When I think of the word “roots,” two ideas come to mind. Plants & ancestry. In one of my classes, we’ve been discussing nationhood and the role that land/territory plays in the construction of identity. As I sit here, with my feet planted on the ground, I’m thinking about the animals and people that have been in this position as me, standing over an entire underground ecosystem that constantly evolves. What connection, if any, did they feel with this land? Were they Cambridge students? Professors? Visitors?  Who stood here before Pembroke College was founded in 1347? I’m not on campus much, except when I come to my sit spot or the library but, I’m starting to feel comfortable here, like this could become a pleasant part of my history and roots. 

I am also thinking about the plants uprooted, rerooted, and rooted into this underground ecosystem. Although I can’t see the entire network of roots, they are busy. I admire their organization, and their ability to carefully ration nutrients to one another. A few years ago, I read Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown for my first-year writing course: “Black Feminism and the Future.” The novel explores how humans can borrow lessons on community care and love from nature. One of the lessons is on the resilience of roots, something that I still think about today:

“Oak trees don’t set an intention to listen to each other better or agree to hold tight to each other when the next storm comes. Under the earth, always, they reach for each other, they grow such that their roots are intertwined and create a system of strength that is as resilient on a sunny day as it is in a hurricane.” (brown, 2017).

Of course, to maintain their strength, roots, like all living things, must be nourished by water.

In Cambridge, the drinking water comes from aquifers in South and East Cambridge. It is purified by Chalk, a porous white limestone that is naturally present in the aquifers. Last fall, in ES 102, I learned that aquifer extraction can be incredibly unsustainable due to excessive pumping and rain droughts. Aquifers, however,  can be “recharged” by nearby bodies of water such as rivers and lakes. 

Unlike roots, humans “need” electricity. In my college accommodation, all outlets have a switch that you must flip to power on the electricity. This helps preserve energy so that’s only being used when it’s needed instead of being on throughout the entire day. Within the past decade, Cambridge has been transitioning to using more renewable sources. In 2019, they began to invest in wind farms; in April 2024, Pembroke College received a grant to replace gas boilers with electric boilers; and a few of the university’s largest buildings are powered by solar farms. This transition makes me hopeful that the climate will be sustainable for all living things in the future.