How a Box in the Woods Taught Me to Write About Nature

By Kasey Butcher Santana

My science teacher uses a ruler and twine to mark a square-foot box in the damp blanket of leaves covering the “outdoor classroom.” My task today is to observe this small patch. Part of a log has fallen within the boundaries, and I note the moss that grows on it and the bugs that seek shelter under its flaking bark. We return once a month to note how this woodland square changes with the seasons and maybe even write a poem.

I do not remember completing this assi...