¿Y tú de dónde eres? Applying and learning natural history through time

My high school is inside the area of El Chamizal where the border conflict over a shift in the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo channel caused a dispute between Mexico and USA along the El Paso and Ciudad Juarez border. Back then I used to walk naively over the abandoned channel and floodplain without asking what? why? how? when? etc... Now, 20 years later, I now see the benefit of learning and applying natural history in my own field ecology and natural history course curriculum. Natural history helps everyone connect not only to their new ecological space but to the ecological history.