In just one week, the tip of every leaf in the valley has taken on its signature autumn color. Fall is upon us! From the cooling grass to the pumpkin spice lattes, it is impossible to escape.

To celebrate the change of season, I would like to take you on a tour through the Arboretum, one of campus’ natural delights!

For starters, the Arboretum is a treat all year round. Although this section will focus on the fall exhibits, the summer season was hardly winding down when we arrived on campus! This makes for a lovely taste of all four seasons, as the exhibits begin to change almost immediately upon our return to school in the fall. I would especially recommend checking out the bee exhibit— I mean, look at this beauty!

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In addition to these natural exhibits, it also houses a children’s section, full of colorful statues and interactives. There are acoustic metal instruments designed to be extremely satisfying to play, even by the musically unenlightened (vis a vis: my friends and I). In one crevice of the space, there is an entire plaster replica of a cave, complete with stalactites and juvenile climbing areas. The space is not only kid-friendly, but generally tactile and fun to be in!

The rest of the arboretum takes the world by storm, especially in fall. They have a blend of native pollinators and interesting species, cleverly woven into the spectacle of the parks. Abutting the koi pond is a field of yellow and brown, which somehow sparks the magic in native plains species. Part of that magic? Hitting the arboretum at the right time. We hardly encountered any other folks on our walk, because we came closer to the sunset on a rainy day.

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Where others see the lost opportunity of stargazing and clear sunsets, I see the birth of a new chance to sit in a grey rock above a smooth, grey pond, and to bask in the cool comfort of the rain.

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Speaking of rainy days– you may want to seek shelter in the log cabin! If you didn’t check the weather beforehand, that is– I hear that most folks do not have this problem. Well, I have never been accused of being like most folks, but if most folks wouldn’t climb up into the rafters to see the valley with the birds, then I think most folks and I will have to go our separate ways.

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I would like to end this entry by suggesting that you get involved with the activities and community-based events that come from the arboretum. It is a wonderful center on campus, especially for folks like me who are missing the green touch of home! They have gourds, they have hay, and they even have a current pumpkin carving contest that anyone can get involved in. It’s coming up!

As we sink into this semester, don’t forget to look around you every once in a while and enjoy the show. I promise, you won’t regret it.

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Today, I’d like to take us further into the stratosphere– well, the 12ft reaches of the atmosphere, anyway. That’s right– this post is going to be a love letter to the climbing community here at campus.

In a previous post, I brushed over the bouldering wall and top-rope facility hosted by the IM Building. Not only are these community resources, analogous to a playground, but they are created and curated by the people who use them. They are rated from V0-V6 or 7, and those difficulty ratings are generally assigned by the Climbing Gods who generate new routes. Lucky, this means that if you’re struggling on something ambitious like a V5– through sheer stupidity, bravery, or a wild kick of preworkout– then it is more than likely that some dexterous beneficiary will swoop in and show you the “meta” for the route.

My friend Clay and I started climbing at this wall since Welcome Week, and we have already seen some beloved routes fall and behemoths rise to take their place. It is ridiculously easy to make friends, forge connections, and solicit advice from other athletes in this format– climbing is a solitary sport, but in many ways, it doubles as a team sport in terms of strategy. Everyone wants to solve the problem and get you to the top hold (although, sadly, the wall is designed to prevent you from topping out. Boo).

The learning curve for new climbers– at least, for tree-climbing bumpkins like my friends and I– picks up very quickly, and much of this is thanks to the climbers who stood at the sidelines and showed us the ropes. (It’s also thanks to some high-tech digs I picked up this summer.)

(Image Credit: Author)

This is my friend Clay on one of the biggest “dynos” on the wall right now. His personal challenge is to make it in two leaping, dynamic moves! Picking up these skill-building games from other climbers (however insane) is a huge part of having fun with the climb– and having fun is what it’s about!

If you’ll notice, Clay is on the top of the dyno. It’s going pretty well for him.

My personal ongoing game is to climb the rightmost crimp white V3 whenever there is someone to wave to at the top level. It is murder on my fingers. A week ago, I said hello to someone up there– aaand lost my grip on the spread hold, slowly swung out on my remaining arm, and fell from the very top of the wall.

These things happen.

And– you know what? I don’t mind it! I am a mountain biker, a climber, and an “outdoors” person. If I did not like falling on my face, I would not engage with nearly as many tripping hazards. And where’s the fun in that? My “climbing wall” at home looked an awful lot like this:

(Image Credit: Author)

Since the conception of this post, I have grown as a climber beyond my expectations– perhaps beyond anyone’s expectations! A few weeks ago, I began to play with a white, V5 underhang known as “Languish.” Just a few days ago, I completed the route on my first run. Maybe some of you understand that addiction to improvement, to reaching harder crevices, and yes, to falling on your face. I have always maintained that a face-full of mud is the foundation for the best adventures yet to come.

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Being able to physically interact with one’s environment, such as discovering its hidden nooks and crannies, is essential for me to feel welcomed in a space. Human beings are playful and inquisitive, and ideally, our living spaces accommodate and encourage this. Together with greenery and other urban features, the opportunity for “play” in a space makes it unique.

What the campus lacks in genuine greenery, it makes up in simulation! That’s right– today we will be talking about the built-in outdoor recreation opportunities on campus. (Or, as I am inclined to call them, the ample opportunities to monkey around.)

Let’s start with the popular IM Building, meant for the most obvious forms of recreation!

