10 ways to enjoy nature any time of the year.
Exercise outdoors.
Find a nearby trail and consider a nice jog. The varied terrain activates different muscle groups than flat pavement and the changing elevation means your body utilizes differentiations muscle fibres more frequently. Apps like NatureDose can track your time with nature and even help you identify nature rich areas to get the most out of your time outdoors.
Propagate your plants.
Propagating your plants can be as easy as taking a clipping and sticking it in water near a light source. Different species will begin to root quickly and then you can gift your neighbours, friends and family with the beginning of their own little home garden.
Press leaves.
Collect a few leaves from the ground and press them in a book. This will dry them out and you can hang them in a frame.
Repot your houseplants.
Plants can become root bound if they aren’t given enough space to stretch and grow. Soil can also be depleted of nutrients and organic material. Changing the soil and pot ensures your plant babies stick around for a long time.
Snap a picture.
There are lots of mobile apps that allow you to snap a picture of plants before it automatically identifies them. They can identify different parts of the plant as well including the leaves, berries or flowers. Search the app store for: ‘Picturethis’, ‘plantsnap’, or ‘plantnet’.
Identify trees.
There are countless great books and online guides that give you clues as to what type of tree you’re looking at. Taking a few moments to pause on your walk and really familiarize yourself with the bark or foliage of a nearby tree lets you engage with nature. Apps like iNaturalist allow you to engage in species identification and contribute to citizen science programs.
Watch a documentary.
Consider the incredible filmmakers producing documentaries highlighting issues affecting our shared climate and ecosystems. This is a great way to engage the whole family, learn about a new topic and helps support budding filmmakers. You can even check out one called Nature’s Path to Wellness which brings together community members with different experiences of nature, health, aging, childhood and emotional resilience. Their stories unfold across three properties protected by the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust.
Shazam for birds.
Much like you hold your phone out to identify a song, there are apps that can identify the bird calls happening right outside your own home. Search the app store for ‘Merlin Bird ID,’ ‘Smart Bird ID’ or ‘Bird Song ID Canada’
Sketch time.
Take a clipping of a plant or use a picture and challenge members of your household to draw the flower. You might notice little details including the veins in the leaf or the shape of the stem. Did you know that members of the mint family (Laminacea) have square stems?
Volunteer.
Many environmental organizations are always looking to engage eco-conscious citizens to help clean up green and blue spaces for wildlife. Search for ones nearby and reach out to see how you can help.
Photo by Feyza Tuğba : https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-dried-leaves-on-white-notebook-11760824/
Learn more about how nature can benefit your life at Science & Nature
“We instinctively know how much better we feel when we get outdoors, but what’s the science behind it all?”