we sat on the beach or in the woods eating our snack, each woman would share the GWEN fact she found in her brown bag. Faces glowed as they read out loud about a woman of history with feelings similar to their own. The magic of such moments inspired me to expand GWEN’s information. But to my surprise, I discovered a personal conflict as I dived into the research to expose more of each woman’s life. I felt intrusive. It was similar to how I guided our excursions into the wild. I did not want us to get too close. I encouraged us to blend and just use our senses to feel. I provided enough information to add to the encounter, but left the mystery of the plant, rock, or animal to the moment. I know from my own experience the intimacy one can feel toward the shorebirds, a dolphin, or the wind in a pine is not for interpretation by another. How it inspires me changes with each circumstance.

My hope is that GWEN will shine on your own path. This book will guide you to the places that spoke to these women. Give yourself an experience beyond the words, and walk the earth they walked. Clear your mind in the outdoor world to feel the messages that spoke to their soul. Smell the forests and salty air that quieted their thoughts. See the landscapes that guided their lives. When you allow your body to move gently in the rhythm of nature, a new world may appear before your eyes.

You may just discover your own Cross Creek as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings did at a crossroad in her life. Something inspired Rachel Carson to find the courage to describe to the world how close we were to a Silent Spring. Anne Morrow Lindbergh was guided to find the perfect experience on which to reflect before writing a book of inspiration that has touched generations. Mina Miller Edison and Marjorie Harris Carr vigorously supported activism for wildlife and the land and gained power through the support of their husbands and families. You can inspire generations in a local area, such as Myrtle Scharrer Betz did when, at the age of eighty-seven, she wrote down her memories of living on Caladesi Island. You can demand that the world pay attention to the Everglades as Marjory Stoneman Douglas did into her 100s. If you look beyond your ego, the horizon gets bigger. As you use your senses to really feel the experience of walking on the beach or sitting in the woods, you will feel the wonder of nature. Learn from her wisdom.

The women of GWEN are as different as us all. Some were from privilege, others from extreme poverty. Historians still probe the mystery that surrounds aspects of their lives. Supportive partners ranged from husbands to mothers to friends. Most had complicated lives filled with both happiness and despair.