Seen here are several opportunities for students to become involved in different communities within one room, all organized into separate social spaces.

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From right to left, we have the top-rope climbing office (partially obscured), the indoor soccer and recreational field, the bouldering wall, and the treadmills featured in the top right. Although these spaces lack physical greenery, they maintain the vibrancy of a communal space while keeping their activities distinct. Notice the mesh nets that protect climbers from errant field goals, and the railings designed to give indoor treadmill users the feeling of protection from the activities below. To engage with the climbing wall, a passerby need only step in line with other climbers and watch the routes of those before them– and of course, they will inevitably be encouraged to “Rock on, Dude.” Even navigating the room requires a textured journey between the different communities, allowing new students and visitors to make discoveries within their environment.

This is all within one room, and there are a great many in the IM Building! However, the spaces on campus which are not meant for active recreation facilitate another kind of playfulness– passive recreation.

The HUB building is a go-to for a variety of student activities, including studying, eating, and socializing. Unique features incorporated into the center allow it to be such a jack of all trades without compromising its utility.

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To begin with the stairs: there is a clear delineation between the path of active traffic, in small white steps, and the study/lounge area in the center. By playing with the features of stairs, these larger wooden installments invite creativity into the different ways in which students may use it. They might recline, or read from a screen or text on their stomach– failing that, the tall stairs serve as a challenge for those feeling extraordinarily silly. They break the expectations of the space, inviting students to do the same.

The HUB’s prominent outdoor seating also blurs these lines between rigid study space and community center. The entire space is filled with natural light, and for those who choose to sit outside, there are many views and sounds of the town awaiting them. This entices the casual coffee enjoyer to learn more about their space and feel rewarded for their exploration with a little discovery of their own. Even in a space that does not welcome rambunctious physicality, the interaction between the students and their environment provides enrichment.

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As a final note on the interactivity of campus– and a preview of the content to come!– I would like to touch on the interactive elements of the Arboretum, the curated park situated to the North of campus. Without giving too much away, the Arboretum works to engage viewers of all ages with interesting, dynamic installments related to its themes of nature. The audience reaps the rewards of revisiting and rediscovering a beloved exhibit such as the sundial. With both greenery and interactivity, this Northern attraction is a serious jewel, and it deserves its own post– we have a good bit of discovery to cover between now and then!

As I start this semester, I would like to practice gratitude for the work of those who walked this campus before me, each one an incidental architect of the green spaces on campus that I now call home. Through much homesickness and exploration, I’m glad to find outdoorsy pieces of myself reflected in the natural design of campus. It is with such ease that greenery is integrated into the roll of daily life at State College, and it is a wonder that I could have been stuck with the alternative! To unpack this, we must think of the way in which our days start at school: the commute. It is no accident that this takes place, for many Penn Staters, in the form of a morning walk.

Take a look at the intersection that greets students as they enter the West Halls:

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This image comes from Her Campus, one of the student clubs at Penn State dedicated to promoting the features of campus from the perspective of students. Obviously, this view is full of greenery, but it is also quite pedestrian-friendly. The entrance to West prominently features several traffic-controlling measures, such as poles to protect foot traffic, as well as more subtle indications of the ideological shift surrounding campus infrastructure. See the stripe of red brick that extends toward the camera? This indicates to pedestrians that they can cross on this part of the road– but it goes beyond the typical paint job that constitutes a crosswalk. By raising the pedestrian path to be continuous and maintaining the same material as the sidewalk, the infrastructure clearly prioritizes the commute of pedestrians, making them feel safer and less interrupted on their journey. This also sends a signal to cars: Share the road! Although this may not seem ground-breaking to many residents of Main Campus, this is a wild breakaway from the typical infrastructure of North American cities. As an antithesis, take this intersection into the nearest grocery store in my home town, Morgantown:

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It seems counterintuitive that a relatively rural area should appear so industrial, and so unfriendly to the pedestrian, in comparison with the higher-density community that is State College. By its intersections alone, this space tells us that cars are clearly in control. But wait! There’s more!

Here’s a picture of my hometown’s grocery store:

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And here’s a picture of the front of the downtown HUB, the main student depot at Penn State:

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Can you notice the difference? That’s right– it’s people! The expansive asphalt of a large grocery complex is built for the prominence of the car as a means of transportation. Notice the lack of bike parking space, the square angles, and the general lack of a social infrastructure on the exterior of the store. There is no comfortable corner of foot traffic where two people can pause for a conversation, and even if there were, the view and experience is not built for their interests. Contrast this with the front of the HUB, and the difference is clear– one space was clearly designed with pedestrians in mind, and it wasn’t the conglomerate grocery chain.

Penn State commuter spaces are built from the perspective of the pedestrian, and as a result, they are pleasant spaces to exist in as a student. The inverse is also possible; in the end, it does not matter which came first between the chicken and the egg– the increased commuting population or the betterment of the commuting experience. These many generations of interplay between urban space design and user input have resulted in green spaces that are arguably better than car-priority spaces, and certainly a good deal more beautiful.

I believe that inquisitive minds are the most powerful resource of any community. Moving through campus, across all learning disciplines and academic theses, is the energy of improvement. A readily available supply of workers, thinkers, and enthusiasts of all trades propels our living spaces into tomorrow’s needs, almost effortlessly. To follow the pedagogy on public transportation, I believe that our pedestrian experience is positively curated from the simple fact that anyone can be seen commuting here, even professors. I am excited to explore the rest of campus and share its bits of sunshine with you!